Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-11-11

| MAN FORlOCCLl ABDUL LIE
BODY.
the Alliances captain. This was Pierre
Landais, discredited officer Of the
French navy, who had been able to OBJ
tain no other employment than ferrying
Beaumarchais' supplies to the Ameri-
can Army. On his reaching the United
States, sentimental Congress had
made him an officer in the American
Navy and given him the finest and
newest ship at its disposal. The forlorn
Landais looked at the beaming, perfectly
dressed Jones, aglow with anticipation
and backed by his own country'S highest
| personages, and he hated him in his
| heart.
WITH enormous exertions Jones COL
lected crew of 375, composed
chiefly Of British prisoners, Portuguese
sailors and French marines, and with
the Alliance, the small French frigate
Pallas, and the brig Vengeance, sailed
from Lorient in the Bon Homme
Richard on June 10, 1779. On the Sec
ond day out Jones suddenly ordered
NAC SAunAAOLA w ACUuLIl W pUEI. 1UE
Alliance had fouled him, severely dam
aging both ships
The new repairs to the numbering
Bon Homme Richard extended over
six weeks, during which time Jones
combed all the ports for better and
more reliable quality of men and off,
GERS. Since only few Americans were
available he was obliged to recruit his
crew from the English prisoners con-
fined In the French prison of Denan.
To assist him in keeping order on board
the ship Lafayette procured him the
loan of two French officers, Lieut. Col
head Of force Of French marines. The
French ministry also allowed him to
hire 1877 Portuguese, Maltese and Malay
sailors who had just arrived at Lorient.
Laboriously he added men to his crew,
sometimes one at a time. Nathaniel
Tanning says he would walk the quay
for hours, persuading single seamen to
sign articles.
And then came relief in the form of
a cartel of exchanged American pris-
oners who had been starving in British
naval jails, while the British prisoners
taken from the Drake had been suffer-
ing equal fortunes aboard French
prison ship at Brest. At Nantes Jones
selected / 10 Of these men and at the
same port picked up about IS more
stranded American Seamen. From a
total Of about $50 Americans Jones
selected his officers.
THE marines, not all of whom had
ever been at sea, were Frenchmen
from the Royal Dockyard. There were
about 1877 of them. The rest of the
crew, comprising $50 men and boys,
consisted of Englishmen who had
agreed, with or without mental reserva-
tons, to make war on their own
country.
1t was with an aggregation of
Americans, Englishmen, Frenchmen
1rishmen, Portuguese, Maltese, Malays
Scandinavians and one red Indian that
John Paul Jones proposed to undertake
the most dangerous Of all his ventures
to circle the British Isles and lay
Liverpool and Leith under contribution
The latter town, be 1t noted, was the
birthplace of John Paul's father.
Franklin helped him prepare the
terms Of capitulation for Leith, whose
treasury was to pay levy of $500, 900.
His eventual destination was to be the
Texel, Holland. The news of his i'm
pending departure promptly leaked
into England. Jones blamed Chau-
mont's tendency to gable, but more
likely the heralds were the spies around
Arthur Lee.
While awaiting final orders Jones
busted himself hammering his new
crew into shape. He instructed his
midshipmen in French; he showed his
apprentices how to knot a rope; he
taught his raw seamen to walk like
blue-water sailors. HE was in every
h0dU'c motoh ond axyaryhNIv,c macs oil
the time" wrote Henry Gardner, who
added: II sailed in my time with
many captains, but with only one Paul
Jones. He was the captain Of cap
tains"
Meantime the rest Of his squadron
was also getting ready. Included were
the Alliance, Capt. Landais the Pallas,
Capt. Cottineau the Vengeance, Capt.
Ricot, and the cutter Cert, Capt.
Varage. At the last moment the
squadron was joined by two French
Grandville. The former was a splen-
| did vessel of 40 guns, and Jones made
special request that she be allowed
to join him. Wherein lay his special
! interest in the ship?
According to Jones biographer, A. c.
Buell., the Monsieur was "a new ship
built for an East Indian, but purchased
by an association Of ladies of Marie
| Antoinette's court, of whom the lead
ing spirit and principal contributor was
Marie Adelaide, Duchess de Charities"
There can be no doubt that this "as-
ISOLATION of ladies" was the adaptive
lodge" of feminine Freemasons, led by
the duchess, whose interest in the bril-
| liant captain has already been de-
scribed, and of whose contributions to
| this, the greatest of Jones' expeditions,
history has so far been ignorant.
This Masonic ship was commanded
by a regular officer of the French navy,
Capt. Philippe G. de Roberdeau. At
the first opportunity he made it plain
to Jones that he disliked and distrusted
IandaiS and that he ,flid MT intend tn