The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-05-15

sa Houston Overawed the Mexicant
 Helped to Develop the West.
 The sole survicor of the navy of the Republic of Texas passed away when ] Major John E, Barrow, of New York
 died few days ago. He was seventy nine.
 Forty eight hours before he died he was as straight as a mast with hair as I white as carded wool, and suave and courtly of manner. He had been in re- tirement so many years that only a 4 limited circle in New York knew of his ! Interesting and in some respects unique history.
 General Sam Houston was president < of the Republic of Texas and comman- der-in-chief of the army and navy of \ the republic in 1899, when young Bar row, then seventeen, handed him let E ter from his brother, F. Alexander I Barrow, then United States senator from Louisiana and the intimate friend of Henry Clay. Young Barrow had gone from Nashville, his birthplace, to Galveston to offer his services in the X navy of the Lone Star republic.
 The Texas navy even then was rather impressive. At least it kept the Mexi- cans in awe The fleet consisted of the flagship Zarala, Commodore Edward M. Moore; the briggs of war Austin and Metadora, and the schooners San Anto- nio and San Jacinto. The ships were wooden, and by order of President Houston they were painted black.
 They looked forbidding,' said Major < Barrow in one of his reminiscent moods not long before his death. We used to cruise up and down the coast looking for recruits and Greasers. The latter never showed up for an engagement Whether they feared the navy because ' it's black color betokened no quarter or whether they saw our armament I new CT knew.
 Most of our ships had been bought < from ship owners. They were not built for warfare. Each ship carried four small, smooth-bore guns forward and one aft.
 T was midshipman on the Austin. It was commanded by Captain Gray. afterward knew his daughter in New York She was the second wife of Ru fus Hatch.
 T was in the republics navy nearly \ two years. I yearned for the enemy, but none came. Never a shot was fired ' at our fleet which coasted up and down, There is no doubt, however, that the Knowledge of the existence of such d navy kept the Greasers quiet. That was President Houston's idea"
 Major Barrow was q firm believer in fha inv of tbn Fla loved it to the last, and twenty-four hours before he died in the home of his daugh- { ter, Mrs. w Waddingham, of this city < (formerly of New Haven), where he had been visiting with his wife-his home being on Washington Heights, over looking the Hudson--he applied nauti- cal language to the situation saying;
 must give up the ship
 Major Barrow was Whig and came from an old Whig family. He believed in the principles of that party all his life. He died a Whig.
 He was in the Indian service under President Taylor. His brother, General Washington Barrow, was minister to Portugal in the Polk administra tion, and afterward served in the lower House of the Confederate Congress, representing the Tennessee district.
 Major Barrow was one of the original freighters on the plains. He sent trains of wagons from Omaha to California in the beginning of overland traffic. He devised the plan of making up trains of twenty four wagons so that better de- fence could be made to attacks by In- dians. This plan was afterward adopt ed by the regular army in the west.
 He sent the first overland freight train to Mexico. He was the first con- tractor In 1859 to send the mails from Kansas City to Stockton, Cal, over what was known as the thirty-fifth parallel Stages left Kansas City and Stockton once q month It was a six ty-days' run from Kansas City to Santa Fe.
 He was one of the original organizers of the territory of Nebraska and de- clined an appointment as its first con- gressional delegate. In 1865 he went to St. Joseph, Mo-, and invested in steam boats at a time when river traffic was the goal of the rich man in the west.
 He built the fastest boat in the trade, the Silver Heels, and was her captain as long as she carried the horns for the best time between St. Louis and St. Jo- seph Having built the fastest craft he built the slowest also
 "The fastest" he said, "did not like to stop for freight. I found that slow boat would make money. I built the Omaha. She had a bow like butter firkin She could not have made race if her captain had wanted to do so. She could make as good time up stream as she could going down.
 But she made more money for her owners than all the rapid packets In tn trade. Rather an anomaly, is it not, in view of this electric age, that there was time when the slowest craft made the most money?"
 Major Barrow was delegate from St. Joseph to the convention in Philadel- lphia which nominated Scott, and to the Baltimore convention which nominated Bell and Everett. He took an active part in the campaign of the latter can ddates, being in charge of the barrel in that contest in Missouri.
 He came to New York in 1870 and bought an interest in the wholesale house of Eldridge, Durham x Go. He afterward became an active factor in real estate and had much to do with the deyelopment of West Side property rho,,o Cauaptu-caoond street He