Nebraska Newspapers

    . \ . , LAST DAYS OF
\ THE STANCH OLD
I. . , " SHIP SARATOGA
- I ,
F'iagshipofCom-
; modore Pet.ry
, Opened up aCl
pan to ti..e Oot-1"1p
: me ce of the
, 'World,8.t1id Now
. } a. Bosto'1 Firm
Wi11 StriP Heron
the Junk Heslo :
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' _ I Boston-.Just at this Ult ( " when the
finest fieet ever assembled under ono
' , . 'flag has started all its recanl.breaklng
vorage ; , it is interesting to record the
' 1. . < I' passing of the last of the vessels that
' i made up the squadron undel' command
at Commodore Perry when he aalled
" bnto the Japanese ha.rbor of Yedo in
IJuly , 1853.
. , I "Queen of the fire vessels of the
western barbarians , " she was once
! called. Now aho is to be demolished.
IExlt the Saratoga !
" : .It Is sUll a name to conjure with in
'tar ' Japan. And in American history
the stanch old sea fighler will be insel ) .
larabl ' lInked with Commodore 1\Iat-
I hew Calbralth Perry's epoch-making
I'LI'ip to what was then a land of mystery -
, tery and of dreams. For that trip and
ithe commercial treaty signed there
'opened ' up the Japane e om plI'o to the
t ommerce of the world.
I Battered and ful1 of years , the grand
mr hulk has been lying dismantled at
" ! League Island navy yard , Now she belongs -
longs to ' 1'homas Butler & Co. of Bos-
ton. She will be taken to Phlladel-
: phla , wbere w111 be performed tile last
sad rites of this former vrlde of tbo
American navy.
Only Seven Survivors.
I There are those who w111 mourn her
with a personal loss. Se\'on men yet
1 , l1\'e who made that memorable trip
with Perry in the fiftils : , Ail but two
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The U. S.
of these seven survivors haev risen
high In the naval service and now hold
the rank of rear admiral. The seven
aro' Rear Admiral Edward C. Roble ,
Rear Admiral John H , Pushur , Heal'
Admiral Oscar F. Stanton , Rear Admiral -
miral George Balch , Real' Admiral Edwin -
win Fithian , Dr. John S , Sewail and
: 'Wf1llam Spelden , who went out to
Japan as purser's clerk , and has been
connected with the New York customs
house for years.
Dr. SewaU is the Rev. John S ,
ISewaU , D. D. , of Dan go I' , Me. He Is
an emeritus professor , of Bangor's
theological semlnarr , and is enjoying
n rest from his labors after 36 years
- of fllithful sorvlco.
"When I finished my coUege course
t Bowdoin I was In deht , " said Dr.
Sewall , in reminiscent velu , "I sn.w a
'chanco ' to satisfy mr desire fOI' the sell
land payoff my dehts at. the same
Itlme , so I shipped fa I' a cruise on the
iSaratoga. She was then fit.tlng out to
Igo to' the far east to relieve the shill
1St. l\Iar "s , which had hoon on that
station severnl years ,
I " 'Ve were out thol'e two 'ears be.
/fore / Commodore Perr ' 111'1'1 \ ' < i. Wil.
lIam S. Walker of Boston W.lS the
captllin of the Sarato a , Heal' Ad-
Imlral Stanton was then only a mid-
shimon on hoard , in the same mess I
tWfUl mo during a part of the voyage ,
Arrival of the Fleet.
I
"The fleet a1'1'lved off the coast of
Japan on the eighth day of , July , ] 853.
11.'ho lookouts at the mnsthelld echoed
! through tbo fleets the I'ouslng call ,
'Land hot' Wo rushed on deck , ' 1'h(1I'e
, it was at last. A dal'k cloud on the
'northern horizon , stili shl'Ouded In
'ster ' sUU the .
Im , inspiring Imaglna.
