The Irish standard., 1906-04-07

to the waist. his fair skin made him
stand out conspicuously among his
swarthy companions, and caught the
eye Of !, sailor from an English man.
of-war in the ofting. The sailor ran
up to him and asked if he were an
Englishman. Il am an Irishman," was
F'erguson's reply. $50 am l." exclaimed
the sailor. land by thunder, no Span
lard shall murder q countryman of
mine in daylight if can help it," On
his hurried report, the captain of the
man -of-war interceded, and Ferguson's
life was spared.
To Columbia Ireland gave not lead
ers alone, but the rank and file. II,
1919 General Devereau, wealthy
Irish soldier, raised, at his own ex-
pense, an Irish legion of 1929 men
and brought them to Venezuela.
Wherever the thick of the fighting
was, there his legion was found. And
the fighting was no stage play; in a
years time one-third Of the men mad
been killed on the field and another
third had died in hospital wards. To
their valor Columbia twice owed her
salvation; in the battle of Boya ca,
which halted the triumphant march
of the Spaniards, a bayonet charge
of the Irish legion turned the scale;
and in the decisive battle of Cara
bobo. which set seal on Columbia s
independence, it was again this le-
gion which bore the brunt OF tic
fighting and Won the day; out OF 900
men, 900 were left on the field, while
the rest of Bolivar's army 5000 strong
lost but 200.
Of all the dauntless lrishmen who
fought in the patriotic cause, per-
haps the most remarkable was .Ad-
miral Brown. The great naval COM
manders OF the world can be counted
on ones fingers, and in this elect COM
pany, William Brown, merchant cap
tain and amateur admiral, must ever
stand high. 1t is doubtful if ever y
sailor lived who achieved So much
against such heavy odds. True the
stage on which he played his stren-
uous part was not n large one but it
was sufficient to display indomitable
courage, a genius for making the mos.
of poor TOOLS and Il mastery of tactics
and Of strategy which prove him OF
the breed of Barry and Jones and Of
Nelson and Togo.
Brown was born in County Ma, 0.
III 1777, and when nine years old was
taken by his family to Philadelphia.
They had scarcely landed when his
father died of yellow fever; and the
youngster, thrown on his own re-
sources, shipped as cabin boy on 4
sailing vessel sailing from Philadelphia
to London. For twenty years he
sailed the seas, rising soon to be cap
tain of a ship OF his own.
In May 1909. he married. settled
down in Buenos Ayres, established u
packet line in Montevideo, and dreamed
that his rowing and fighting days
were over. Not so; two years later
the revolution broke out, and in COM
mand of Il squadron to dispute the
mastery with the Spanish fleet in
South Atlantic. In three months our
impromptu admiral had beaten his far
stronger foe in three engagements.
captured their stores, and raised the
blockade Of Montevideo. In one fight
his ship, the Hercules, was hulled in
eighty places, but the indomitahle
Irishman repaired her with lead plugs
and tarred canvas, and fought on to
victory. Next year he sailed to the
Pacific Coast, to help the Chilean in
surgents. He vanquished Spain in this
war, and when war broke out in
Brazil in 1926. Brown conquered the
well-equipped and commanded fleet of
!'iS A'ANhHAAitallo Will liFSCICl0uS S al
most useless navy, and, having brought
Brazil to terms, retired to private life
Many more eminent Irish names
might be inscribed on South Americas
roll of honor; names of other heroes
of the fight to free continent; names.
too, Of their SUCCESSORS of today, whose
victories have been won in the less
romantic, if. not less strenuous, arena
of commerce. But these will suffice to-
show the calibrc Of all. On every stage,
from Panama to Cape Horn, Irish
men have their lasting mark, and have.
made the South American chapter if
the least familiar. certainly not the
least brilliant in the book of glory Of
ireland beyond the seas.
NUNS WHO CAN SET TYPE