Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1909-09-07
RETURNED THE PRIZE
A Trophy That Did Not Remain
 Long In Captivity.
THE MISSING COAT OF ARMS.
l. Belonged to the American Consulate In Honolulu ard Was Carried CH by Party of neish Midaies-The Res tituticn ard Apology.


 '.Speakins of old times on the coast" said an Orcgouian. reminds me Of some of the sterling characters we had there. One was Governor Me Bride of Oregon His first official du- ties were at Honolulu, where he was United States minister. King hame- hameha was the ruler at the time. The minister was heroic type or man, the father of fourteen children. and number of his sons became distin- guished men in various professions. He was a true American, cast in an ultra patriotic mold and many stories are told among the oldtimers of his patriotism and bravery.
 "When Mcbride reached Honolulu he found there were no outward in- sicnia designating the American con- yulate or minister's office, so he had large A American coat of arms cut out of woo,i. .i;,te,. and decorated appro- priatr'v. n&G thie WAS hung over the office Guor tt...t ;,i' ,le world might see 1t ]! was uatnr:llly a conspicuous ob- iC.f :.}l ,i l#seh j9lcrest ta the pub Ie
 '.s3.9a z.:= 4a i.1-}isb nan-ofwar c.l@1s. :. ,.,= -: .}r >:,iin"s and mid s!i .H. &s - gwen taertH. and. as ot!es. @"1We ot them had hi lar{tlQ, aen9 the ,h"n mid shji.t. ,#..7 r., Gordon and Lord Berc>fc,a =n1#,,. like all rljashipmen in from A lCrE cruise. were out for jolly time Walking down he street. they did net fail to notice that Yankee coat of ar,ns. and as Reresford was collecting hric-A-brac and cuiioSitieS it occurred to him and Gordon that this would be fine addition to their col lection. a trophy worth having. So they selected time when the minis ter was away and the office closed. presumably at night. and took down the coat of arms. hired native vehi- cle to carry it down to the dock and actually succeeded in getting it aboard without any of the ranking officers knowing anything about it.
 'The next morning when the minis ter came down to the office his assist ant said:
 "'Mr Minister. your birds taken flight
 "'What do you mean?' asked his excellency.
 "'Your coat of arms is gone re- piled the aid
 "'Gone where? Flown off"
 Mot exactly said the other. Its just disarpeared.'
 "rhe minister walked out into the street and looked up. The coat Of arms. which was five or six feet across, was noticeable by it's absence. It had taken wings and flown away. Exactly what the minister said has not been chronicled.
 Ut so happened that Beresford had given the carriage driver an extra fare for his trouble. Some one discovered this and dae.kly reported it to the min ister. who at once made demand upon the captain of the frgate for it's return. The captain. who was inno cent. denied that the thing was aboard ship. The minister sent his evidence to he captain. reiterating his demand and demanding an apology for the in suit
 ",rhe captain now began an investi- gation. and the culprits owned up and took the coat of arms on deck, when 1t was promptly sent ashore and re- turned to the office of the minister. Mcbride. who was there, refused to receive it.
 "'Tell the captain of your frigate that desire that the men who toos if down bring it back. place it where they found it and apologize.'
 Back to the ship went the men with the coat of arms and reported. The captain ordered the young men to go ashore, take the coat of arms to the consulate. replace it as they found it and apologize to the minister
 Tt was doubtless bitter pill. and the badinage of their comrades. The two went ashore. ready to comply. and took the coat of arms to the con- sulate. The American minister had not put himself out to keep the mat ter quiet. and as a fact the public WAS we'll posted. and the consulate was surrounded by a crowd of Americans natives and others. all laughing at the predicament of the young midShip men.
 "Ihe minister had strong sense of humor and determined to get all there was in it. He preserved his dignity as best he could as he received the young men and listened to their apologies The midshipmen then took the coat of arms from the hack and amid the cheers of the crowd climbed to the front of the building and placed it in position. then hurried down, followed by laughter and cheers."-C. F. Holder in New York Evening Post.
 Delight of Varied Labor.
 None but the fully occupied can ap.