Itlon with an Indollnuhlo awe , just us It
had years ago In our studies at school.
i "Our squadron comprls < i two steam
. 'trig-atell ' and two sloops of war. For
equlpmont , Wo mustered Gl guns and
977 omcers and men-quite a respect-
uble force for these times ,
"Such a warlike alllll1.rlllon In the
bay , Bmlll1 as It was , created a tre.
ondous sensation. A .h\llanose wrHel'
said of our arrival : " 'rho popular commotion -
: motion In Yedda was bO'Ol1d descrlll'
iUon. The whole city wag In an up-
roar. In aU < ilrectlons were seen
mothers fiying with children In their
: nr1l1s and men with mothel'S on their
bacls. '
,
I " \\o were qulto uncollsclous of al1
. is confusion In 11 elt ) ' ot mora than
.
1,200,000 souls. We hnd no idea wo
had frightened the e111pl1'o ao badh' ,
as the cailital was , \001' \ 60 miles awa ) '
from our anchorngc. As we proceed.
et ! up the harbor , uonts fled uwa ' from
us as though In 1110rtal fear.
"B ' the tlmo we were well anchored
! 1nd shll18hapo the elt . o 1clnls tool ,
hCI\1't. SWar111s of lilctmesque man.
darlns came .off to ehaUclIgo the
strnngo 1I1'1'lvals and to draw around
the fleet the customary conlon of
guard boats. ' 1'he ' e\'en tried to mal\O
fast their bmits to our sh111S.
"This bo"'an to look 1IIw helng In
custod ) ' . Tile American ambassalior
had not come to Jallan to be put under
sentries. He notified the mandarins
that his vessels were not vlrates and
need not bo watched , The ' vleaded
Japanese law. lIe relll1ed with Amerl.
can law. The ' still insisted. He notl.
fied them that if the boats were not
InstanU ' withdrllwn he would open
his batteries and sink them. That was
entlrol ' convincing. The guard boats
stood not on the ord01' of tholr going. "
"The fire vessels of the westel'll bar.
barlans 11.1'0 coming to defile the holy
counl1' ' , " said Il1'iest and soldier to
ono another.
Japs Gazed In Wonder.
' 1'ho boatman at his scuUs and the
junle sailor at the tiller gazed in wonder -
der Ilt the painted ships of the west.
el'll world. The farmer , standing Imee
deep In the ooze of the rico fields ,
vaused to marvel.
Had the barbarians harnessed vol.
canoes ? With wind blowing In their
teeth amI salls furled , the monsters
cUl'led the white foam Ilt theh' front ,
whl1e their black throats vomited
sparks and smoke. To the gazers at n
distance , as they looked from their
vll1age on the hll1tops , the whole
scene seemed a mirage created b ' the
bl'eath of clams. Such , their child.
hood's hel1efs taught them , must be
the case.
Boats dashed here and there about
the harb r , 111\0 a flock of frlghtoned
gulls. They fled. Then pauscd , to see
how far behind the strange visions
were now. Surelo' the ) ' were doomed ,
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for there closer and closer plowed the
great ships , and no suil caught the
wind to propel them.
In Yed o there was terror worse
than death. Her 1,250,000 souls Imew
the fear of supernatmal things. With. .
alarmed faces the l1eople thronged to
the shrines to llrn ' . The ' hastily
pac Iced their valuables to send off to
the houses of distant friends , or to
bury. In the southem suburbs , thousands -
sands of homes were emptied of their
contents and of the alcle and aged.
All who could left to go to dwell with
their relatives In the Interior.
Courlel' on horseback had flrst
brought details of the "calamlt ) ' ' ' b ) '
lund. .Junlcs and scull boats from
Urnga arri\'ed hourl ' at Shlnagawa ,
and foot-runners beuring dlsllUtches
11anted in the government omces.
ComnlOllore P01'l' ) ' had llrellUred
caretnll ) ' for this visit. He had read
much about Japan ; he Im w what its
resources were , so far as the ' were
lmown at all , h ) ' foreigners ; ho know
theh' quaint customs and the value
ther set Ul10n ceremon ' . 'l'herefore
ho was determined to out-Chesterfield
the Japanese themselves.
Refused to Be Seen.
When the representative of the Shogun -
gun came , with all ceremOIl ) ' , to treat
with him , ho was recelvcd by Lleut.
Con tee as the commodoro's represen.
tatlve. 'rho commodore himself could
not bo seen. In spite of all the wily
oriental could do , the American am.
hassadol' remulned aloof , and im.
