Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1903-12-14
INTERESTING NAVAL RELIC.
Small Boat In Which Five Men
Travelled Fifteen Hun
dred Miles, At
Academy.

At the southern end OF the new
seamanship building at the Naval
Academy in plain view of the mid
shipsmen as they engage in their
daily work, there is a boat about TWEEN
ty-fve feet long, Of the ordinary gig
type, Idecked over and with four cock
pits. On the sides of the stern cock.
pit there are Ave names roughly Chi
seled as il with sailors clasp knife.
On the right side appears the name
of J. @. Talbot, on the stern end that
of w. Halford and p. Francis, and on
the left, one above the other, the
names of J. Andrews and ]. Muir.
The boat and the roughly cut names
are forcible and pathetic memorials OF
the heroicism of these five men, who
dared the dangers of a trip Of fifteen
hundred miles through the Pacific in
this little craft. Four of them laid
down their lives that their compan-
ions, survivors from the wrecked u.
s. S. Saginaw cast away on desc
late Ocean Island, might be saved
Commander William f. Halsey, head
Of the department of seamanship at
the Academy has recently had this
boat set up in the seamanship build
ing and tablet affixed which tells
the circumstances of this splendid and
almost unparalleled example of devo-
ton and self sacrifice.
The incident to which attention is
directed by this memorial was con-
nected with the work of the gunboat
Saginaw which went ashore on
Ocean Island in the mid Pacific in
November of 1870. This island is bar
rem and uninhabited and is near the
Midway Island, where the United
States now has naval station. The
islands in the vicinity are badly char
tered and little was known about the
currents. 1t was for the purpose of
rectifying the charts, studying the
currents and planning the establish
ment of naval base that the "Sag-
inaw" was dispatched from San
Francisco.
While engaged in this work under
the command of the then Captain
Sicard, one of the most careful Off
GERS inthe American navy, the ship
was carried into the surf off Ocean
Island and completely wrecked. Cap
tain Sicard managed the escape of
every member of the crew and the
transfer of the ships stores in such a
skillful manner that the loss Of the ship
was q matter of honor to him in the
service rather than blame. The prob
ability was that unless help could be
procured in some other way all the
members Of the crew would perish OF
starvation.
A call was made for volunteers to
man one Of the small boats and make
the perilous attempt to reach the near
est land, the Hawaiian group, fifteen
hundred milesa cross the Pacicfi. A
response was made promptly by Lieut.
j. Q. Talbot and four men, Halford,
Francis, Andrews and Muir. The
captains gig was selected as the most
suitable boat. 1t was decked over
four cock pits made, and the little
craft was provisioned from the scanty
store and started with the prayers Of
those behind them. The little boat
under oars and sails made the fifteen
hundred miles in a little over three
weeks, arriving off Kauai Island of
the Hawaiian group on the morning
of December 10. The food had not
been the kind necessary to sustain
the men on such a trip and they had
suffered terribly. Though sick and
exhausted they were wonderfully
cheered by the discovery that land
was near and, though the landing
through the surffwas a new source of
danger, they believed that it could Ibe
accomplished in the morning. The
most pathetic part of the affair fol-
lowed.
The one survivor of the expedition,
William Halford, now chief gunner
in the service, has often related to
Commander Halsey the circumstances
which followed. "When we heard
the surf breaking on the Shore" he
said, Lieutenant Talbot decided not
to try to land until the morning.
was on watch until one in the morn
ing, and was relieved by the lieuten-
ant. got under the deck and went tC
sleep. The next thing / knew i was
on the shore of the island slowly recov.
ering consciousness. "This is all that
is known of the fate of the other -four
men. The boat came ashore and was
brought to Annapolis after some
years. 1t is not known whether the
boat drifted into the surf or whether
Lieutenant Talbot believed that the
chances were good of making shore
and attempted landing. At any rate
Halford was able to communicate
with Honolulu land a relief expedi
tion was dispatched, by which every
one of the wrecked crew were saved
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