The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1916-05-18
LOCAL MAN WAS
ABLE SEAMAN.
JOE DOBSON SAILED SEVEN SEAS
At Present q Contractor in Hood River,
Mr.. Dobson Has Seen A Great
Deal Of This World

much comfort in the winter months, Is
one Of the quietest men In Hood River.
Mr.. Dobson is Of q reticent nature and
but few men In his adopted home town
know of the thrilling experiences he
lived through during his younger days.
He has sailed the seven seas. licked o
portion Of revolutionary army In
Central America, served in the British
navy. helped harpoon whales In the
| light Of the midnight sun In the Arctic
ocean and has participated In IN Indian
war in eastern Oregon. Today he tends
quietly to his business. Only at infre-
quent intervals do his numerous friends
get him started on the long ago. When
Mr.. Dobson il we'll settled down with
his jimmy pipe glowing he tells some
very interesting tales.
Mr.. Dobson was born In 1853 IN Eng.
land. He received his education at
Colburn, a village of Westmoreland.
When the Franco -Prussian war broke
out he left home, going to Liverpool.
At Liverpool he went aboard his first
ship. signing for voyage to New
York az coal passer. On his return
Mr.. Dobson joined the naval reserves.
branch of the British navy cores.
ponding to tho marines Of the United
States navy. When he had served his
time Mr.. Dobson Was q second class
quatermaster. IA
Mr.. Dobson's next venture was to
ship on a freighter. The boat passed
through the Mediterranean and touched
at points in the East Indias and Japan.
ION arrival at Aspinwall, in Central
America" says Mr.. Dobson, "a friend
of mine by the name Of Anderson and
were of the opinion that we had had
enough of that boat. We gave the
vessel French leave and skipped into
the interior, where we encountered q
nergo plantation owner who had for
merly lived In England. He enter.
tained hs royalty in his leaf-thatched
home. We remained with him until
our boat had sailed on her return trip
to Liverpool. Anderson and then de-
cided to hike to Panama. h
Revolutions we're popular then AZ
now in Central America. and one was
| in full blast in this region. About two
miles out Of the city, as we trudged
along the railway track, we we're
halted by soldier, whose uniform con-
sisted Of dirty, torn pair of overalls,
| ragged blouse and q big straw hat.
He halted us and we were forced to
take to the other direction. We met
with native who could speak English.
He told u that If we could evade the
soldiers We might find a path. about
which he gave Us directions, that would
take US to Panama.
1--WE then decided that one little
black soldier could not stop us. We
soon met with one. and engaged him
| in wordy argument. When his atten-
tiop was attracted we jumped on him,
snatched his gun and threw it into a
swamp. We left him swearing in
Spanish English pidgin.
/ SAT Panama l was attacked with
| Panama fever and was seriously Ill for
several weeks. As soon as was able
to leave the hospital shipped on a
vessel bound for Valparaiso. Chile.
When we arrived in Valparaiso several
English and American men OF war
were at anchor. Sailors and marines
| of both nationalities we're out on leave.
They soon got together and after
drinking till they we're we'll soaked,
ioined forces to take the town. The
1 Chilean police force mixed into the
affair, and 1t was soon the worst
battered lot Of police officers | have
ever seen. The Chilean government
was Just about to call out its army,
when officers of the warhsips got to.
gether and sent detachments OF men
| after the erring marines. When all
/ American squad found bunch OF the
rioters, whether they were from the
U. s. ships or the Johnny Bull men of
war, they took them all aboard their
own vessel, and the British squads did
likewise. After all were gathered In
they we're divided and sent to their
proper quarters. Valparaiso was In q
turmoil over the the episode. peAal
"While at Valparaiso was engaged
by some geologists and botanists to &C
company them on trip across the An.
des. shall never forget some OF
those wonderful Aztec roads penetrat-
ing that rugged mountain district. On
our return to Valparaiso one of our
mules, bearing some valuable speci.
mans. slipped from q ledge down into
q valley several hundred feet beneath.
I was light of weight and the profess
ors tied Q rope to me. Then l wal
lowered TO the poor mule. detached
the specimens and they were drawn
up, and then I was pulled back to the
dizzy height Of the road.
when ! got back to Valparaiso
shipped on q whaler. bound for the
Sandwich Islands and thence to the
Arctic ocean. When We arrived al
Kalakakua Bay, noted as the spot
where Capt. Cook lost his life ant
where an imposing monument has beer
erected to his memory. l again took
French leave with eight fellow sailors,
But We we're unfortunate, and Wal
destined to help catch whales in the
Arctics. We harpooned and took sue
cessfuliy eight Leviathians. and re-
turned to San Francisco, where | lef'
the blue ocean for good. -
II Mr.. Dobson then engaged In mining
| in southern California. He can tel
some thrilling tales of search for q los'
| Eldorado in the Death Valley district
o. finding Of prospectors who had beer
slain BY Indians Of the district.
Mr.. Dobson arrived at Prineville IL
Crook county, In 1873. Shortly aftel
his arrival the Indians went on ram
page. They killed large number o.
sheen. but the settlers OF the distric
escaped.
ga little later the community wal
thrown into q state Of excitement.
saws Mr.. Dobson, ''by the vigilantes
who hanged q number OF men. 4
placard stating that II he did not keel
/ quiet the flies would blow him 10 les
/ than "a hours was placed on the doc
/ of my boss, E. N. White, sheep man
/ We loaded up our guns and made our
/ selves prepared. While nothing occur
! red from the threat, we all spent sew
sral sleepless nights.
Mr.. Dobson was at one time stocl