The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-02-09
Enlisted at 20, and Hair Is Now
White With FrostS of
rs Winters.

the most interesting characters in Utah.
sack OF the forty years the pioneer has
spent in giving his rugged energies to
the upbuiiding of the west are other
years equally useful and full of stirring
adventures
AS youth, he saw the world as a
Jack tar, and, having a good memory,
has a fund of information concerning
he men and places he saw in those ear
" days which makes him a most agree
able companion. He was one of the
sailors who went with Commodore Mat
thew CaIbraith Perry to Japan in the
= middle OF the last century, and his
story of what he saw contains some
quaint sidelishts upon that historic voy-
age-things which a bright eyed young
seaman would see-Which are probably
not to be found in any of the books
written about the famous commodore
and the treaty he made with the Jap
enese.
In his manner, there is a frankness
and breeZiness which smacks of the
sea. For this reason, the old man is
called captain" by many Of his friends.
For his part, he cares nothing for the
title, taking simple pride in the fact
that he enlisted as a seaman and was
honorably discharged as a "coXswain
and acting quartermaster."
Activity is Over.
Owing TO the injury TO his leg. which
he sustained in the navy fifty years ago,
CAPTAIN Baird's days of activity are
over. lie admits that there are things
which he once did we'll which he can no
longer d., but
Il can feed the chickens" he re-
marked. TO make it clear that he was
not without occupation.
Il came mighty near not getting into
the United States navy, when ] pre-
scented myself for enlistment in 1851"
he said, when asked to tell about his
seafaring days. II was twenty years
old at the time and, fearing that they
would NOT take me, told the lieutenant
in charge of the recruiting station that
] was tWenty-one. He made a note of
this and then asked:
Where were you born?'
"a Glasgow. SIR I said.
" Glasgow, where"
Glasgow, Scotland, sir 1 an
swered.
THE lieutenant told me he didn't
want me. Surprised and disappointed.
turned and passed out of the door. But
I had taken only a few steps away,
when a man stopped me
You're from Glasgow, Missouri he
said.
- No. Glasgow, Scotland corrected.
- Glasgow, Missouri, he insisted. Go
back and enlist
so l went back. The lieutenant was
still there and although 1 had left him
only a few minutes before he made no
sign of recognition. He began as be-
fore by asking me the preliminary
questions and then demanded to know
where hailed from.
Glasgow, Missouri 1 said, not with
out some inward quaking.
e Go into the other room and strip,
commanded the lieutenant.
LAS / was then as sound youngSter
as they made in those days, I had no
trouble passing the physical eXamina-
ton and was soon wearing Uncle Sans
blue.
Departs From Scotland.
Now, as a matter of fact, told lit
tie fib when l said 1 was from Glasgow,
Scotland. / was born at Paisley, seven
miles from Glasgow. John Crawford OF
Brigham City went TO school with me at
Paisley when I was seven years old.
Il left Scotland aboard the ship Har-
rlcnia, commanded by Captain Henry
Churchill, in 1876, and sailed several
years before joining the American navy.
Before starting on the voyage into
Asiatic waters l was sent down to New
York and put aboard the government
II
80 was the hardest in American histo- !
ry East river was frozen over so
hard that teams were driven across
the ice from the city of New York to |
Long Island. 1t was a terrible season |
for vessels coming into the port. At
that time Old-fashioned packets were
used in the transatlantic service, and |
many of these, filled with Irish emil |
grants were ice bound at the entrance
~
know, most of the emigrantS were /
Irish. Few home-seekers from other |
countries were in those days coming |
to America. There was great distress
among the emigrant ships. Most OF |
them were short of provisions, and the |
emigrants were on the point of actual /
starvation. For that reason everything /
that was possible was done to save the /
ships from the ice and bring them /
into the harbor.
Breaks Channel in Ice.
THE work of the steamboat Fulton
was to break a channel in the ice for /
the tug boats sent to tow in the pack
cts and other vessels. The little steam
boat was plated with iron, so that she /
could ram the ice. She did splendid
work. When she would crack the ice
she would list to one side as though |
cOOOA " turn ONNls AAiG4A A494AN itSA SNAA
and go at it again. The tugs followed
behind until the ice-bound vessels
we're reached. These we had TO saw
out before the tugs could move them.
1t was hard and disa greeable work.
but there is no doubt that many lives
were saved through the activities of
the Fulton. Without the little steam
boat the tugs could never have
reached the packets, and had the YES
seis not been toWed into Sandy Hook
many of those on board would certain
~ have persisted.
In May. 1852. 1 left New York
aboard the United States store ship
Supply for the Orient. We sailed
around the Cape of Good Hope. 1t
took six months to make the voyage
10 Japan.
we sailed ahead of the other ships,
meeting the feet al Yeddo bay. There
We're nine vessels in Commodore Per-
rvs expedition to Japan. Three of
these were steam frigates and the
others We're sailing craft. The frigates
were the Susquehanna. the PoWhatan
and the Mississippi.
Conference With Japanese.
10 /,