The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-01-29
INTERESTING EXPERIENCE
In the Life of Charlie Brown,
 Colored Citizen of Huntsville.

Huntsville Democrat.
 Nothing furnishes more pleasure to the cultured South than evidences of the in dustrious efforts of it's colored citlzen- ship to elevate and improve its moral and material condition, and whatever is in terestng or instructive in their lives, readily finds place in Southern journals
 There are few of our white citizens who
 have not, at times, gone out of their way to make a purchase of Charlie Brown, the polite. accommodating and reliable
 colored dealer in game. fish. poultry, eggs, etc., and there are still fewer who are aware that this quiet well-behaved colored man has a most interesting his tory that reads like a romance. When a mere lad in this city, he became involved in some trivial violation of the city or dinances shooting within the city limits, and fearing the consequences ran away and enlisted in the United States naval service on board the U. s. s. Kearsarge
 that sank the Confederate cruiser Ala baIna and which itself sank off the coast of South America.
 Being transferred from the Kearsarge which was. at that time. 1882. engaged in enlisting boys for the United States naval service, to the Juniata, of which the now famous Admiral George Dewey was Commander Charlie sailed for a three years cruise around the Eastern world with one years rowing commis- sion, visiting the island of St. Helena
 the prison of Napoleon; the rock of Gi- braltar, the strongest fortificaton in the world; Malta, strongly fortified island in the Mediterranean and where Paul was shipwrecked; Alexandria, in Egypt, which at that time was almost demol- ished by the bombardment of the Eng fish: Port Said Ismael, where Is located the Khedive's palace and where Moses preached; Arabia, where, at Muscat, the capital, the King visited the ship bare dor; Persia. sailing up the Euphrates to Bagdad and the supposed Garden of Eden; the East Indies, China, Japan, the Straits Settlementsi witnessed the bonn bardment of the Chinese forts at Foo Choo by the French on the 10th of Au- gust. 1884, and the sinking of the Chinese gunboats; thence to Ningpo, the city of graves. where nothing but graves for miles on either side of the Yank tse river is to be seen, If {. wealthy Chinaman dies in the United States or elsewhere he is brought here for interment. They think if their bodies rest here, or at Chee-foo. another such place, they will reach Joss sooner than otherwise. Spent several hours at Angler. in the Sunda Straits, place well known to Chi nese tea clippers and trading captains but only one inhabitant lived to tell the story of the sinking of the entire island of 5000 people and another coming up from the sea in its place. Then round the Cape of Good Hope, returned home via San Francisco completing the tour of the world.
 While at Malta, the other colored boy, named Benjamin, the only other colored boy aboard, fell from the rigging and striking the ships chain fell into the sea, but was rescued and sent to the marine hospital at Malta with Captain Dewey, who had typhoid fever and who was re- turned to the United States on recovery The boy died and Commander Dewey was succeeded in command of the Juniata by Commander P. F. Harrington (Black Jack) now in command of the Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md.
 While at Shanghai Charlie received the Holy Spirit and became a member os the Episcopal Church.
 Charles log book which contains his daily life during the service, is among his most highly prized possessions.