Evening star., 1928-11-04

It Is probable that this letter accu.
rately reflected the notions concerning
Jones that still prevail in his home ter"
ritory. Lady Selkirk's opinion of him
after he had bought the plate back from
his men at a cost of E140 and returned
| it to her from Brest-"to crafty" as
Jones wrote, my own feelings"-is not
recorded. The returned teapot, with its
tea leaves still intact, was long visible at
Castle Douglas on Saint Mary's Isle.
The next day Jones crossed the cham
mel and came abreast of the Irish port
of Carrickfergus, There some fisher
men, whom he took on board. told him
that the British war sloop, the Drake,
which had been at anchor in the road
stead as guardship, was coming out
| to look for him. This was welcome
news to Jones. He had been itching
for a fight with the English In their
own waters, and here was an oppor-
tunity laid In his hand.
ITO save trouble" he writes, ~ ran
down again, hove to of the mouth Of
Belfast Lough. and waited for, the
Drake to come out. which saved me
the pains of going in after her."
| Though already informed of the
Whitehaven raid, the brakes captain
had no suspicion of Jones' presence,
but on sighting the Ranger ne sent
out a boat to reconnoiter. The mid
| shipnan In charge could not make her
out because Jones kept his ships stern
toward the boat, and he finally board
ed her. He was aStounded when in
formed he was the prisoner of the
dreadful John Paul Jones. The Drake
moved out slowly, attended by several
scented spectacular trouble. But on
alarm smokes suddenly rising from
both sides of the channel, these hastily
put back to shore. :
The Drake came up astern, hoisted
her colors, and hailed: What ship Is
that?"
"The American Continental ship
Ranger" bawled Nathan Sargent, the
New Hampshire master, as the Amer
ican banner went up. Come on;
we're waiting for you"
** ~
THE ships gradually wore close to-
l. gether, and then there burst from
each broadside, Jones being trifle
the first. The action at once became
furious and the English officers began to
fall, among them being the captain and
the first lieutenant. II have never be-
fore seen men," wrote Jones of his gun
Rangers nine-pounderS.
Holes began to cape in the brakes
hull and Jones ran up to ask Owen
| Starbuck Of Nantucket what he was try
ing to do. The gunner and his COM
panion, Anthony jeremiah, the Mar
ragansett Indian, gaped at the question.
"To sink the--s, sir" they replied.
An idea was running through Jones
imaginative brain. What, instead of
sinking the. English ship, If they could
take her and carry her into French
Instantly he ordered his gunners to
cease firing at the enemy's hull and to
aim instead at her sails and rigging.
| This was a favorite French tactic of
the period, of which John Paul had
doubtless been advised by the French
officers back at Brest. The gunners took
the hint and as their lnuzzles rose at
the swell of the sea, they brought down
the brakes fore and main topSail yards
In a heap and the rigging soon came
tumbling after. In a moment the ship
was as helpless as a log.
Jones then ran back to the wheel of
the Ranger to order luff. But Nathan
Sargent had already put the helm down
and as the Ranger responded, her gun
nerS raked the enemy'S decks fore and
aft. The Drake could endure no more.
Her only remaining officer, a second
lieutenant, struck her colorS, and Jones
/ boarded the enemy after a fight lasting
an hour and four minutes. She had
lost forty-two men out of 100. Her
captain, Burden, was conscious but died
In few minutes. Her first lieutenant
died later.
"They were buried" wrote the pune
tilious Jones, with the nonorS due to i
their rank and the respect due their |
memory" He also wrote to the young |
lieutenant's family.
|, Jones lost only two killed and seven |
wounded Among the dead was Lieut.. i
WaHingford, who had taken part in the |
raids on Whitehaven and st. Mary'S |
Isle. Among the English dead lay an |
army officer in full uniform who had |
come aboard the Drake to see the sport. |
Nearby lay the remains OF barrel OF
rum, burst by cannon shot.
In the brakes hull were found lot
shot holes, some of them piercing the |
ship through and through. Her upper |
works and rigging were wreck, and
most of her guns dismounted. But WIZ
liam Hichborn of Salem, Mass, the |
Rangers carpenter, soon had the cap
tured ship seaworthy again, and she fol- |
lowed in the wake of the Ranger in
command of Lieut. Simpson.
The battle with the Drake ended just |
at sunset, and Jones then turned north |
around the end of Ireland. One of his |
first acts was to release the Irish fisher |
men whome he had taken on board and |
! who had been compelled to stay with |
him through the fight. He gave them