Ilrossed the .Japane e omclal mightily
as a great man b ' this Yer ' exclusl\'e-
ness.
ness.When
When seeltlng tradc , the Dutch hall
been wfillng to slnlc dl nlt ) ' a 1\(1 to
tl'cat with an 'one. ' 1'herel'oro they
wOl'e pigs , reasoned the .Japanese.
Surch' these westE'1'11 "halr ) ' barharl.
ans" must he the same.'hen the ) '
found otherwise , mossongcl's wore
Iwpt running- hrl'aknecl { slleed he.
tween the Sho-gun's clt ) ' and the seat
of the mlklulo'll go\'c1'11ment.
At Inst the bunlo , who had hcen
ahlo to see ollly the "admiral's" suhOl'-
dlnates , hpcuusc ho was not of sulll.
clent Imllortanco to gaze upon the
august fpatllrell ot the amhn.ssadol' ,
annollncel ! that two dalmlos had heen
alillointed to recelvo the m'sterlouB
) JaIH'11 ) so cureflllly guarded In cnaects ) ,
which the "kln ! ; of the powel' that had
whillle ) < i : 'Ioxlco" desired to send to
the "Lord of Creation. "
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"Sonw three miles tram 0111' nnlor-
ag ( ' , " sars Dr. Sewall , "II. tlttlo smnt.
clroulnl' I1l1rbor makes In on the wesl-
ern side of the bl1. ) ' . At the head at I
It Btood the village or hamlet ot KurtI I
hama. ' 1'hat wus the sl10t selected for I
the mel.'tlng oC the western onvo ' I1IHI .
the Imperial commlsslonors. And !
thel'o Iho .Japaneso O1'ecled 11. tempor. .
ary haU of audience.
"It was a 1\lemomblo scene. The
two fl'lgates stelUned slowly down and
anchored off the harbor. How big ,
black nnd sllllen the ' lool\ed to the
natl\'es ! 0111' Itttle llotllln of 15 boats
landed under covel' of their guns.
"Wo wel'O not qulto 300 all told , but
ovel' ' ono was In full IInlrorm nnd
armed to the tel.'th. The con1I11Odore
had given orders to malO 1\S magnlfi.
cent an allpeamnce as wo could , for
l.ho purl10ge of ImllrCsslng n l ) ( 011Ie
who la ' much atress on show. Yet
OUl' IIttio bed ' of l1,1en , Werc Cl1W in
llllluber to confront nath'e '
6,000 t'OOllS
dmwn 1111 on the beach to I'l'cclvo us ,
Outshone the Japanese.
"Crowds of ourious sllectatOl's lined
the hOllaetolJs and groulled on the hills
In Ule real' to w\tnesn \ our landing.
Radiant uniforms , trullilings 11.1\(1 en.
signs wel'e everywhere-but we com.
p1\red \ fuvorabb' . Commodore Porr '
had , In fact , outshone the , Jal1ane90.
-1'he Japanese regiments seemed
to have hen cut out of rainbows and
sunsets. But if they were lIvolr , thoh'
omcers were not. For the ' sat in
silent dlgnlt ' all camp stools in front
of the lines.
"Not until aliI' force had disembarked -
barked and formed on the beach did
the commodore show himself. No
Japanese had seen him up to that
time. Ho had remained to them 1\
mysterious vresonce , who would only
appear when the dul ' qualified ambaa.
sndors ot the emperOl' came to treat
with hhn-and they must bo vrlnccs
of the blood.
"As our lines formed , the commo.
dore stepped into his barge. Instantly
the lIeet was enveloped In great crowds
or smoke. ' 1'he guns \\'ere thundering
out a salute that echoed among the
hills bacl , of the village. In all the
negotiations he had played the Japa.
nese peollle's own game and had enveloped -
veloped himself In m 'stery.
"This was not chl1d's pia ) ' . It was
not an assumption of ) Iomp Inconsistent -
ent with rel11bllc1\n slmpllclt ) ' . Com.
modOl'e Perr ' was deal1ng with an 01'1.
ontal llotentate according to oriental
Ideas ; and results proved his agaclt ) ' .
