Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-05-01
VARIED NAVAL CAREER
Rear Admiral Brownson Soon to
Take a Bureau Position.
IN ALL KINDS OF SERVICE
Adventures Began When He Was
MILDLY on the Mohegan.
BELLS ToLLED FOR MT. VERNON
Case Of Benton and Fremont the Only
One Of the Kind-Mr. Rayner
on the Constitution.
BELLS ToLLED FOR MT. VERNON
BY WILLIAM E. CURTIS.

BY WILLIAM E. CURTIS.
Written for The Star and the Chicago Record
Herald.
Rear Admiral Willard Herbert Brownson,
who is expected to take charge of the
bureau of navigation at the Navy Depart
ment about the middle of May, comes. as
near being the ideal of what naval officer
should be as an man in the service He has
brains, nerve judgment, polish, culture,
| tact and all-the other qualities of sailor
and a gentleman. He is a fighter by IN
| stinct and his instincts are remarkably ac-
| curate His admirers in the service say
| that he has never made professional mis-
I take. and can be relied upon to do the
proper thing under any circumstances, in
battle or hurricane. banquet or ball.
! Browason comes from Lyons, N. Y, where
| he was born in 1915. He graduated at the
Naval Academy. and in 1865 was commits
stoned along with several other hrst-ciass
men who have also distinguished them
| selves in the service-Goodrich. Dickens,
Davis Train, Bradford. Thomas, Mead,
Stockton and others. He marrle1 ISaDeI
| King Roberts in 1872. and has three cni-
dren-two daughters and son. VINO eolts
a newspaper at Oxnard. Cal. bro"msoh 40 40
| endowed with more worldly goods IMAM Is
| customary for sailor. and has handsome
residence on the Hudson river near onkers.
He has seen all kinds of service, has Deen
tried in all lines of duty he has done scien-
tific work for the coast survey; was In the
photographic Office for four years. was
commandant of cadets at the NaVal Acao,
envy for four years and SUPERINTENDENT or
that institution from 1902 until 1913, When
he was assigned to the command or the
division of armored cruisers. and took them
around to the other side of the world. "nere
he succeeded the late Admiral IRAN IN coih-
mand of the ASiatic fleet.
Brush With Pirates.
Brownson's adventures began early.
When he was a midshipman In the OIL
Mohegan, on the Pacific station, two or
three years after he graduated, he had
scrap with a 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 Cap
Lowe. her commander, Tor protect -
against a freebooter, who was killing lnno-
cent citizens, footing unprotected towns
and committing depredations OF the great
est barbarity all along the coast. Capt.
Lowe promised to look after the pirates
and soon located them somewhere in
cluster of tropical lagoons almost mac
cessible because of dense tropical Vegeta,
ton. The pirate had WORKED ms rsd
into a snug asylum where he considered
himself perfectly safe from all lntruders'
and there he proposed to remain In seIiu,
sion until the American man ot-war haa
mistake in his calculations. When capt.
Lowe discovered the snug harbor OF the
pirates he detailed Mdshpman BroWnson'
with a boats crew, to hunt them down:
When Brownson reached their refuge the
pirate schooner was as silent as TOMB.
stone: was there the faintest souno ol
the presence Of human beings about .he
abandoned, but the moment the 1ahkee
sailors clambered over the side OF tne
vessel they were attacked by volley 1ro
md
vegetation around them. The pirates ma.
ing that they were pursued, had arranged
this ambush, and climbed the trees, Wnere
they could command the deck oI thei'
schooner.
Realizing that he could not capture the
culprits under such disadvantages, Brown
sons resourceful mind instantly conceNei
much safer He ordered his men belo"
decks to escape the gall ng hre that was wa,
pouring down upon them, and IN rev
moments started a dozen or more hreS IN
the hold Of the vessel. AS soon as they
were fairly ablaze he gathered up his dea1
and wounded, hurried them into ms Doat
and got away from tie scene as rapidly as
nossibIe Before he was out of hearing
the vessel was a mass of flames and the
pirates were marooned in the swamp WITH
out ammunition or food or anything eX
cept the clothes they had on. All their
supplies and the booty they had Drought
away from their footing expeditions were
consumed with the ship, and the local au,
Of them. ,;
The people of Mazatlan expressed their
gratitude by presenting Brownson with d
silver service which bears an appropriate
inscription.
Mdshipman Wainwright and one or two
other sailors were killed and several
wounded.
In the Spanish War.
A few months before war against Spain
was declared Admiral Brownson, then
member of the board of +. spectlon ana
survey, was sent to France Italy ana
Germany to look into the shipbuld'ng sit
uation there and ascertain If there were
any vessels completed, or half completed,
that could be purchased for the use of the
United States, or, at least Kept out or the
hands of Spain. He did his work secretly
and successfully and received the thanks
of the department. During the war he
commanded the Yankee, converted
cruiser, manned by the New York Naval
Reserves So
While superintendent Of the academy
Admiral Brownsons policy was to reduce
the number of rules and regulations ana
to place the cadets more and more upon
their honor He abolished many rules an 1
nut in force his theory that the first duty
of cadet is to be gentleman. He also
endeavored to elevate the standard OF re-
sponsibility among the cadet officers with
gratifying success.