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Eighty Years Ago England and United States Were on the Verge of Another War?and It All Was the Result of the Killing of a Pig! By ELMO SCOTT WATSON (tMsased by Western Newspaper Union.) IN VIEW of the recent visit of the King and Queen of England, with all the British-American good will which it is supposed to have engendered, it is inter esting to recall that just 80 years ago the two countries, who had been opponents in two wars, were on the verge of another. And it all started with a pig! Of course, this animal, which wa^ the property of a Briton, was only a minor actor in the international drama. But its death at the bands of an American proved to be the first incident in a chain of events which, for a time, seemed to be leading inevitably to hostilities. The crisis came about in this manner: During the 10 years whicn lol lowed the close ot the Mexican war, tha rapid settlement ot Cali fornia and the Oregon country by tha Americans resulted in consid erable friction between them and the English residents of the Pa cific Northwest. So it came about that San Juan island, which lies off the coast of the present state of Washington and over which the Hudson's Bay company asserted a proprietary right, became a reason for dis pute when some American farm ers and small merchants, some 29 in number, settled there, firm in the belief that it belonged to the United States. Disagreements over the most trifling things arose almost immediately. It is impos sible to say who was most to blame for the bad feeling that sprang up between the arrogant Hudson's Bay men and the trucu lent Americans. But affairs grad ually drifted from bad to worse. Finally one spring morning in 1(58 a certain L. E. Cutter, an American, found a pig belonging to the Hudson's Bay company rooting fo his cornfield. In the first flush of his anger he shot the beast, then decided he had acted -too hastily. So he went to tha local H. B. C. agent and of fered lb pay him the value of the pig. His offer was refused and when the matter was reported to Superintendent Dallas at Victoria on Vancouver island, Dallas im mediately hastened to San Juan island and threatened to arrest Cutter and take him back to Vic toria for trial under British law. 1{|* Arrest for Him. Of course, such a threat was a veritable red rag to the Ameri can. He seized his rifle and told Dallas that If he tried to make an ari-est he would suffer the same fate as the "? ? British pig." Dpllas was sufficiently im pressed by Cutter's determined air so that he hastily returned to tfctoria. Meanwhile the other Americans on the island sent a message to the Military commander of the department of the Columbia at Peart Vancouver, Wash., telling of the indignities they had suf fered at the hands of the H. B. C. agenta, including Dallas' threat to arrest Cutter, and demanding that their government give them protection. The department com mander was Brig. Gen. William S. Harney, a successful Indian fighter and typical hard-boiled of ficer 6f the "old army." Also he was a man accustomed to acting promptly, if not always wisely. So without waiting to consult his superiors in the war depart ment, Hafney ordered a company ef Infantry to San Juan island to protect" the inhabitants from the depredations of the northern In dians who had been troubling them; "to afford adequate protec tee to the American citizens in their rights as such. Also, to resist all attempts at interference lp meant Of force or intimidation hi the controversies of the above mentioned parties by the British authorities residing on Vancouver island." Ajpfftiftingly on July 27, 1859. Company D of the Ninth United Slates infantry, commanded by Capt. George E. Pickett, landed ?n San Juan island welcomed by the hurree at the Americans on the disputed terrain. Immediate ly afterwards. Captain Pickett, Showing a fine disregard for dip lomatic amenities, issued a proc lamation placing the island un der the jurisdiction of the United States. Then he selected a good defensive position for his camp "wtth a view to the establishment ef a force at Ave or six compa nies for a long stay." Of course, the news of his no ten was carried to the British at Victoria immediately and H caused a great stir there. Every ene, from Sir James Douglas, , grveznor^of Jhe^crown coiony of VANCOUVER ^^^^1 VANCOUVER ISLAND ^T^BJ^^Eibeuingham viaoRiAjR|JJKjm A ? WASHINGT ON Capt. Pickett's action was not only a violation of the treaties be tween the United States and Great Britain in regard to settle ment of disputes over title to the northwestern country, but, all in all, it was a most unheard-of