The Ely miner., 1930-06-27

| the flag, however, point out the fact
that in none of the documents do his
enemies claim that he was not the
designer.
But even though it may not be posi-
BILE to establish his right to that dis
tinction, he showed his versatility in
other ways which entitle him to re-
remembrance. AS early as 1774 Hop
kinson had won a name for himself
by publishing an allegory in which
he recounted the wrongs of the col
onies and this is said to have done
much to fan the spirit of revolution
in all who read it. Throughout the
Revolution he continued to use his
gifts as writer in series Of satires
directed at the British, which were
published in the newspapers of the day
and attracted widespread attention,
some of them even being attributed to
Benjamin Franklin. DR.. Benjamin
Rush compared Hopkinson as
satirist to Lucian, Swift and Rabelais
and it has been said that his contribu-
tion to the public press of the day
greatly elevated its literary tone.
Among his best known contributions
were Letters to James Rivington,
Printer of the Royal Gazette New
York." an "Epistle to Lord Howe"
1.-TWO Letters by a Tory" and
TRANSLATION of Letter Written by
Foreigner on His Travels"
The most famous of all of Hop
kinsOns writings was 1.-THE Battle of
the Kegs" based on an incident which
took place during the British occupa-
tion Of Philadelphia. A certain David
Bushnell had invented turtle-shaped,
one-man submarine which he proposed
to use in attaching bombs and time
fuses to the bottoms of British ves-
sells in the Delaware river. Tests of
this submarine, however, were not
very successful, so the ingenious Bush
nell next conceived the idea of load
ing number of kegs with powder and
putting them in the river to float down
and explode against the ships when
they touched them. Most Of them
blew up when they struck ice cakes
in the river but one did actually de-
StrOy a British boat. This was enough,
however, to throw the British into a
panic and they began bombarding
every floating object in the river, both
the guns on the ships and soldiers on
the wharves keeping up an incessant
fire for hours.
When Hopkinson heard of this in
cident he was so amused that he wrote
a poem called "The Battle of the
Kegs" 1t Immediately became the
most popular soldier song of the war
and Washington's soldiers sang it to
variation of the tune of Yankee
Doodle" during the remainder of the
conflict. 1t reads as follows:
THE BATTLE OF THE KEGS
Gallants, attend, and hear a friend
Trill forth harmonious ditty-
Strange things I'll tell that late befell
In Philadelphia City.
Twas early day, as poets say,
Just when the sun was rising.
soldier stood on log Of wood
And saw a sight surprising.
The truth can't be denied, sirs-
He spied a score of kegs or more
Come floating down the tide, sirs.
sailor, too, in jerkin blue,
The strange appearance viewing,
First damned his eyes in great surprise,
Then said,. Some mischief's brewing.
'The kegs now hold the rebel bold
Packed up like picked herring;'
nd fo aff oh he
In this. new way of ferrying."
The soldier few, the sailor, too,
And, scared, almost to DEATH sirs
Wore out their shoes to spread the
| news,
And ran till out Of breath. sirs.
Now up and down, throughout the
town,
Most frantic scenes were acted;
| And some ran here and some ran there,
Like men almost distracted
| Some fire" cried which some denied,
But said the earth had quaked:
| And girls and boys. with hideous noise,
] Ran through the town half-naked.
| Sir William, he, snug as a flea,
Lay all this time a-snoring,
| Nor dreamed of HARM as he lay warm
In bed with Mrs. Loring
Now. In fright. he starts upright,
Awaked by such a clatter;
He rubs both eyes and boldly cries,
For Gods sake, what's the matterr'
| At his bedside he then espied
Sir Erskine at command, sirs;
! Upon one foot he had boot,
And t other in his hand, sirs
| Arise! Arise" Sir Erskine cries;
The rebels-more's the pity
| Without a boat are all afioat,
And ranged before the city.
| The motley crew in vessels new
| With Satan for their guide. sir,
| Packed up in bags, or wooden kegs,
Come driving down the tide, sir.