The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1905-05-08


Most to the point this unprecedented
raid ~ Jones upon the English coasts /
had the effect Of doubling insurance /
rates. As for Jones himself nothing
could express the English wrath toward
him. A price was set upon ms head
and although he held a regular comlnis'
sion IN our navy he would certainly
have been hanged ii he had been cap
tmed. 10 this day English naval writ
ers cannot do him justice and are ludlc-
rous in the intensity of their illogical
denuneiation of the man.
Following the cruise on which Jones
captured the Drake he was forced 70
suffer 4 vexatious and inactive delay in
France, making constant efforts to OBJ
tain ship, until, in the summer OF
400, he was able to sail from LOrient
on his famous voyage in the Bonhomme
Richard, 1t will be remembered that
this vessel was an old and worn-out
East Indiaman and that the crew was
composed Of the worst ritf-raif imagin-
able and contained only about 80 Amer
leans. Accompanying the Bonhomme
Richard were the Alliance, the only
American ship IN the fleet, the Pallas,
the Vengeance and the Cert, which af-
terward deserted. After futile cruise
of 40 days, marked by the discussions
of the different captains, and indicating
in general the worthlessness Of Jones
motley squadron, he sighted, on Sep
tember %, 1879, the Baltic feet Of
merchantmen off Flamborouga Head in
the south oil England, fer which he had
INT
protected by two ships Of war, the Sera-
pis, 4A-glm frigate, and the Countess
Of Scarborough, a 20-gun frigate.
Jones gave the order for general pur-
suit but Landeais, the insane French cap
tain Of the Alliance, really the best
ship in Jones' feet, went careefing or
by himself, and after him was sent the
little Vengeance. When the battle was
Joined. therefore, there were two ships
Oh each side, the PaIlas to take care of
the Countess of Scarborough and the rot
ten old Bonhomme Richard, named in
Frenchard from Fran<lin's famous al
manac, to do battle with the Scraps.
The struggle that ensued is without a
parallel in history. As one English
naval professor remarks, there wasn't
time when Jones couldn't have sur
rendered with perfect proprietyn The
crumbled under the Englishman's fire,
the worn-out guns exploded below
decks, the ship began to fill and still
Jones fought on as cool as if battle
were the steadying tonic his nerves had
needed. Ii has been said of him that
only in battle was he absolutely at
ease. only at times OF inaction when he
could not exert himself fully was he
restless and irritable. On this occasion
he had ioyfully engaged ship which
threw weight OF metal superior to
| his by two to three, that sailed much
faster, and that had crew equal to
his in numbers and far more disciplined
and effective. With three or four feet
az water in his hulk, with most Of his
battery useless, and many of his crew
killed and wounded, Jones eoolly made
| his famous reply to Capt Pearson's
! question il he had surrendered, u have
not yet begun to fight and then when
| the two vessels had been dashed together
| by Jones own hands the fight went on,
Jones himself using a musket and shoot
ing down the British sailors who at
| tempted to loose the two ships, while a
group Of half dozen marines did moth
Ing but load for him. And at last, al
the British historian puts it, both ships
were beaten and Capt Pearson surren-
dered because Jones would not
From the day Of the great fgi.G Jones
was i world hero and justly 50. In
| France particularly he was "the man
on horseback and was treated as a
conqueror. He went much in society
| in which he seems to have shown and
to have made many conquests. He was
fond of display and when he had money
entertained in grand style. He had
"a flattering tongue, a ready wit and
gallant manner. Benjamin Franklin
your ladyship that when face to face
| with him, neither man, nor SO far as ]
! can learn, woman can for moment
resist the strange magnetism of his
presence. the indescribable charm of his
manner, commingling of the most
| compliant Difference with the most per-
! feet self esteem that / have ever seen
| in man; and, above all, the sweetness
of his voice and the purity of his lam
| guage.n An Englishwoman wrote OF
him, aIf am in love with him Of love
| / may die, | am sure, because have
as many rivals as there are ladies'"
After the close Of the war Jones was
employed in collecting the prize money
due the United States and in endeavor-
! ing to collect indemnity from Denmark
| for American prizes she had turned
over to the English. In 1889 Jones
accepted position in the Russian navy
rendered him through Jefferson. But, ow-
| ing to the Russian beauroGacy Jones
was unable to accomplish anything and
his experience IN the war with the Turks
was only one of modification. This
was the most unfortunate part Of his
career. His services TO Russia were