pro ceeding. Sir James Douglas had at his disposal enough troops to sweep the insignificant little American force into the sea and if the Yan kees were foolish enough to re sist, they would jolly well deserve the treatment that they got, etc., etc., etc. All of which was duly reported to Captain Pickett who calmly went ahead putting his camp in order. British Warship Appears. On July 30 his orderly told him that a ship was in sight and at the same time handed him a let ter. When Pickett stepped out of his tent he saw a British warship bearing down upon the island. It was the Tribune, a 31-gun frig ate from the naval station at Es quimau near Victoria. This looked as though the Brit ish really meant to make good their threats. But Pickett was undaunted by this show of force. Ordering his men to run their only piece of artillery, a ? little six-pounder, to a place where it could sweep the island's only wharf he instructed his force of 66 men to stand to arms, ready for instant action. But suddenly the sails of the Tribune were furled and she dropped anchor, broadside on, a short distance off shore. There she lay grim and foreboding while Pickett, seeing that no im mediate trouble was likely, tore open the envelope the orderly had handed him. In it was a letter from the agent of the Hudson's Bay company informing him that San Juan island belonged to the company and ordering him to leave immediately. If he did not, the letter taid, the company would appeal to the civil author!- 4 ties at Victoria to force him to go. The captain wrote a letter in reply in which he denied the right of the Hudson's Bay company to dictate his course at action, point ed out that he was there upon orders from his government and affirmed his intention of staying until be was recalled by the same authority. Then he wrote a re port of what had happened to Harney and ended it with a re quest for a supply of window sashes and doors which he said were needed to make his men comfortable during the autumn and winter! On August 3 two more British warships dropped anchor along side the Tribune. They were the Satellite, 31 guns, and the Plump er, 10 guns. Picket's only re sponse to thh bigger threat was to bring up two mountain howl ts ars, place them beside his ate poundrr and train them on the ships. Thereupon Captain Hornby, the senior British naval officer, in vited the American captain to come aboard the Tribune for a conference on this matter of who ownad San Juan island. Pickett declined the invitation but asked the three naval captains to a con ference in his camp. His invita tion was accepted and the British officers demanded that the Unit ed States troops be withdrawn. When Pickett declined to do that they next proposed that troops of both nations occupy the island jointly. Pickett refused to accept any such arrangement and added that until he could com municate With his government and receive Its instructions on the matter, he would- oppose with force any attempt of the British to land troops on the island. Seeing that they could neither bluff nor persuade the American captain, the Britons returned to their ships. The parting.was am icable enough, with many expres sions of respect and esteem on both sides. Meanwhile the H. B. C. had been busy and prevailed upon the civil authorities of Brit ish Columbia to summon him to appear before a Victoria magis trate. Pickett's reply to that move is not recorded in the offi cial correspondence of this whole affair?it was probably a bit too warm to be entrusted to paper. " A week passed with the Brit ish on Vancouver island in a tur moil over the situation. Pickett calmly sat tight as though un aware of all the fuss that his Brit ish neighbors were making. It was all rather ludicrous but it is doubtful if Pickett's men saw the humor of the situation. There was no telling when the British might launch an attack. A Critical Situation. Of course, If they did, the first shot fired would be a declaration of war and would brand them as the aggressors. But that would be small comfort to the 66 in fantrymen if a blast from the British cannon snuffed out their lives. They probably thought of that when two more British ships joined the three already at anchor off the island. Now there was a force of five ships, carrying 167 guns and 2,140 men, 600 of them marines and engineer troops, try ing to intimidate them and force them to evacuate the island. But the British evidently didn't realize the caliber of this man Pickett. He just wouldn't be bluffed! Neither would General Hamey who, from distant Fort Vancouver, sent dispatches by the Shubrick. a small vessel com manded by Captain Alden of the