The Waxahachie daily light. [volume] (Waxahachie, Tex.) 1894-current, 1908-08-18
EVANS RET|REs FROM THE NAVY
After Long Service Fighting Bob
Becomes a Private Citizen.

Time today descended upon the naval
hand effaced from the rolls of Ameri-
cas- great sea fighters the name of
the greatest of them all-Rear Adj
miral Robley Dunglison Evans
Fighting Bob" For today is Flight
ing Bobs'' sixty-second birthday, and
by law and rule the career of the
great warrior as an active comman-
der of conquering fleets on the high
seas is over and done. In the memory
of patriotic Americans. the feat of
Rear Admiral Evans in safely con-
Quoting the Atlantic fleet to the Paci-
fic will remain as the climax of the
life of one of the doughtiest comman-
ders that ever strobe the quarter
deck of a man-o'-war. Few comman-
ders have ever been so well loved
by the men and there is deep sorrow
today in the hearts of all of Uncle
Sans tars.
Fighting Bob describes Rear
Admiral Robley D. Evans to a dot.
He won the right to this title in his
first naval engagement" He was
sailing boat in the public school
yard in Washington, when a bigger
boy smashed it with a rock. Evans
smashed the boy with another. The
big boy was carried home on a door.
Although the engagement resulted
in victory for Evans, it marked the
close Of his public school career. He
has been fighting ever since, and
whenever there was nothing more
warlike on the horizon he tackled
the general naval board.
Evans was sent to Valparaiso,
Chill, with the Yorktown in 1891.
The hostile Chilians developed a new
game of cruising about the Ameri-
can vessel with their torpedo boats,
seeing how near they could come to
1t without scraping it. Although nine
Gillian warships were anchored near
by Capt. Evans, fighting mad, told
the officer in charge of the torpedo
boats that if one should hit the York
town he would blow the bottom out
of it.
The officer replied that the water
in the harbor belonged to Chill.
'The Yorktc wn and the paint on
her belongs to the United States,
si..,' retorted Evans, land if either
is defaced by your boats, hell will
smell of garlic
Not an iota of paint was scratched
on the Yorktown.
In Cleveland's administration he
applied TO the secretary of the navy
for permission to rid Cuba of the
Spaniards. The proffer was refused.
Spanish would be the only Ian
guage spoken in hell for the next
six months If they would just let me
loose said Evans, as he left the
secretary's Office.
At the close of the battle of San
tiago, Evans commanded the Iowa,
expressed regret that he had not been
permitted to do the job alone some
years before.
Few commanders were as well lik-
ed by their men. He worked them
hard, but he gave them correspond
ing privileges. Sports he always en-
couraged. The people of Province
town, Mass, objected to the sailors
playing baseball on Sunday. Evans
other port. After that baseball on
Sunday was not such sin in Pro-
vincetown.
II sailor was imposed upon while
on shore, Evans saw to 1t that about
40 or SO husky lads were allowed
"shore leave"-and he didn't in
quire very particularly thereafter
into their conduct
In his first trip to South America
as captain the ships mascot, pig,
was lost IN the coal. At 2 a. m. Evans
was awakened by his orderly an
nouncing, "Sir Dennis is found"
Who the devil is Dennis" thun-
dered Evans
Dennis is the pig. He's in bad
way and the men want the captain
to come out and see if anything can
be done for him." answered the or
derby Evans spent the rest of the
night feeding the mascot with con-
densed milk with a spoon. The men
never forgot it.
Fighting Bob" does not lose his
determination and firmness when on
the sea. His mother in an endeavor
to get him to side with the confed-
eracy at the beginning of the civil
war, sent his resignation to the navy