The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-04-13
KANSAS NEWS.
An Ottawa Citizen Returns From
Foreign Lands.
Many Strange Stories TO Tell of
His Travels.
A LONG SEA VOYAGE.
A Trip of $4,000 Miles Occupied
Seven Months.
Visited the Pyramids and Passed
Through a TyphOOn.
A LONG SEA VOYAGE.

Ottawa, April 13.-Horne from the
orient. with the memory Of Shanghai
and the Chinese interior; of Alexandria
and the Egyptian desert and the terri
tory Of the pyramids; of Jerusalem and
Joppa n Damascus, and of Manila
and Cavite and Guam fresh in his mind
as the things seen yesterday. John
6trauchOn has come back toeOttawa for
a short visit with friends.
1t is IA years ago since the boy. John
~StrauchOn. Independent and determined
to make a dollar for himself left Ot-
tawa and drifted south through Arkan-
sas n Texas to the Gulf coast. Mr..
comes nome bearing a mas
ter engineers license from the marine
board Of examiners, and full of the TX
perlence of many voyages in strange
ports.
Mr.. Strauchon was last in ottawa in
September, 1898, after having served on
the converted cruiser St. Paul during
the Spanish-American war. How he en-
tered the service of a vessel at New Or
leans as an engineers apprentice IA
years g is known to most of his OF
taWa friends.
Upon returning east from his last
visit in OttaWa-the only one he made
until b present time since leaving
home-he entered the service of the goY-
eminent as junior engineer and engag-
ed on transports carrying supplies along
the Atlantic coast, to the soldiers in
Cuba. Mr.. StrauchOn successfully pass
ed the examination for assistant engi-
ueer AFTER serving with the transport
COmal, and was then transferred to the
collier, Hannibal, also in the Atlantic
coast service, going south past Cuba to
Central American port. He next went
to The collier Alexander and began the
series of voyages that have made his
experience seem like the tale Of a story
book Mr.. Strauchon made two trips
around the -o to lower CalifOr-
mia and once to Hawaii, returning to
Norfolk, Va, for fresh supplies. The
single round trip, Of 1900 miles, occu-
pied seven months, including stops at
the principal South American coast
points. 1t was on the second trip back
that the Alexander broke her shaft in
midOcean and drifted helplessly,
StrauchOn leaving the vessel for a 48
hours cruise in a ships boat, to be
picked up and put ashore at Savannah
The Alexander was overhauled and
repaired, and sent for three years ser
vice in Asiatic waters, Mr.. StrauchOn
accompanying her, At Port Said the
vessel was directed to Beirut or ac-
count of the troubles in Turkish wa
tiers, and here the crew remained for
ITO days, Mr.. Strauchon visiting Da-
mascus, j~ourneying down coast a short
distance to JOppa and thence by mar
row gauge road to Jerusalem. The AL
exander was thence dispatched to Al
exandria, Egypt, and while on a weeks
leave Mr.. Strauchon visited Cairo and
j%ourneyed into the desert to the pyra-
mfds. From Alexandria the boat took
a load of coal, touching at Colombo,
Ceylon; thence to Manila; thence to
Hong Kong to coal the Asiatic squad
ron, through a typhoon which all but
wrecked the collier and necessitated
heavy repairs; hence to Manila for
more coal and thence to Shanghai
where Mr.. StrauchOn witnessed the ar
rival of the cruiser Askold upon her ar
rival from the Port Arthur Highland
her disarmament by an American Off
GERS direction. From Shanghai the col
Tier went $50 miles up the Yangtse river
to leave coal for an American gunboat.
Mr.. Strauchon left the Alexander at
Guam on December "a. brought the col
lier Ajax home as engineer, from Cavite
by way Of Cape Horn, and at Norfolk
took and passed with high honor the
examination for a chief engineers GER
tihcate.
rive seen enough Of the sea-" said
Mr.. Strauchon in the Office of his broth
er, G.. E. Strauchon. this afternoon; Il
made the best of a distasteful job till
I got up as far as I could go; now I'm
going to settle down on land"
Mr.. Strauchon viii be in Ottawa for
about a week.