United States navy, approving of Pickett's action and taking the responsibility if an armed clash should result. He also engaged la a fierce but dignified corre spondence with Governor Doug las in which he steadfastly main tained his right to keep his troops on the island. On August 10 the tension less ened somewhat for Pickett whan reinforcements, consisting of four companies of infantry, command ed by Lieut. Col. Silas Casey of the Ninth infantry and a battery of eight 32-pounders arrived at San Juan. Because of a dense fog they could not get up to the wharf near which lay the Brit ish men-of-war. Bo they landed on the beach a short distance away and the first intimation that the British had of the arrival of help for the Americans was when they saw their tents pitched beside those of Pickett* a 66 men. With the arrival of the lieutenant colonel, the young lieutenant's re sponsibility ended, for Casey im mediately assumed command of the whole force on the island. Four days later three more com panies of infantry arrived. With the opposing forces more nearly equal, the danger of a conflict was lessened. Eventually the diplomats ar ranged for a joint occupation of the island by both nations, each keeping one company of soldiers there. But when the final settle ment wan made San Juan ill and became a part of Oregon terri tory. Today it Is a part of the state of Washington. The San Juan island pig, whoae death nearly precipitated a war between the United States and Great Britain, wasn't the first to be the central figure in an "inter national incident." Just 100 years ago there was a similar case down in Texas. At that time Texas was a re public to which the United States, England and France sent official representatives. The French charge d' affairs was Count Du boise de Saligny who, upon his arrival in Austin in 1839, lodged at the leading hostelry kept by James Bullock. Alter a time the French diplomat called lor his bill. When it was presented he declared indignantly that it was too high and relused to pay it. So arbitrators were appointed and they reduced the bill to a sum which Bullock relused to ac cept because he said it was much too low. Meanwhile De Saligny had moved from the hotel to a wooden structure which became the official French embassy building. Being a fastidious gen tleman, the count furnished it beautifully and had his servants cultivate an attractive garden around it. Not only did Mr. Bullock run the principal hotel but he also owned a number o1 hogs which he permitted to roam at large. One morning Count de Saligny glanced out his window and was horrified to see some of the Bul lock hogs rooting in his garden. He hastily sent his servants to scare them away. But no soon er had they returned to the house than the hogs returned to the gar den. Again they were chased out and the count, thoroughly exas perated by this time, gave his servants orders to shoot every pig that ventured into his garden thereafter. A short time later Bullock missed some of his hogs and, blaming the French diplomat for the loss, complained to the gov GEN. W. 8. HARNEY eminent of Texas. James S. Mayfleld, secretary of state, ad dressed a formal inquiry to the count. In reply the Frenchman wrote bitterly of his sufferings "from the many hogs with which this town is infested" and partic ularly those of Mr. Bullock. He declared that his servants had used no less than 140 pounds of nails in repairing the palings of his fence "which these animals have thrown down tor the pur pose of eating the com of my horses and destroying my gar den." But he didn't deny respon . sibility for the disappearance of Bullock's hogs. Thereupon the keeper of the hostelry flew into a rage and when he encountered Eugene Pluyette, one of the count's serv ants, on the street he gave the man a thrashing. The result was a formal demand by De Saligny upon the secretary of state for protection due a foreign minis ter and his retinue. Although Bul lock was indicted for the assault it was evident that the Texas of ficials were sympathetic to him and had little intention of punish ing him. Irritated by' their stalling tac tics, De Saligny complained to the French government But he soon had gn even more serious matter to report. The choleric Mr. Bullock proceeded next to thrash the French emissary him self. When the officials of Texas refused to take official cognizanoe of this attack, the indignant count rushed off another complaint to Paris, pointing out how the honor of dignity of France itself had been injured by this ruffian of a bote lk ee per. More than that he announced to his friends in Austin that the French government was sending