Lapas attēli
PDF
ePub

By REAR ADMIRAL W. S. SCHLEY, U. S. N.

THE RICHMOND,
WASHINGTON, D. C.,

Nov. 25th, 1902.

You have asked me for a Christmas sentiment for the National Magazine, and in reply I would say there is no class of our citizens whose lives separate them more from the pleasures and joys of this blessed season in our homes than the noble and loyal American sailors. The day never passes with them, wherever they may be, without precious memories of these at home gathered around the Christmas festivities. I have seen many a silent tear steal down the bronzed cheek of noble sailors in exile on public duty when some one at home had remembered this day in his hard life. And I have heard many a "God bless" the dear ones at home as the sun rose upon those whose tables bore the best dishes that the cook's ingenuity could compound from the ration provided.

It is not easy to feel satisfied with little on that day when all the world rejoices in much, but the sailor by hard years of discipline has learned to fast when there is little and to feast only when there is plenty.

May the feast of Christmas this year be more enjoyed by him and by us as an era of peace and good will throughout the world. This is the best Christmas gift of all.

Very truly yours,

W. S. SCHLEY.

[merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors]
[merged small][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors]
[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors]

"From the pictures in the papers,' said the President shortly after his return from the Mississippi bear hunt, "one who did not know the facts would suppose that I always go hunting accompanied by a brigade of writers and a battery of photographers. The truth of the matter is that I'd go absolutely alone

if I could.

"On the Mississippi trip I was in the hands of my friends and had nothing to do with the arrangements at the camp. Had I been conducting the hunt myself, I might, perhaps, have managed some things a little differently. In the first place, as soon as I reached the camp, I discovered that my hosts did not look upon me as an able-bodied man perfectly willing to rough it with them at any stage of the game. They had an idea that I ought to be kept packed in cotton wool, and there was a constant fear in their

No. 4

minds that if they spoke in a loud tone of voice or made an unguarded movement I would fall off my pedestal and be broken in three or four pieces. They were exceedingly solicitous about my health and insisted upon having a floor built for the tent in which I slept. I was a good deal more anxious to have a bear than that floor.

"It took about half the time down there to convince my friends that I was just a plain, ordinary hunter very anxious for results and not at all afraid of the night air. But I had a splendid time, even if I did not get a bear, and am very glad indeed that I made the trip. The next time I go hunting there or anywhere else, I shall take more time. Luck often counts against a hunter very much in a short space of time, but it is bound to equalize itself eventually. It is the same with almost everything else; the element of luck will strike an average in the long run."

Robert H. Hazard, of Washington, reporting the President's trip for the National, says life at the hunting camp on the Little Sunflower was made as simple as possible when the President's entertainers became convinced of

his desire in that direction. Big Ben Johnson and Swint Pope attended to the cooking and waited on the table. Wallace Freeman, a third colored man, watched the horses and incidentally stood guard out on the trail to repel the invasions of uninvited photographers and newspaper men who were bent on "catching" the President in rustic garb. Several parties of these gentlemen started for the camp from Smedes, Valley Park and Vicksburg, but none reached the goal. One expedition that planned to storm the citadel by water came to an ignominious conclusion with its boat on a sand bar. The only party that even came within sight of the camp experienced a change of heart and turned back when they "met up" with Wallace Freeman and his Winchester.

MADAME WU, THE WIFE OF THE FORMER MINIS TER FROM CHINA, WITH LITTLE GEORGE WASHINGTON, THE SON OF SHEN TUNG, AN OFFICER OF THE CHINESE EMBASSY AT WASHINGTON

Photograph by the Illustrated Press Association.

[graphic]

Swint Pope, mentioned above, is the magistrate or justice of the Smedes district, and, during his employment as cook by Mr. Stuyvesant Fish, president of the Illinois Central, made out several "informations" against Mr. Fish's railroad. Pope has given general satisfaction in his official position to both whites and blacks. It is said in the neighborhood that no white man could be found to do the work as satisfactorily for the same pay.

The hunters started out from camp each inorning shortly after day-break and stuck to the trails until two or three o'clock in the afternoon, when they returned for lunch. The President was usually the last to come in. The party would probably have bagged more than

the three bears they did get had they not all been so exceedingly anxious for the President's success. Two or three of the hunters had opportunities to shoot at specimens of the game but refrained in the hope that President Roosevelt would get a shot.

« iepriekšējāTurpināt »