The National tribune., 1910-08-04
The Monitors Log.


IbQok. It IS the original log Of the fam
lous Monitor, covering the period Of he
engagepent with the Confederate iron
iciad Merrimac. in Hampton Road
March 8, 1859.
The restoration of the log to the De
Ipartment was due to Capt. Louis Stod
der, of the United States Revenue Cut
ter Service, now living in Brooklyn, n
T., and an officer on the Monitor dur
ling her entire service. For years HI
has treasured the log among his mos
| valuable possessions, but as old age has
crept over him he desires to see i
! placed where its preservation might bt
| assured. Hence he forwarded it to the
library of the Navy Department.
The entries cover dates from Feb. &c
| to Sept. IL, 1862, and tell of the little
cheese box on a raft laundering of
Cape Hatteras Dec. 81, 1862. wher
Stodder was Acting Master; of her en-
gagements with the Confederate bat.
teries at Sewelrs Point, Hampton
Roads, and at Fort Darling in James
| River. But by far the most interesting
concern the fight with the Merrimac
Among the entries on Sunday, March
8, 1862, are the following:
-Four to 8 p. m. fine weather and
calm. At sunrise we saw three steamers
lying under Sewell's Point. Made one
out to be the rebel steamer Merrimac.
At 1920 got under way and stood to-
ward her and piped all hands to quar-
terS. J. Weber"
From s. to meridian fine, clear
weather. The rebel steamers advanced
and opened fire on the Minnesota; 500
opened fire on the Merrimac. From
that time until IL constantly engaged
with the Merrimac.
Louis Stodder"
From meridian to p. m. clear
i
the pilot house, severely injuring Com
mander Worden. At / p. m. the Merri-
mac hauled off in a disabled condition.
Stood toward the Minnesota and re-
ceived on board Assistant Secretary
Fox, of the Navy; p. m. Capt. Worden
left for Fortress Monroe in charge of
Surg. Logue.
George Frederickson."
Those who inspected the log drew at
tention to the first entry. which should
have been for the forenoon instead of
the afternoon.
Mai. PickIer Dead.
Mai. John A. Pickler, of South Da-
kota, is dead, and the soldiers of the
country have lost a mighty good friend.
Maj. Pickler was a member of the Ma
tional House of Representatives from
South Dakota for four consecutive
terms. and was one of the pioneers of
the Territory. in which he had made
tive of Washington County, Ind. He
graduated from the Law Department
of the University of Michigan at Ann
Arbor. He enlisted in 1862, in Co. d,
Sd Iowa, in which he became a nom
commissioned officer. He continued in
active service with the Sd Iowa until
1864, when he veteranized and Joined
l,a nd MT
promoted to First Lieutenant, Second
Lieutenant and finally Captain of Co.
d. Upon being mustered out of the Sd
Iowa Cav. he was made a Major of the
13Sth u. S. c., being at that time but p
years of age, and commanded this regi-
ment for several months at Atlanta, Ga.
He was honorably discharged in 1866.
Maj. Pickler was an uncompromising
leader in his State. His
first election was as Congressman-at-
large to the 51st Congress, and he was
reelected to the three succeeding Con-
crosses. He served on many important
and was Chairman of the
on Invalid Pensions in the
) 4th Congress. He declined the nomi-
nation for reelection in the 55th Con-
gress to run for the United States Sem
ate from South Dakota, but was defeat
ed by only few votes, and left politics
to practice law. He was buried with
honors in Faulllton.
Something of a Rider.
Mrs. Herbert Wadsworth. of this city,
who is an enthusiastic horsewoman,
thought she would show former Presi-
dent Roosevelt that the stunt set for
the old Army officers was not so much
after all, so at her Summer home in
Genesee, n. Y, she proceeded to smash
all the horseback feats ever performed
by woman, and which equals the best
record rides ever made by man. Over
a measured course of 212 miles she
used IA horses. completing the dis
tance in Is hours and seven minutes.
This is an hourly average of 14R miles
and an average time per mile of little
over four minutes. She ate no. food
during the ride and drank only small
glass of water. She wanted to see what
could be accomplished in this way with
out any special training either of the
mount or of the rider.
Compared with this remarkable feat.
former President RooseveIt's ride of SO
miles in IA hours looks like a tallOw
dip beside the incandescent In the
early days of the pony express Buffalo
Bill, 50 tradition says, rode 300 miles in
"a hours. but there is absolutely no
record of any woman ever having ac-
anything approximating
Mrs. wadsworth's performance.
While the Mayfiower. which had been
carrying the Presidents party on their
coastwise trip along the coast of Maine,
was at anchor in Passamaquoddy Bay
two Passamaquoddy Indians put off
from the shore in birch bark canoe.
Beside the Indians that canoe carried
a lot of whisky. but it was inside the
and they began to fool around
and the first thing they knew the canoe
was upside down and the Indians were
in the bay. The Mayfiower lowered
boat and picked up the Indians and
carried them ashore. They were entire
ly sober by the time they reached it.
The water in the bay at this season of
the year is about the temperature of an
iceberg.
Prince Nicholas de Ghika, of Rou-
mania, who has been in this city for a
few days obtaining permit to shoot
game In Alaska, will leave soon for the
North and travel in search of the speci-
mems he desires for the royal museum
in Bucharest He obtained a permit
from the Agricultural Department re-
Gently to shoot the animals he wishes
for his collection.
Secretary Wilson's meat inspectors
will continue to inspect lard substitute,
and not a pound of that article can go
into interstate or foreign commerce un-
less IL bears the mark ''U. S. Inspected
and Passed" This is the gist of an
opinion rendered by Judge Fowler. who
is acting as Attorney-GeneraI during
the absence in Alaska of Mr.. Wicker