OCR Text |
Show of the other ships of the small squadron of four, grappled with tho Serapis, e Captain learson, of CO puns, the JUchard having 42. The two ships did not come near ttv gether until about 7 oclock, and In the darkness a voieo from the Serapis demanded: "What ship is that? "I dont hear what ou say." replied Jones, wishing it get mater opening tire. For a moment the ships drifted on in alienee, then the British demand was made again. Instead of answering. Capl. Jones passed the wild to lire, and the next instant the spurting Mantes of Use American guns were answered in the same luiath by those of the British and the night battle was begun. But there was a great round moon that cast yellow light onto the billowy Highest Naval Honors to Be Paid to Remains of John Paul Jones, if Found In-homm- flu removal of a large .umber of building foundations, and in this work and other expenses tho tii-s$itat- t wN - . l.SrT ?V v.( - v f , '1 -- 1- ' Vf. X ' ' k bi-f- tiubassatlor has fuggcstcd the 133,000 tppropriatlon. It Is contemplated In tho event that he search Is successful, that the retains shall he placed on a I'nited tates warship and brought to Wash-- . gton, to he Interred In the national n.i tcry at Arlington, after appro-riaimonies In the national capl-d- . e ci-r- i y V also expected that the Trench ,.ernment will avail Itself of this op-r- i unity to manifest afresh its appro iatlon of the gallantry of John Paul .ones by formal participation in such remonies in France as may he inch Vnt to the removal of the remains tom Paris to tho warship. It has been suggested that even if he remains were found in the work f excavation it would not he possible identify them after this lapse of me as those of John Paul Jones. Mr. Porter, however, thinks other .rise, pointing out that the American ailor was burled in a lead coffin, a 1 ry unusual means of interment at hat date, and one likely to preserve -- GQO 00000030 "v rj TT) W'bvzJpZ i!lil', r'-- - C AjV- ' , ! yr .. 77 ' C - - - " 4 . ; - v fn tte4Prm QA7QfZmr J?C4jP &177LE S77yZZ7Y 7HF 7ZF smoke. It Is fll At the first tire two of the three IS launders on the lower deck i f the Bonhomme burst and none dared to tiro the others. No shot of the Serapis from the batteries failed during tho tlrst hour of the battle, ami when they failed later it was because all six ports of the Bonhomme Richard were shot into one chasm not only on the side next the Scrap!, but also on the M) t tint the halls passed clear and foil Into tho sea through tho not a splinter of was beyond. There the ship loft in front of those guns. They cleaned out the whole lower deck. The Bonhomme Richard was leaking like a basket, and when the Scr-opi- s hit-har- tie-lo- I came around so that her oppoover her stern nent ran her and the fire ceased for a moment, Capt. Pearson called out: "Are you ready to surrender? John Paul Jones replied: "I have not yet begun to fight." In attempting to wear, the boom of the Serapis fouled the mizzen rigging of the Bonhomme Richard. Then Jones, with his own hands, lashed the two vessels together with a hawser. The ships were so near together that the men of the Serapis couldn't , so blew open their starboard them off from Inside. Then each crew to load had to poke a rammer through the enemys port before it could be inserted in the guns jib-boo- port-lids- long-handle- d tore. TT The search being made just now for the tomb of John Paul Jones, the great naval hero of the American Revolution, is probably the most remarkable of its kind ever recorded. The search is being made in an old French cemetery under the direction of United States Ambassador Porter. This cemetery has been to a great extent abandoned and a number of buildings erected on the site. It may be necessary to pull down several of these buildings, and the total cost for damages, for excavations and for bringing the body to Washington may reach $100,000. Ambassador Porter, who was himself once a civil engineer, is very confident of being able to find the tomb of the distinguished fighter. When he died in Paris on July 18, 1792 (that seems to be the best verified of all the dates that have been given), Gouverneur Morris, who had been a close friend and admirer, had the remains, as one historian puts it, placed in a leaden coffin for the convenience of their removal in case the United States should ever claim them. And just now, after more than a dozen years over a century, is the United States looking toward a move that John Paul Jones friends had thought to have seen very soon after his death. Ambassador Porter has suggested to President Roosevelt that congress be asked to appropriate a fund of $35,000 at least for the searching for the body, and it is