The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1907-05-13
Who BECOMES CHIEF OF
BUREAU OF NAVIGATION
When a Mere MidShipman
Put a Bunch of Pirates
HOrS do Combat
fBy Associated Press.l

Washington. d. c., May 13.-An inn
portant change in naval circles takes
place this week, wh@n Rear Admiral
Willard IL. Brownson, recently In com
mand of the Aslatic station. assumes
his new duties as chier of the hareau
OF navigation. 'iear Admiral Brown
son succeeds Rear Admiral George A.
Converse, who wa> retired for age
nearly year ago Rear Admiral Con
verse asked to be relieved OF his Of
| fetal duties at the time of his retire
ment. but the President asked him to
remain for time, as IL was deemed
inadvisable then to Withdraw Rear
Admiral Brownson from the command
OF tho Asatic station.
Rear Admiral Brownson, the new
chief of the bareau of navigation, has
high reputation in the navy for
deficiency He was born in New York
and graduated from the naval
academy in 1865. Since then he has
seen all kinds y Z service. He has
done scientific work for the coast sur
yey, 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 division
Of 9rmored cruisers. and took them
aro-nd To the other side of the world.
where he succeeded tho late Admiral
Train in command of the Asiaiic feet.
Few officers now in the navy have
had more stirring adventures than has
Rear Admiral Brownson. When he
was a midshipmsn in the old Mohegan,
on the Pacific station. he had brush
with a gang Of pirates that was quite
es exciting and sensational as any
thapter in yellow fiction. The Mohe
gan was cruising near Mazatlan, Mex
leo. when the citizens Of that port ap
pealed to Captain Lowe, her com
mander, for protection against free
bcoter, who was killing innocent citi
zeps. looting unprotected towns and
committing depredations all along the
coast
Lowe promised to look after the
pirates and soon located them some
where In an almost inaccessible clus-
ter Of lagoons. When Captain Lowe
discovered the snug harbor of the
pirates he detailed Midshipman
nrowrson. with a boats crew, 20 hunt
them down. When Brownson reached
their refuge the pirate schooner ap-
rearcd to be deserted She looked as
II she had been abandoned. but the
moment the Yankee sailors clambered
over the side Of the vessel they were
attacked by a volley from the limbs
OF the trees and other dense vegeta-
tion around them The pirates, find
ing that thy were pursued. had ar
ranged an ambush, and climhed the
trees, where they could command the
deck of their schooner.
Realizing he could not capture the
.cglprts under such a disadvantage,
Brownson conceived plan that was
equally effective and much safer He
ordered his men below decks 10
escape the CALLING fire that was pour
ing down upon them. and in a few
moments 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 raDidly as
possible Before he was out of hear
ing the vessel was q mass of flames
and the pirates were marooned IN the
swamp without ammunition or food
All their supplies and the booty they
bad brought away from their lootlng
expeditions were consumed with the
ship, and the local authorities we're
able TO capture or kin ali Of them. The
people of Mazatlan expressed their
gratitude by presenting Brownson
with a silver service bearing an ap.
propriate inscription.