The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1910-02-17
A Romantic Career.

If Searsport, now of Oakland, Cal,
the late Capt. Benjamin Y. and
Billings) Havener of Searsport,
E d remarkable and varied career
is schoolboy days in Searsport,
81 and kent's Hill. Leaving Bos-
IN about eighteen years old he
the Pacific coast where he en-
.a the newspaper business for sew
lrs. Thence he went to Australia,
was employed for several years.
Australia he settled in Kobe,
where he lived eight years. Re-
to California he began his sea-
-4reer and commanded several
IN the coast, among them the
King of San Francisco. At the
the Japanese-Russian war he
.yed in charge of the Russian
Beckenham, a steamer of
Us. In transporting Russian
Of war from Japan to Vladi-
.e braved mutiny while in the
mploy. The captain described
to reporter of the San Fran
miner, as follows:
ag up the last of the prisoners
g undertaking because we had
,0ut to many different ports in
them. l suppose that we car
It two thousand altogether, and
had to be largely reconstructed
modate them all. When we got
vostok the river was already be-
20 freeze over, and it was a prob
make port, for with so many on
question of being out overtime
aving provisions run low grew
--ious. | had all the ballast and
-aifted from the fore part of the
aam toward the stern, filling the
INKS, so that her nose was well
vater. Then we bucked the ice,
rise up on top of it, but when we
-l up on the pack the engines
1pped to let the weight of the
~g5n through down into the river
In this way we made some prog
vent many miles. On reaching
a-rok it was only to find that the
-..s had captured the fortress COM
the town. They saw us coming
ia throwing shell in our direction.
TASTY work lodging them and |
mpelled to stop. Of course the
5o0 became frozen in. The mutt
you'd not allow the small govern
breakers to free US, and the
rouIem arose again. | landed the
on the ice, over which they had
three miles to the shore. How
TWO days the Cossacks were
-- ssion and everything was all
one of the most ludicrous in
was in connection with feed
me government prisoners from
n Island. The st. Petersburg
ent wired me that they were
angerous lot, several murderers
long them, and | was loath to
hing to do with them. But the
ent sent them aboard at Naga-
le days before ! had expected
fore | had time to provision the
..l we had aboard was a few tons
read and lot of brown sugar.
the fondness of the Russian for
decided to feed them all the
wanted, and / tell you it was
see them happy as children eat
Neet stutfs far into the night.
~ ,ay those prisoners were neither
r dangerous, and when they re-
their normal state we We're ready
care of them. 1t was several
fore they ate anything at all.
took the prisoners on the
nam they We're invariably as
wolverines, for the japanese
hem miserably. We used to get
lnt, emaciated and hungry-eyed,
devour almost anything, but
y bad been fed up a bit they
,at to be peaceabIe, phlegmatic
ii natured chaps. There was
rUtal about them. On the other
rank and file of the japanese
,oor lot. In fact, on our first
We employed about 250 of them,
were continually stealing, fight
.4tting one another. After that
lGssians right out of the troops
work on the second run. They
t-natured and simple and ready
tgr moderate wage. Once be-
. into the transport work | was
trough the Tsusima straits by
sian cruisers, which had just
Qrteen Japanese transports car
Port Arthur siege guns, but |
.r y far south and night came on,
j. We were able to get away. At
-ine | had japanese spies after
~ to steal my charts of the seas
re: but | got away from them. "
IT. Havener comes from long line
luF Searsport mariners. His great
nuther, Dinah, the daughter of
md Hannah (CaldwelD Nichols,
rl in Searsport, November II,
aat married Benjamin Young of
gorge, and his grandmother, Mary
1g, married Isaac W. Havener,
nown shipbuilder of Searsport in
a.y 40's and '40's. Capt. Haven,
.arents died when he was a child.
as one sister, Mrs. Abbie Blache
gfa.use, N. Y. He came east in
bar from San Francisco to New
bro and took command of the whal-
ark Josephine, which was bought
al Francisco parties for Gillian &C
and sailed for Valparaiso, Chill,
aaaksgiving day, 1909, where he
.eIyer the bark to the owners.
some Searsport Statistics.
Is~ the following interesting sta
were compiled by Judge Black: In