believed that the president, admirer of Jones as he is, will approve the recommendation. It seems, according to the latest in- - MISa,,n., that maiL wire h..B KJSh Jonc, hu mid. to r, on the part of his French friends in a vault in the cemetery for foreign Protestants. When he had written his will, in the face of death, he described himself, although he had been loaded with honors, not as admiral or chevalier, but simply as John Paul Jones, a citizen of the United States, and it was on account of this that Gouverneur Morris had him interred in the leaden casket, and made the remark as to the United States claiming the body. But no claim came. The country had much to think of in those virile times; and then, in the former part of last century, the little cemetery for foreign Protestants was abandoned, and on the site it had held rose a city block. Some bodies that rested there were claimed and taken away, but no one seems to have come for Jones. So over his resting place rose heights of masonry and the very place where ho slept was forgotten. It is that very leaden casket that the French were thoughtful enough to provide on which Ambassador Porter relies to identify the body of the man he seeks. He has practically authentic information that this was never removed from the vault in which it was first placed; and as the site of the cemetery is known perfectly well, all that remains is to tear down the buildings above it and excavate till the leaden coffin is found. But as the location of the vault In the cemetery isnt known at all, to carry out the search for the casket will F 77T jBETMKS &4CZ JONES the body in fair condition for an indefinite period of time. Jones, by bequeathing to friends and immediate attendants upon his death bed his sword, his medals and much jewelry which otherwise would have been found in his coffin, added materially to the difficulty of identification. The career of John Paul Jones in the early days of the American navy, his rise by mere force of character in the face of opposition, his bravery that so many times seemed to be carelessness, are known to every public school boy, but who should not care to read again of the greatest exploit of the sailors life, when he fought the sea fight which is unparalleled in the American navy. This was when John Paul Jones, in the Bonhomme Richard, whipped the Eritish frigate Serapis. One need not go far to seek the reason for the interest in this contest, because it is found in the fact that it was the man that won, and neither the ship nor the crew. It was won in spite of such obstacles as no other man has been obliged to face at sea. It was a victory typical of the final success of the American cause, for it was a victory that was literally dragged out of the breakers of destruction. The day of all days in the career of Jones was the 23d of September, 1779, and the place off the mouth of the River Humber. It was then that the Bonhomme Richard, after an engagement had been begun between two I ore The Bonhomme Richard was filling with water and on fire, and someong liberated 200 or 300 English prisoners who were below. But such was tho confusion that when they were told that their only chance was to man the pumps, because the British ship was sinking, they believed it and went stienuously to work. Jones was now working one of the few remaining guns himself, and a marine began to drop hand grenades from an overhanging yard into the held, through a hatch of the Serapis or throw them on deck. Capt. Pearson, after the explosion of one of these thrown to the quarter deck, found himself practically alone and, thinking his ship was on fire below and not realizing what straits Jones was in, pulled down his flag. The battle had lasted three hours and thirty minutes, and the American loss was 49 killed and G7 wounded, while the British had the same number killed and one more wounded. In 1780 he sailed to America in the Ariel with supplies for the American army. Congress gave him a gold medal and placed him at the head of the r.avy Meanwhile the British government denounced him as a pirate and efferod 10,000 guineas for him, dead or alive. She vowed Whatever Her Way. that she would have her way. do or he say; might She frowned a little frown. The argument waxed wild and hot; He said some things that he should not. Then hurried off to town. But. oh, alas! she had not won! And so, at length, when day was done. She met him at the door. This time, with tears and sobs and sighs She pleaded hut, to her surprise. It ended as before. Next morning, when the sun was up, She put some sugar In his eup. And. like a vhild at play. She flirted in coquettish style. And coaxed him with a honeyed smile. And thus She Got Her Way! |