The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-06-06

i captain 81. III. black, aICer nearly
forty years residence in the Hawai-
ian Islands, is going back home on. the
tears when he speaks of home, for
everything back in Philadelphia, near
which he was born in 1880, will be
strange to him and nothing will remind
him of the past eff l can only find
st. James court, / will be all right and
can probably find my way about he
said
Captain Black has had an interesting
career and is numbered among those
whose names are Inscribed ON the book
of fame of the Pioneers of California,
for he first went to the Golden State
in 1849, when The gold fever-swas felt
throughout the whole Republic. He
shipped aboard the bark May Dew, in
Philadelphia, in 1849, and arrived in
San Francisco via the Horn in April,
1850, when he was twenty years of age.
From San Francisco he went to SUIT
ter's Fort, QUILTED with three others
and went to North Fork river and
struck gold. The quartet, says the cap
tain, brought back about $4,000 which
was divided equally and then they re-
turned to San Francisco and went back
home, via Panama. From Philadelphia
he went to Detroit, Michigan, and be-
ing journeyman printer he found
work to do everywhere. He was en-
ployed on the Detroit Free Press for
some years until the war broke out
when he enlisted in the oath Michigan
Volunteers and served two and a half
years as orderly sergeant.
81 made the mistake ofsmy life by
enlisting in the army said the captain
yesterday ''I should have shipped in
the navy and today / might have been
a big man in the navy. | served in
the army until I was worn out and
was wounded twice in the right leg. L
got my first wound at Antietam, the
bloodiest battle of the war. | got hit
on the side of the head with the butt
of musket, too. Our first experience
was at Frederick, Maryland, when our
regiment was ordered from Washington
to help push Lee back. We dropped
off the train and were ordered out as
skirmishers. We drove Lee s skirm sh-
ers through the town of Frederick, but
we were driven out again. Say, that
song about that old woman in Freder-
ick-what's her name2 Oh, yes, Bar
bara Frietrhie-well that song is all
humbug. We went through the town
twice and never saw or heard anything
of it, 1t was good, patriotic song,
but it was piece of imagination, as
sure as you were born.
s'When we were way down the
Peninsula. word came that Mcclellan
had been removed FROM command. We
were pretty mad about it, and my cap
| tain broke his sword across his knee.
But our regiment was ordered out to
surround a part of Sickle's command
because they had thrown down their
guns in disgust. | wrote all about the
whole business to my wife and she
let lot of it be printed in the Detroit
Free Press. That paper came straight
down to headquarters and | was sum-
moned before a court martial. But L
didn t go and never attended the court,
and nothing ever came of it. / eouldn t
deny the letter when they questioned
me.
Yes, and I was at Fredericksburg
when we pontooned the Rappahan-
mock river $50 that the army could
cross. My regiment went across dur
ing the fight to put the pontoons
across.
We'll. l petered out on the way
back toward Maryland and somewhere
| near Harper$ Ferry I laid down
alongside the road and gave up
couldn't march any more. / was
, picked up and taken on to Washing
| ton. When I go back to Philadelphia
| l am going over to Washington to
| see about getting my pension increas-
| ed. / believe l ought to get more.
was wounded twice and it has made
me limp ever since with the rheuma-
| tism, and then I am getting old. The