The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-05-23
lKansas city Starl

cnOf chains with the ebb and flow of
the tide you are likely to run across a
grizzly mate or skipper who is glad to
SPIN a yarn, true or otherwise, about
"Cap'n Rance" Bucknam.
Who is he? Well, he was born in
BuckspOrt, Me, about forty-two years
ago; ran away to sea as cabin boy at
10 and is now a pasha, an admiral and
lcOmmander-in-chief of the Turkish
navy. with more medals, decorations
and honors than any other man in the
Ottoman empire.
/ An Rance is jest the sort of Teller
that would wriggle out of hell if he got
STUCK there, observed the mate of an
old "Oiler" the other day, after he read
about the hot water that Abdul Hamid
is in.
Yes, sir, somebody described him to
a L In a book once" the mate went on,
as the very mildest-mannered man as
ever cut throat or scuttled a ship. I
hrst knew Cap'n Rance when he fetched
a Whaleback into Baltimore about
twelve or fourteen wears ago; fetched
her all the way from Duluth. Then he
run IN the trade 'tw zen Newport News
ana Baltimore for s,rue time
! How does he lool-S Well. ne amt
what you would ca.i A big man, but
lhere a heap of him At that. an he
am very easy skeered. T guess that's
why he's where he is"
| x x X
| The career of Ransford D. Bucknam
reads ike Msrryat romance. He in
herited his thirst for adventure from
/ MS father. Maine skipper who was lost
at sea-
AT 10 the boy was living with his un-
Gle, c. 3. Dunkerton, at Worcester
Mass. He had good common school
education and was q steady lad, but
the lure of the sea was on him ana
when he got a chance to shin on A Pea
pody packet bound for Australia he
wasn't long in getting out of sight of
/ worcester. He made several trims
ABOARD the packet ship, visiting nearly
al the ports of the far east and accum-
Ilatils experiences that were of vast
benefit to him in after years.
Once the old packet got caught in a
tWlster on the north coast of Australia.
Shc reared and plunged and stood on
her beam ends while the "old man"
cursed Mr.. Reedy, the first officer. and
MT. Reedy cursed Mr.. Casey, the sec
ond officer and Mr.. Casey cursed the
lhlrd officer and the men until they cot
the pumps to going and hurting cargo
OH III the wind-slzinned sea. But All
the OIL and all the oaths availed moth
/ Ihs' Tor she went ashore with hole in
ner side that you could slip the Union
uepot INTO And Bucknam found him
sell shiVering on the rocky shore of
Australia with nothing to recommend
| MN but his Yankee grit and a nair of
/ oiue oVeralls. He worked his wav 70
| ilollo' thence to Hongkong. and finally
BACK TO Worcester. Next he was aboard
an OIL vessel on the Great Lakes. John
-. rockefeller was making a trip VITA
MS family and his oleaginous eve faII
upon the Bucksport boy. Now. Coal
vi John knows a good thing when no
sees IT, and he wasn't long in picking
OUT the hustling little Yankee sailor for
a better job -''''O- i0i
rockefeller put the youth in command
81 the Whaleback steamship Joseph L.
OIosDy' and up and down the lakes he
was known as the kid captain. /" The
Crosby was the vessel that no tool 20
Baltimore That was in '92. soon no
was sent to Puget sound by wav of
cape Horn and drifted into the emnIoy
OF the Pacific Mail service. That com
pdhy mace MIN superintendent at PAN
anna and he was in charge of the trsre-
pOrtaton of cargo across the isthmus
To Colon. u9
Always on the alert for skillfuI and
trustworthy navigatOrs. the shipbuild-
ing cramps heard about Bucknam. ana
SuoiI ne was conducting speed trials
mad built for the Russian navy 49,
these was the Retvizan of the unfortr7
nate Port Arthur squadron
ABDUL Hamid had scraped together
Ie" million dollars and wanted a mod
erh cruiser. The way our ships spankedI
the Spanish had stuck in the cicl-
Mans mind, and he thought he v,oI,1d
rather have a Yankee built shin tbarl
any other kind So the Cramns hniIt
the MeJidleh for him and Sent RnctN
nam IN command to deliver the vessel
II was the morning of the Fourth of
Vuiy Wneh the Bucksport boy stood ON
. .Iie cruiser bridge and headed her in
70 Iie Nolden Horn. It was a SIGHT T.,
'str the heart of any man: particu1ar1
~ d man from Maine with Fourth of
July blood in his veins. Bucknar,
leleled his glass upon the sI1n-kissed
inlhdrets or Constantinople and every
Where there futtered the flag with tbo
star ana crescent. There at the waters
cage lay the white palaces. their milky
shadows tlnting the blue surface of the
boSpilorus Far in the distance his eve
caught the faintest glimpse of the e+srs
and stripes; Old Glory f1utterine -,
the American embassy. 1t was too
much for Bucksporti
The mate of the "oiler' is authority
Tor It; the skipper of a tramp that tav
IN the harbor. that morning told him
about it and it probably is true.
captain Rance gave a few snsppv
commands and the American ensipn
crept to the peak Of the cruisers mast
Inen there was a broadside crash of
skies that ratified the glassware in
the sacred kiOsks of the Turkish can
ital and brought the ladies of tbe
harem up standing.
The Turks told Captain Buchanan
that Abdul Hamid would be very angry
and very much frightened nv his |
Fourth Of July celebration. for he had |
long since forbidden any such demon !
strations. The Upshot of the matter |
was that the sultan sent for Bucknarn /
Now, Abdul Hamid is IN some vavs |
quite as practical a man as John u /
Rockefeller and also knows good |
thing at close range. He was so i'm |
pressed by BuCknam's personality and /
ability that he offered him a commits /
sion in the navy. With true Bucks /
port instinct Captain Rance also
recognized a good thing and promptly /
took the job.