The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1931-07-17

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| long range battle, how he out-maneu-
vered Pearson, the British command
| er, how he closed in and dashed the
| Richard to the Scraps, how the Ali
| ance came to his aid, how the crazy"
| Dandais sent broadside into the I'M
| protected side of Jones' ship and how,
in the midst of the shambles around
| him with the Richard sinking under
| him, Jones could still hurl back his
| defiant II have not yet begun to
fight"
So he won his battle and the BritOn
struck his colors. As for Jones cOlors,
the Stars and Stripes, they played
| glorious part in the battle. For the
new flag was flying at the masthead
| of the Richard when it closed with the
| Scraps. Once it was shot down, but
| it was Immediately rescued and raised
again, and there it stayed to the end,
| for the BonhOmme Richard was so
shattered in the fight that there was
no hope of saving it. So Jones trans
| ferred himself and his men TO the
captured Scraps. AS matter OF
| pride and sentiment he would not al
| low the flag of the Richard to be low
cred, but left it flying as the vessel
sank with the bodies of her dead. OF
| this Jones writes in his journal, The
very last vestige mortal eyes ever saw
| of the Bonhomme Richard was the de-
fiant waving of her unconquered and
| unstricken Flag as she went down.
And as had given them the good old
| ship for their sepulchre, | now be-
queathed to my immortal dead the Flag
| they had so desperately defended, for
| their winding sheet" Jones had an
| other flag which he raised over the
| Scraps as he sailed away in triumph
and that flag is now preserved in the
| National museum at Washington.
Jones next sailed into the Texel in
| Holland, with the Scraps, the Coun-
| tess and his prizes. But on December
80 Holland asked him TO leave. Out
side a British blockading fleet was
awaiting him, but in broad daylight
he took the Alliance boldly out Of
| port, outran the British vessels, sailed
down the English channel and arrived
safely in France. 1t was to be another
| 80 years before an American was TO
receive as wild a welcome in France
as did Jones. And that was when the
Lone Eagle" completed his success
| full flight across the Atlantic. The
king of France gave Jones a gold
sword and made him a chevalier Of
| France.
Jones did not return to receive the
| acclaim of his own countrymen until
early i'm 1881. He reached Philadel-
| phia February Is Of that year, where
congress gave him a vote of thanks
| and the command Of the America,
new 74-gun ship then nearing compile
| ton. But the Revolution ended be-
| fore he could again put to sea. With
| no more fighting to be done Jones
| could not content himself to go back
| to Virginia or to settle down to the
| quiet Of commerce on the seas. His
restless spirit led him to seek naval
| service with Russia.
He became a rear-admiral and in
| 17SS continued his brilliant exploits on
| the water by defeating the Turkish
navy at the battle of Liman. He re-
| turned to Russia to reap his reward
but he did not stay long. He returned
| to Paris and there he died July Is,
1892.
What followed is a striking illustra-
! ton of the old saying about how "a
republic forgets." For more than a
hundred years the republic which he
| had helped establish forgot John Paul
| Jones, at least so far as paying any
| honor to his ashes was concerned. In
| 1905 Ambassador Horace Porter, after
a long search, found Jones' grave in
the old st. Louis cemetery for foreign
| PrOtestants. Under instructions from
| President Roosevelt his remains were
| exhumed and brought to the United
] States by an American naval squadron
sent especially for that purpose. They
were taken to the United States naval
academy and then as a final ironical
touch to the way in which 'the richest
and stingiest government in the world"
rewards it's heroes (for neither his
salary, the money he had advanced to-
the United States government, nor his
| prize money was paid until a genera
ton after his death) the casket con-
tanning his body was left behind a
staircase resting on couple of rough
carpenter-horses in one of the build
ings at Annapolis for seven yearsI
Then, when the scandal Of this threat
ened to be aired in congress, he was
buried with the honors due him.
GO by Western Newspaper Union.l