At this time Commodore Perry was 69
years old , 11 man , of splendid physique
and comman < ilng presence. He was
the right kind of man for America to
send 011 such an errand to such a peo.
pIc.
"Within the hall sat the .Japanese
commissioners on chah's. ' 1'ho Impet'i.
al commlsslonors were PI'lnces Idzu
and Iwaml , and they were sun'ounded
b ' their Imee1ing suite. The vacant
scats ull110site were talccn by the com.
modore and his staff. 'lIe entered the
) lI1.vlllon escorted hy two gorgeously
comparisoned blaclcs , preceded by two
rlchh' uniformed pages bearln the
precious caslcets containing the otllclal
vapers to the ol11peror.
Ceremony Not Long.
"The COl'omon ' began. It was very
brIef. At a signal the two boys In blue
bl'Ought forward In slow and I11111reS-
slve fashion the rosewood caskets con.
talnlng the mysterious 111\11ers which
wore to bo conve 'ed to the court.
'rhey'ere to be thus conveyed In a
richly lacquered chest of scarlet pro.
vided for the purpose. 'rho two
gOl'geous negroes , who had fol1owed
the boys , opened the boxes In silence ,
and in silence drew out the papers ,
done in red and gold most magnlfi.
cently. . 'l'hey lal < l them on the 8car-
let coffel' .
"Tho huperlal commissioners were
l11uch Impressed. 'rhey had never
seen blaclc men before except in their
stage Illays , when actors used burnt
cork. 'rherefore , they estimated that
this 'admiral , ' as the ' lenew him , must
he a man of supreme power. Prince
Iwaml handed to the intervroters a
formal receipt for the documents.
"The commode 'e announced that he
would return In the spring for his reo
ph' . After a further brier conversation
the conference closed , having lasted
not more than 20 minutes. It had be on
witnessed by not more than 60 01' GO
persons of both the countries engaged ,
Yet that short meeting was to lead to
the ollenlng of .Japan. "
But the Japanese were alarmed at
the perslstenco of the ambassador ,
too. The formal receillt closed with :
"necause this place is not designed to
treat of an 'thing from foreigners , so
neither can conference nor entertain.
ment take vlace. The letter bolng re.
celved , 'ou will leave here. "
'rhe actual landing took place on
.Tul ' H , 1853 , and is commemornted
by a slnglo shaft of granite rIsing 33
feet into the all' , vlaced on the spot
where Pe1'1' ' landed from his ships.
'rhls monument was erected In 1901.
'l'he treaty was not concluded and
signed until March of ] 854 , when POl'-
ry returned with 1g'l'eatly Increased
fleet to got his answer. At first the
Javanese held out "that no American
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women shou1l1 bo brought to Japan. "
Commodore 1'01'1' ) ' InCormed them that
It such a c1auso were put in 110 wouhl
ho afraid to rotu1'l1 to Amerlcll. Thore. ,
after 11.11 was good humor , the clause
wes strlclum out and the treaty of
commerce was slgnl'd , throwing open
the 110rts of ShlmOlln. and lIakodato.
Career of the Sari1toga.
The Saratoga was built in Kllter ' ,
Mo. , in IS4 : ! , when Now EnglamI was
at the holght of Its fame In the ship.
building wOl'hl. It was nnmed for the
lIalshlll : of Commodore 011\01' Perr ) ' ,
the fmnous bl'othel' of the .Tapaneso
hero. ' 1'hls llu shlll won the battle of
Lake l rle 11\ the wnr at 182.
Shl' did some \1seful worl , as ono of
CommandO ! ' Pe1'1' "s fleet which wont
( ) ll\lnlsh the lllratical blal ! , tl'lbes
along the ACI'Ican coast. VllIago acter
\'lIIage was burlll'd during tht'Bo ot1'
erntlons , and once the comml\1Hlt'r
himself unl ' ( 'SCUllot ! dl'ath at the
hands of King ( 'r1\cl.O , who was the
IIOssossOl' of Il. 8e .tholIko sword , b '
his own courugo Ilnd agility and b '
the lulclUt'I1S of a sOI'gl'ant of marine ! ) ,
who IIhot the Icing. \
'l'he SIll'ato/a / wus also 11rCSl'nt dUl"
Ing the 1\lexlcan wnr , when Commo.
dol'o Perr ' , then Capt. Perr ) ' , saved
the situation for the American forces
with his naval gUU ! ! . AftOl' returning
Crom her long aer\'lce In eastol'll wa.
tel's , part of which was Conunodoro
Porry's mission , tbo Saratog Was
L = O..Q.G .M.C ' " " II I I
Ient : ! again to the African coast , durIng - .
