The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-10-06
TVO SNUG HARBOR VETERANS.
vlRkED CONTRASTS IN THEIR
LONG CAREERS.
a.. VINO HAD Received Capt. RAndall's
mount, twenty Years'Dies UnIamenIed
-The other. OideSt Reasde0t n the
uarbor, Receives Shipmates' Tribute.

mounty twenty YesPs'Dies Unlamented
The other, OideNt aeEsiept n the
uarbOr, Receives Shipmates' Tribute.
rha competition for the distinction OF
..,ns the oldest salt in Sailors Snug HArbor
= not less keen than the contest for the
.orv q, spinning the tallest yarn ever con-
sIysd In ~fo'c's'le or cabin. There are
INV old sailo rs-skippers, mates, top
.sWyers and ordinary seamRn-tn the in
's,,,tiou. Some OF them lay claim TO ninety
-aars and some are so old that they have
I s~orootten their natal days; in fact, they have
Nv a dim memory Of anything IN the world
real things. and as they lie ON their cots in
Aha hospltal they murmur orders that would
be unintelIigihle to the master Of q modern
steamship to whom stuns'ls are a mere
tradition.
One Of the oldest or the bedridden tars,
xhodied last week, never was In the struggle
tur Iongevity or yarns. He had a distinction
~ another sort. He was the obSest resident
~ the Harbor. and even those who said
thew were ~centenarians admitted that he
, had a right to the title; besides, the records
' showed it, and the c~entensrians had no
racords that they could lay their hands
IN. And even the ~centensrians were not
snyio,Is Of Capt. Tom Davis. He really
never had been a skipper, but everybody
With gray hair in the Harbor is a captain
N his shipnates anb no one will dispute the
ttle of another for fear that he may attempt
to prove il by a weird sea tale.
Cant. Tom Davis had been in the Harbor
Atv-two years, and..~ according to the log,
hs had been always an exemplary person.
He had been a sea rover from his boyhood.
In A frosty gale OF the Horn, back in 1854,
when Yankee clippers were making records
, that became the envy and the admiration
even of the British sea dogs, Davis was
holding on with feet and teeth while claw
ing in the maintop gallant sail. The ship
plunQed deep into the trough Of crested
seas and Davis was shaken from the yard
TO the deck. His leg was smashed beyond
repair.
knew So; sSSme sh n o. surgery wa: forced
up the sea life Of Davis and when he got
back TO New York he turned in at the Har-
Dor, never once leaving il until he heard
the whistle OF Bos'n Davy Jones summon
ing him below.
at the Harbor, including Capt. Tom
Richardson, who sat for foTty-two years
in the same chair at the same table. But
he hasn't appeared at mess for several
years. Like most of the other veterans,
he is on his back in the hospital.
One Of the most vigorous OF the old chaps
Is a real navigator, slightly crippled by
rheumatism, who ono owned a fine lot OF
clippers, OF some Of which he was the master,
He is Capt. William Henry Clay, a cousin
Of the great Henry, and he has seen a.
many strange sea changes and, probably,
~ uaanyy a and nfhAr anRnnnNa an -.
ancient mariner who ever tackled back
into the harbor after the Staten Island
hotels had closed. Capt. Clay has the ad-
vantage Of some of his shipmates in being
q total a%bstainer, except from romances 81
the deep.
Another Of the clear headed n~avigators
who is old in years but Juvenile IL heart
Is Capt. Smalley. He commented yCster-
day on the virtues Of ancient Capt. Tom
Davis, and contrasted him with another
inmate If the Harbor. George N. Armstrong,
who also died last week at the home Of a
relative in Boston. He had been bedridden
a long time in the Harbor hospital. Capt.
Smalley said he knew Armstrong well, n
he indorsed every line of the following
article, published in to-day's Marine journal
edited by Capt. George L. Norton:
II GeOrg, ". Armstrong. a recipient of
Capt Randall's bounty for twenty years.
had died before he entered the HarbOr he
would have had many sins less to answer
for, and innocent persons who suffered by
his perhdy would have been saved many a
severe mental panR as well as The notification
Of being maligned by this vicious person
Al a time when there was a premium on false
testimony in orUer 70 carry out a plot TO con-
troll the HarboJ from its New York city ONCE
IN every detail.
Of the seven OF the board Of trustees Of the
Sailors Snug Harbor had determined that
the governor OF this institution. for whom
he had a personal dislike, should be reno we'd,
taking the initiative In what was rank per- |
secuiion. To carry out the plan Of the
trustee TO a successful issue. the ~recently
deceased Armstrong was employed as q |
ferret and given authority over the governors |
head to come and 20 at will, contrary to the
rules OF the Harbor. for the purpose Of secur-
ing Inmates as witnesses against that official. |
Armstrong performed the service required
BY getting together a large number Of I'M
scrupulous inmates who testified as desired.
Nearly all Of these false witnesses had unsa worry |
records, but none equal to their leader, who
nad aided and abetted In mutinles and other |
punishable offences on the high seas before
he entered the Harbor. Armstrong; hacker
won and the governor was forced to resign.
One Of the first acts Of his successor was to
reward Armstrong with the position Of boss Of |
the eonee stand at a salary from that lime
Until his death. As this Judas Iscariot did not
get his deserts while alive. IL Is natural to sup
pose that he is getting them now. IL punish
ment for wickedness is meted out in the here |
AFTER N those who deserve it, az we were |
nasht In childhood that It would be.
Doubtless a great many Of the inmates Of
the HarbOr uttered a fervent "Thank Godl" |
VnentheypeaTned that Armstrong was beyond
Prosecuting them any more. as he was known
70 make life miserable as far az he could TO
nose inmates who despLse falsehO0d. treach-
cry, deceit and a spy.