The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1907-05-14
PIRATES WERE
WHIPPED TO A
.FARE.YE-WELL
New Chief of Bureau Of Navi.
cation, Brownson, Has Had
a Varied Experience.

Associated Press to The Evening Times,
Washington, D. c.. May 14.-An i'm
portant change in naval circles takes
place this week, when Rear Admiral
Willard H. Brownson, recently in
command of the Asiatic station, as
sumes his new duties as chief of the
bureau of navigation. Rear Admiral
Brownson succeeds Rear Admiral
George A. Converse. who was retired
for age nearly year ago. Rear Ad-
miral Converse asked to be relieved
of his official duties at the time of his
retirement, but the president asked
him to remain for a time, as it was
deemed inadvisable then to withdraw
Rear Admiral Brownson from the
command of the Asiatic station.
Rear Admiral Brownson, the new
chief of the bureau of navigation, has
high reputation in the navy for eff
cheney. He was born in New York
and graduated from the naval acade-
my in 1865. Since then he has seen
all kinds of service. He has done
scientific work for the coast survey,
was in the photographic office for four
years, was commandant of cadets at
the naval academy for four years and
superintendent of that institution
from 1902 to 1906, when he was as
signed to the command Of the divi-
sion OF armored cruisers, and took
them around to the other side of the
world. where he succeeded the late
Admiral Train in command of the
Asiatic fleet.
Few officers now in the navy have
had more stirring adventures than
has Rear Admiral Brownson. When
he was midshipman in the old Mo-
hogan. on the Pacific station, he had a
brush with gang of pirates that was
quite as exciting and sensational as
any chapter in yellow fiction. The
Mohegan was cruising near Mazatlan,
Mexico, when the citizens of that port
appealed to Captain Lowe, her COM
mander, for protection against a free
booter, who was killing innocent citi-
zens, looting unprotected towns and
committing depredations all along the
coast.
Lowe promised to look after the pi-
rates and soon located them some
where in an almost inaccessible clus-
ter OF lagoons. When Captain Lowe
discovered the snug harbor of the pi-
rates he detailed Midshipman Brown
son, with boats crew, to hunt them
down. When Brownson reached their
refuge the pirate schooner appeared
to be deserted. She looked as If she
had been abandoned, but the moment
the Yankee sailors clambered over
the side of the vessel they were at
tackled by volley from the limbs of
the trees and other dense vegetation
around them. The pirates. finding
that they were pursued. had arranged
an ambush. and climbed the trees,
where they could command the deck
of their schooner
Realizing he could not capture the
culprits under such a disadvantage,
Brownson conceived plan that was
equally effective and much safer. He
ordered his men below decks to es-
cape the CALLING fire that was pouring
down upon them, and in a few mo-
ments started dozen or more fires
in the hold of the vessel. AS soon as
they were fairly ablaze he gathered
up his dead and wounded, hurried
them into his boat and got away from
the scene as rapidly as possible. Be-
fore he was out of hearing the vessel
was mass of flames and the pirates
were marooned in the swamp without
ammunition or food. All their sup
plies and booty they had brought
away from their footing expeditions
were consumed with the ship. and the
local authorities were able to capture
or kill all of them. The people of
Mazatlan expressed their gratitude by
presenting Brownson with silver
service bearing an appropriate in
ScrintiOn