Ing the ch'U war. Fnrragut and Shu.
brick commanded her at different
times during these opm'ations.
At the close of the civil war the
sl op was not considered fit for aotivo
service. ' 1'hereCore , she was ordered
to Philadelphia , where she did duty
as a trnlnlng ship and receiving ship
for many 'ears , In ] 889 she was
turned over to the state as n school
shIp , and , under joint supervision of
state and city , she made annual
cruises.
The stont old warrior continucd
these vo 'agcs until last Feuruary ,
when , outsldo the harbor , 3ho met 1\
terrible storm. It strained the ancient
tlmbcrs untl ] the water began to pour
In at innumerable points , and she was
In dire dan er of foundering. It was
shortly after that the navy departmen
ordered an Inspection.
'l'he old flghter was condemned and
ordered to be sold as junk.
Commodore Perry's Record.
Many consider Commodore Matthew
Calbrallh Perry to ha.ve been n Hreat ,
PI' naval man than his more famouG
brothel' , Commodore Oliver Porr ' . In
fact , the two are often confused , De-
sides opening up Jal1l\n to Americn.n
trade and to western civilization , ho
was the greatest naval educator of his
time. Ills 1Ifo maybe brielly summed
uv as fol1ows :
1-Whi1e yet a lad he was a naval
ollcer in the war of 1812. '
2-lIe chose the location of the first
free blacle settlement in Llboria.
3-He was the father of the steam
navy.
< I-He first demonstrated the em-
clency of the ram liS a weapon of of.
fence In na\'al warfare.
5-I1e founded the naval apprentice.
ship system ,
G-He was leader of the campaign
to extirpate the foreign slave trade on
the coast of Africa.
7-Ile commanded in 1847 the
largest squadron which had over as. '
semhled under the American flag.
This was In the gulf of Mexico.
8-He opened Japan to the world.
The P rn' fami1y furnished moro na.
val officers to the United States than
any other American fami1y , with ono
oxception. The sturdy commandoI' of
the Saratogn. was survived by three
daughters , ono of whom beclln'1e the
wife of August Belmont , the multi.
mlilionalro of New York.
$ < Ld . ; , -d-i/1J
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Last Clause of the Flrit Japi1nese Tr eaty.
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CENTURY
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- - - WATEiiwORkcJ WHERE ANTHRACITE. WAC )
, FIRJT TRleO.lN. PHllRDELPHIA I
It Is hard to bellevo that people once
thought tllllt anthraclto coal was un.
burnable becmwo too hard , and that
It was olll ' by the most 1l00'sistent
offo1'ts of the rew Investigating minds
that It wau 11 naIl ) ' demonstrated that
the black roelc had 11. high fuel \11.1.
ue , but such is the caso. It Is now
almost Il. hundred 'ears slnco It was
conclusl\'el ' shown that nnthraclto
would burn. 'l'hls was accompllshod
at WIJiosbnr1'e , Pa" und In Fehruar '
next at that Illace that event Is to
bo sultnbly celebrated undel' the aus.
plces of the W 'omlng Val1e ' llIstOl'I.
. cal 80cleb' .
. In Phllndohlhla attempts to hurn
the "stono coal" we1'O mnde before the
. \ ! ' 1808 , when .Judgo .Tesso Fell of
I . Wi1kcsbarro succeede(1 In burning the
coal In n gmto which he de\'lscd for
the IlIll'110S0. 'I'ho Introluctlon ( of an.
thl'llcito as fuel should not be con.
fmlOd with the Buccessful burning of
bituminous coal , which , In a IImltet !
way , hud beel1 In use In forges for
nOllrl ) ' half a century at the time.
