Ogden Evening Standard | 1910-12-21 | Page 1 | American in Turkey

Former Cabin Boy on Great Lakes Becomes a Vice Admiral New York, Dee, 21. A short, square, ly-bullt man, who 27 yean ago was a cabin boy on a Great Lakes schooner, has just returned to America for a vacation. Ho is registered at a Now York hotel as ''It. D. Bucknam, Constantinople," Con-stantinople," but in his "home town" he is known as Bucknam Pasha, vlco admiral of the Ottoman navy aud chief naval adviser to the sultan. Buckmim began his career on tho Great Lakes at tho age of fourteen. A few years later he hecamo commander com-mander of the first of the lake whale-back whale-back steamers, tho Joseph L. Colby. As a 6alt water seaman, he led tho life of a world-wide adventurer, finding find-ing employment In ever corner of tho globe When tho battleship Maine made its trial runs, ho was in command com-mand of her, and when tho Cramps flnifhcd the cruiser Medjidla, ho was assigned to deliver her to Turkey. Tho Turkish navy had been a Joke when Abdul Hamid took a faucy to tho American sailor and asked him to take a job as naval adviser. During the. next few years, while the new admiral was putting the Turkish Turk-ish navy In shipshape, he got very close to the sultan and once saved the ruler from assassination. He Is the- only christian who ever had actual ac-tual command of a Turkish naval force. oo