The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1907-03-02
RuSSid Lent Us Sailors Once


1--WE laid below New Orleans awhile
then went up the Mississippi and cruised
around for a time. but had no engage
ments. Then We sailed for Mobile bay.
When we ran the forts at Mobile
bay, I, with four other sailors, was in
the maintop. The maintop was the
first landing on the middle mast. abou.
As to so feet above the deck. 1t was
circular platform, some 10 feet in Ill
ameter, and protected around the sides
by armOr a few feet high. Admiral
Farragut was not dashed to the mast,
or to anything else. but stood on this
platform in the maintop. 1 know. be-
| cause lay on the floor almost beside
his feet. l say lay for as we five
sailors We're going into the maintop
Farragut told a Russian officer, Tell
the boys to lie down. and we did so.
The admiral stood up all through the
action, but was not tied to anything.
and we sailors tried also to stand up
and see what was going on, but he
"ouiu liot iCe 10, anu IIlttuc uS lie uOWI.
From Mobile bay we went to
Charleston, then to Savannah, and
then to Hampton Roads. From here
We Russian sailors from the various
ships, were sent to the Brooklyn navy
yard, and after waiting for about four
weeks for all the sailors to arrive, we
were sent back by passenger steamer
to KrOnstadt, and placed again aboard
our own ships. 1 going back to the
IvanOff. When at the Brooklyn navy
yard we changed our uniforms back
to those of the Russian navy.
I'VE ware in the United States navy
somewhere between five and six
months; 1 can't remember exactly. We
ed States, but were paid on our own
ed States but were pal don our own
regular payday in Russia. l received
about $3.50 a month, being under sem
tence.
stadt somewhere about 100000 Russian
soldiers awaiting orders, ready at an
hours notice to sail for the United
States. OF this l was certain, for 1
saw them and talked with them daily
in their barracks. They made no Sc
cret of it and said they were awaiting
orders to sail and fight for the United
States in case England continued to
help the southern states. 1 finished my
two years on the Ivanoff and then went
home to Finland for the winter, where
my father died. Then l shipped on a
Finnish vessel from Copenhagen and
| was shipwrecked in the North sea. We
We're picked up by a fishing vessel and
eventually landed in London.
! From there l shipped on an Ameri
can vessel for New York, and from that
time until 1869 1 was on vessels from
New York out.
in September, 1869. l was in Mar
| settles. France, and enlisted in the
American navy, and was assigned to
the Franklin again. Admiral Farra-
quits flagship. From Marseilles We
made a long cruise, taking us almost
! three years all of which time 1 was
on the Franklin, and most of the time
| belonged to the admiral's gig-the boat
| the admiral uses when going on shore.
After leaving the Franklin, l, with
| five others was sent to the lightship
off Sandy Hook. and remained there
three years. When my time was up
1 again entered the merchant marine
service and in 1876 1 quilted the sea
altogether
The discOverer of this remarkable
story, Gabriel Justus Dahgren. did
some investigating, and while the re-
suit is unsatisfactory he still believes
the story of the old sailor is true.
cate the story, he says:
1T seemed to me so important. espe-
| cially the fact of some 500 seamen
being transferred in body from the
Russian to the American navy, that l
wrote to the assistant secretary of the
navy concerning the matter. His re-
| ply, in general terms. was that he could
find no record in the navy department
of any considerable number of men
being so transferred. Whether it was
meant that between 400 and 500 were
not considered a considerable num-
ber' or that the navy records did not
show any seamen thus transferred. L
do not know. Probably the latter, for
the reader will see, upon reading the
narrative, these seamen were never in
the pay of the United States govern
ment but received their regular pay
from the Russian government upon
their return to Russia. For this reason
their names were probably never on
the rolls of our navy, although they
took an oath to serve the United States
as long as needed"