What Is Imown as Lehigh coal was
dlscov01'ed h ) ' a hunter who was gunning -
ning In the neighborhood of the pres.
ent town of Mauch Chunl , In 17J1. !
From Its nature it became Imo\\'n as
"stone coal , " and those who believed
it to bo possible to hnlte the anthra'
cite were numbered among the Int01li-
gent as weU us among the Ignorant.
Few 1101'sons at that time had faith -in
its value as a fuel. However , II com.
pan ) ' wns formed in 1792 to take up
the land in the immedlato viclnlb' of
the dlscove1' ' . ' 1'hls COl'l101'ation was
called the Lehigh Coal i\line company ,
and not a little of its oa1'l ' dltllcultles
were connccted with the 111'oblem of
, t1'l\1lSliortatlon , A great deal of worle
lJad to he done before a pound of coal
reac.l1od Phi1adelphla.
In time-Cor there were dlmcultlcs
with the leglslaturo in the attempts to
get a charter-some of the coal was
brought to Phlladehlhla. When this
was and where the first attempt was
made to bum the fuel here are matters -
ters still In dlspu te. 'I'ho assertion is
made that 11. loall of anthmcite was
hl'ought to Phlludelphla and vut under
the boiler of the pumping engines in
the Center Square watm' works about
the beginning of the last ce tur ' . It
is told that when anthracite was tried
under the boiler in the water wOI'les It
actually put out the lire. The preju.
dice against the "stone coal" wus so
gl'eat that It was : rears before another
attempt was made In the same place.
, Tohn Binns , who nome fiO 'cars or
more ago was a democratic politician
of Importance In the QUllker city , In
his book or recoUections claims the
i honor of having heen the first to
make the attempt to burn Lehigh
coal. He Calls to give the exact dat ,
but what he says possesses Intorest.
"When this coal was dlscoverell , about
the rear 1805 , " he says , "thero was
much sl1eculatlon , anll not a little anxIety -
Iety , as to its quality and quantlt ' .
In the legislative session of 1810-11
an apllllcatlon was made for an act
of assembly to Incorpornte a cOlIlpan '
to wOl'k the LehIgh coal mines , To as.
slst In obtaining this charter the per.
sons most Interested Inducella German
mineralogist to eXIJlaln to the mem-
hers of the legislature the nature of
the coal , the prolmhle extent of the
mines and the facility with which , at
a moderate eXIllnse , the coal could
e hrought to marlcet.
"Before he left the mines he sent
to me to Phlladeltlllla a wagon load of
the coal , the best he hall , In the hope
thllt I would , In mr newspallCr , give
it Rome celebrlly , which , In lI'uth , I
was well disposed to do. ' 1'0 enahle
me so to 110 I 11ald 11 stovomaker $50
for a semicircular sheetlron stove , I\nd
hlld It llIlt up In my private olJlce , in
orller to hurn that coal. A sufficiency
of charcoal , It was thought , was Ilut
into the steve and the coal , which WIlS
in 11retty larHo lUInllS , WIlS lald'on the
red hot charcoal. ' 1'0 assist Ignition
wo drcw and 1\Olit togethel' the clrcu.
111.1' sheetlron doors. It was u , cold
morning ; there were some half dozcn
frIends watching the eXllerlment : but ,
aills and Illackada ' ! after some hours
find the consumption of plUch charcoal -
coal , the 'StOIlO coa ) ' would not hum ,
tlIld all It would do W1\S \ to look red
IIIw stones in n. wellheated lImo lclln.
When taken out at night the coals
wen. , to 1\ll appeamnce , as large as
when Hl'St cast lIto the stJvc.Yhat. ! .
eveI' the cause , such WnG Ule result
of the first attempt to burn Lehigh
coal In Phllndol11hlu , where , Dlnco that
tlmo , millions at tons at It hnvo been
welcomed and consumed. "
1\11' . Binns relntes that anthmcito
Was discovered about the ) 'oar 1805 ,
but In this ho was In 01'1'01' , Cor it is
on record that coal was found on the
Lehigh ten ) 'e1\1'a before ho came to
this countr ' , In IS02. So far as the
company of which he Blleales Is can.
cernell It. ma ' b said that , although
It was formed in 1792 , it did mUe
to advance Its lIuslness fol' many
' and ' lIefore tho'
I 'ears , fl'equontly wns
leglslat\11'o fOI' the 11\11'110S0 of 8eourln&
a charter. With duo regard for Mr.
