Show ADVENTUROUS AMERICANS I fly By Elmo Club Scott Watson Irishman EARLY in the Nineteenth century Irish lad named an on Jimmy Shields ran away from his home in County Tyrone The ship on which he set out for America was wrecked oft off the coast of Scotland and he was Has as one of only three survivors Undaunted by this experience the boy set out again An Atlantic gale drove this ship upon a reef off oT the Carolina coast and Shields who ho had been aloft was thrown to the deck deckwith deckwith deckwith with both legs broken The boat was wrecked but by an almost miraculous miraculous lous ous chance he was rescued by a passing vessel After Alter recovering from his injuries he e enlisted in the army and fought in n the first Seminole Indian war in Florida after alter which he headed for forthe forthe the he new state of Illinois There he made a living for a time by teachIng teach teach- Ing ng French in the French village of Then he studied law soon passed the bar examinations and within a afew afew few ew years was successively elected representative In the legislature state late auditor and justice of the 1111 IBi nois Supreme court At the outbreak out break of the Mexican war he raised a regiment and fell desperately wounded at the Battle Dattle of Cerro Cerra Gordo Chosen United States senator from rom Illinois he served for six years was defeated for election re-election and moved to Minnesota where he was again sent to the senate At the outbreak of the Civil war he was made a brigadier general brigadier general and was again desperately wounded In bat tie tle But he survived and was again elected to the United States senate this this time from Missouri When he died in 1879 Shields had the distinction distinction tion of being the only man In AmerIcan Amerlean Amer Amer- lean Ican history who had served as senator senator sen sea ator from three different states e Patriot and Painter GEN GEORGE GEOUGE WASHINGTON I besieging the British in Boston wanted accurate drawings of the enemy's positions So a young Connecticut Con Can Yankee volunteered to get them He lie crept close to the British lines and made sketches which pleased the commander so much that he made the young fellow a colonel and his second aide aide de de camp The young colonel next served as adjutant general adjutant general to General Gates and In 1778 accompanied General Sullivan as a volunteer against the British in Rhode Island expedition proved unsuccessful he resolved to give up soldiering He lie went to London to study under Benjamin West and soon became the favorite pupil of that great painter When Maj John Andre the British adjutant general adjutant general In America was caught and hanged as asa asa asa a spy the young painter seemed to the British the logical man to be used for reprisal So they put him himIn himin himin in prison Instead of protesting the truculent young Yankee boasted that he had been an aide to that arch rebel George Washington and was proud of it Only the intervention of his painter paint er friends West and Copley saved him from hanging Lucky for America that they did Otherwise John Trumbull might never have lived to paint such great historical works as The Battle of Bunker Hill Bill and The Signing of the the Declaration Dec Dec of Independence I Franklins Franklin's I Nephew HEN VI Benjamin Franklin sent I V his old year year old nephew Benjamin Benjamin Benja min Mecom to Antigua In the Leeward Lee ward islands in 1752 to run the newspaper he had established there four years earlier he wrote to his sister Jane Franklin Mecom That island is reckoned one of the healthiest health lest iest in the West Indies My late partner there enjoyed perfect health for or four years until he grew careless care careS less and got to sitting up late InI in I taverns which I 1 have cautioned Benny Ben Den 1 I ny against 1 I Presumably Benny Denny followed his uncles uncle's advice but he was too much of a Franklin not to be restless lie He soon became dissatisfied even though Franklin increased his share I of the profits and wanted to go it iton iton on his own So Franklin sold him the press which he moved to Bos Dos ton There In 1758 he Issued the first separate edition of Franklins Franklin's Father Abrahams Abraham's Speech later laterI I famous under the title of The Way to Wealth Unfortunately Benny Denny didn't apply its lessons to himself He lie became something of a fop strutting around in fine clothes instead of at sticking to v work ork Falling Failing to prosper he moved the press to New York in 1763 but had no better success there Then he went to New Haven where he rented a press from Postmaster Parker whose deputy he became But Dut he failed to make good there as he did later in Philadelphia and Burlington N N. N J J. J Benny Mecom hart had Inherited his uncles uncle's name but none of his genius for making a success Finally about 1776 he went mad e 0 Western Newspaper Union |