The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1909-05-28

dents IN the early days of the school, and that are
of sufficient age to have done shade duty ior many
generations of sailors before their day. are sun
standing the march of modern Improvements nav
ing been SO directed as to pass the ancient mon
archs by.
The midshipman's life small as Is its compass IS
intricate and full Of interest. The externas. II
thew really may be accounte4 externals, nave
world of significance. The young sailors are
bemmed In with incentives to a heroic discharge
Of duty. West Point has Its battle flags and Its
memorial tablets to the men who served tnelr
country against its enemies on land At Annapo
lis are gathered the trophies Of the sea, and there
are many of them, for the defeats OF the ships
of the American navy were so few that line or
two of historys pages sufficient to record them
Perry's pennant, which few from his flagship,
the Lawrence, at the battle OF Lake Erie is mere
II is red ensign with the words OF Lawrence en-
broidered on In white letters-words that are
now the rallying cry of the men of the American
navy: Don't give up the ship" Capt Lawrence
had been killed in the action Of his ship. the
Chesapeake with the British ship Shannon only
few months before Perry engaged the enemy but
his last Injunction to his men already had become
the Yankee tars' watchword. The Lake Erie dag
is in an almost perfect state OF preservation
The flag Of the British brig Boxer. Capt Blyth
commanding captured by the American brig En-
terprise of the coast of Maine. is in the academys
keeping Capt. Burrows. the American command
er. was killed In the very hour of his victory Near
the Boxer trophy are the flags OF four OF the
British vessels captured by Perry at the battle
of Lake Ere-the Lady Provost. the Hunter, the
Little Belt, the Chippewa and the Detroit. With
the Erie flags are those of the Confidence. the
peresford the Chubb and the Linnet British YES
sells sunk or taken by the American McDonough at
the battle Of Lake ChamDain.
Possibly the most interesting of all these spails
of the American sea fights is the great wooden
figure of the British lion wearing crown and
with one paw resting on globe representing the
world For arrogance of presumption the concep-
ton has few equals 1t was of course, carrying out
in sculpture the idea of the world sovereignty of
Great Britain. When Decatur in the ship United
States, defeated and captured the British Mace.
DOMAIN the lion with its globe was found on Its
forward deck.
There are two iron "long Toms In the trophy
collection that fell into the hands of Commodore
McDonough after the victory of Lake Champlain
One of the guns has deep indentation made by Q
shot from a gun of the American fleet during the
action The British commander, Commodore Down
ie was killed in this lake fight. 1t is matter o
record that he came to his death by getting int,
the way of the recoil Of one of the cannons nov
In the Annapolis museum
Charles Stewart, the American grandfather 0
: the Irish leader, Charles Stewart Parnell, mad
possible the addition OF two flag trophies to tn
: Annapolis collection. When In command of tn
+ Constitution cold Ircnsfdes') he captured tw
British men-ofwar. the Cyane and the Levan
8 which he fought near the coast OF the Madera
. Stewart won the fight,
The navy Of the United States had its full shar
of making the country's history. There is no pre-
q emit intention on the part Of the men who hav
d the midshipmen In charge to let them become TO
J, getful Of the past and the glory that has come
D the service.