Binns' atatement , It muy be sail ! that
the attemllt In the water worls In
Center Squure l1eoms to have prcceded
'his eXllonsl\'e attempt to bum "stono
coa1. "
' ' 1'he reason that anthmclto was re.
celved with so much sUSl11clon was
due to the fact thatthoso who attempt.
e to burn It did not lenow how. No
wond01' they cal1ell It "stono coa1. "
It was left fol' .Tudge FeU , as men.
tloned , to devise n 111'01101' grate f01'
the purpose so that the necessary
draught could he obtained. Some
yenrs afterward ho told the story Ofl
his succcss In Stillman's Journal , nnw
Imown as the .Tournal of the Franlclln
Institute. In thla account he sars : '
"From observation I had conceived the
Wen. that If II body of this coal was ,
Ignited and conflnml together It wouhll
burn as fuel. ' 1'0 tr ' the experiment In
the month of Februar ' , 1808 , I had
a gmte constructed for the p\11'pose ,
eight Inches In dellth and eight inches ,
In height , with feet olght Inches high
and about 22 Inches long ( the length
Is Immaterial , as thut mu ' 110 regulat.
ed to suit its USO 01' convenience ) , and
the coal , aft01' helng Ignited In It ,
burned beyond the most sanguine ex-
110ctaUons. A more heautlful flro
could not bo Imagined , It being clom'
and without smolce. ' 1'hls was the
first instance of succeSS In bumln.r . ;
this coal In n gmto In a common firo.
Illace of which I have any knowledge ,
and this OXl10riment first bl'ought our
cOlli into use for winter fires ( without
any patent right ) . "
Just 60 years after Judge Pe1l's success -
cess foul' : roung men were rltllng to.
goth01' in n coach which was travellng
toward Wllkes.Barre. One ot the four
was n grandson or .Judge Fel1. He
luul that day been rending an account
In an old copy of a well Imown Ma.
sonic boole of the experiment made by
his grandslre , and when he mentlonml
It , one of the memuors of the party
happened to recaU that the date of
this event was just 60 years previous.
The 'oung men were struck by the coincidence -
incidence , and determined that something -
thing should be done.
When they arrivcd in WllIees.Darro
they set about stirring up interest ,
1\1111 called 1puhllc meeting , to beheld
held that evening in the same old
tavern in which Judge Fell had car-
rl ( l on his eXllerlment. The four
'ounH men were James Plater Dennis ,
gmndson of Judge Foil ; Henry Mar-
trn Hoyt , latc ! ' governor ot Pennsylvania -
vania ; John Butler Conyngham and
Stanley 'Voollward , the latter afterward -
ward one of the leading jurlsta of the
state. ' 1'hese foul' became the found.
ers of the 'Wyoming IIlstol'lcal and
Geological soclet ' , fOl'med as a result
at that night's meeting , It is thIs organization -
ganization thut now pUl'poses to cele-
hrato the 100th anniversary of this
eXllerhuent of .Tudgo Fell and the ,50th
annlvorsar ) ' of Its own founding at
the same time. It was at a meeting
of this society recentl ' that the facts
concerning the old Jcsso FeU grate
were learned , for a lII111er onVhero
Is the Omte on Which Jesse FeU
1\1ado Ills SuccO ! ! ful BXlleriment ot
Burning Anthracite Coal ? " was read
by Rev. H. E , HaYden , curator of the
socletr.
1\11' . lIa 'den has made an exhaustive
study of the subjclJt and hus como to
the conclusion thut the original grate
Is not now in existence , anll that "tho
enl ' well authenticated grate extant
belongln ! ; to Judge Fell" Is that heretofore -
tofore Imown as the Klernnn 01' loJic1c
rate , and now In the 1I0ssession at
the historical sucletr ,
- - -
A woman ne\'ol' llesllates to marry
n roue , because hOl' vanlt ' malccs her
1I0lievo that she can hold him against
all othel.'women.
- " . . .