Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1904-09-04
ESCAPE OF JUDAH p. BENJAMIN

Few men in the financial vortex
are 50 we'll known As George Crouch,
artist, writer, soldier of fortune. spec
ulator. editor, raconteur. man about
town, humorist and blockade runner.
He is more than all these put together;
he is philosopher. Al IL he as
pires to comfortable bed in some
clean hospital where. clear of brain,
he can devote twenty remaining years
to literature Crouch is a native of
ENGLAND and a red hot American by
adoption with an American accent
Fla IS said 10 look Very much like
james r. Keenc, and f3H years was
mistaken fUf Mr.. HFen7's brother.
The resemblance bogias aad ends at
the mustache aud Wh.sl.ers. B't jh
two men. beth Englishmen. are warm
friends Crouchs fondest reminis-
cenee is his experience as a blockade
runner.
At 10 Crouch was in the employ Of
q great Liverpool house Of the name
CT Aderle x Co.. cotton merchants. Ct
would not swear TO the spel!jngD His
headquarters were in the Bahamas,
from which he superintendent the ship
ment of cotton 10 England. His Office
was a consequential affair Blockade
runners arrived almost daily from
Charleston. Savannah. Brunswick. Port
Royal, etc, and Confederate cotton
was transferred to British bottoms
and sent on is way to Liverpool and
Indon. Wrecks were of common Oc-
currence, and many of them were not
due entirely to accident, Men knew
how to scuttle in those days, and it
was easier to sink d ship and cargo
than to take chances Of going back to
the coast with the prospect of a rope
around the neck Besides looking af-
ter the interests of the firm, Crouch
represented the I4loyds. registers of
shipping, and made regular reports to
them.
The captain of the lieh; house cutter
of the Bahamas was a negro whose
boast vas that he had Scots blood in
his veins. He was veritable Cap.
Kidd for dash and deviltry. and =
Good q sailor as ever shifted a GH!
One day he brought into CraHets Of
fee a miserable looking specimen Of
humanity 4arbeG in tattees. sat him
down in corner a.. pointing to
Crouch: Set dar te3l he's ready ter
tend to yo' bzness. The clerk Of
Aderle & Co.'S. trife airy, to be
sure, turned around in the course of
half an hour and asked the wretch
what his name was. Capt. Benja-
min, was the reply. We'll. Benjamin,
| am about to hear from you. What
is the matter? Another wrecll?"
. Yes. What was the name Of the
Yesel2s THE Jefferson Davis" "Ah.
That's odd. We have had many ships
named The Confederacy, or The Con
federate States. but yours is the first
jefferson Davis
All sorts of questions We're asked
about the Jefferson Davis. but not
a satisfactory answer could be obtain
cd, Capt Benjamin doa@ed 50 much
that Crouch became offended and pro
ceeded against him for scurtlng,
whereupon the captain said, laughing
iovially: II am not what seem. sir
am Judah p. Benjamin, secretary of
state of the Confederacy. | have just
escaped from the coast of Florida in
an open boat and want to proceed to
England" Crouch's first inclination
was to drop dead of astonishment. But
he held himself together and gave the
brains of the Confederacy" ample as
sistance. The first thing Secretary
Benjamn did was to get into suit
of Crouch's clothes, which, though a
trifle too full, made him of respec-
table appearance. Then Crouch fed |
him bountifully.
Mr.. Crouch says: 81 treated him !
like a lord. He had all the money
he could carry-French gold coins !
When he got ready to leave the Ba- |
hamas for Liverpool | wrote him out I
a letter of credit for 100000 pounds,
;slerlng' History says he arrived in |
| England poor This is an error. He .
was very rich man. His wife was
then living in Paris in the style of our
/ Mrs. Mackay, but the couple, as you
know, had separated Mr.. Benjamin