a fleet of warships to the Texas coast to see that proper apolo gies were made for the humiliat ing assault upon the honor of France. Next he demanded his passports and went to New Or leans to await developments. It so happened that about this time the government of the Unit ed States sent a squadron of its warships to the Gulf of Mexico. Whether this was done as a warn ing to France, which may or may not have intended to make good De Saligny'? threat, is un known. But the fact remains that no French warships appeared off the coast of Texas although it is a matter of record that, because of the indignities which her am bsasador had suffered, France declined to make a loan of *6,000, 000 which Texas wae trying to float in that country at that time. Dueling Once Common in U. S. Some Famous Meetings Had .Tragic Endings, Others Merely Comic. WASHINGTON, D. C.?America's swashbuckling past echoed faintly In the news recently, when a Mis souri college officially repealed, among other outmoded restrictions, the 1860 ban on student duels. "Dueling has been outlawed in the United States since post-Civil war days when the various states pro hibited it," points out the National Geographic society. "But the habit of settling differences of honor, love and politics by physical combat was slow to die out. As late as 1883, a duel was recorded in Virginia when two editors of opposing newspapers "had it out* with bullets. Missing on the first shot, they fired again, when one was badly wounded. Hamilton Versos Burr. "Many famous (as well as quite a few obscure) duels have had more tragic endings, although some were merely anticlimatic. Fatal to Alex ander Hamilton, in 1804, was the one in which he met his political rival, Aaron Burr, when the latter was vice president. The handsome and popular naval hero, Stephen Deca tur, died 16 years later, after a duel with James Barron, who also was severely wounded. This meeting, finally arranged after months of for mal correspondence, 'settled' a mis understanding that might have been cleared up by a simple explanation. "There was the duel, in 1828, be tween Henry Clay and John Ran dolph of Roanoke, following a clash over the government's foreign pol icy. At the appointed place, on the Virginia side of the Potomac, both men missed on the first shot; on the second, Clay's bullet went through the skirt of Randolph's coat. Ran dolph fired into the air. Jackson Had Many. "Among other national figures who took their quarrels to the 'field of honor,' Andrew Jackson was credited by one chronicler in 1828 with a list of 103 battles, including 'duels, fights, and altercations.' "Due to the anticlimax of poor marksmanship as well as to the wit sometimes expressed on these seri ous occasions by the participants in the drama, duels have frequently had a comic aspect Mark Twain wrote humorously on the subject; while another wit who once declined the honor of the 'affair of honor,' and was threatened by his irate challenger with exposure in the newspapers, remarked that he would rather 'fill two newspapers than one coffin.' " Survey Shows Marriages Drop During Depression CINCINNATI.?Effects jot the de pression on the marriage rate and ages are revealed in a report issued at the University of Cincinnati, based oa a survey by Mrs. Frances Meurer Deputy, of Indianapolis, graduate student in the field of so ciology. Mrs. Deputy found that weddings were not simply postponed when business conditions were poor but frequently were prevented per manently. Mrs. Deputy examined marriage license application records for 1929 to 1938 in Marion county, Indiana, which includes the city of Indianapo lis, and has a population of 422,866. A drop in the number of marriages was noted from 1929 to 1932 and an increase in the last six years. "This increase," Mrs. Deputy said, "might ordinarily be interpreted as a result of postponed weddings dur ing the first four years of the de pression." Hold Land Relics Found In Spire of Paris Chapel PARIS.?In the gilded ball at the summit of the spire of the Sainte Chape lie, which is now being re paired, has been discovered a cas ket containing remains of the relics brought back from the Holy Land by St Louis. The Sainte ChapeUe was built seven centuries ago to preserve these rel ics, and numerous ceremonies are being held in the chapel commem orating the occasion. The last time the chapel spire was repaired was in 1857; the casket contained a doc ument inserted with the relics at that time. Temporarily, while the repair work is being completed, the relics have been placed in the treas ury of Notre Dame, but will be re placed in the golden ball when the work iq finished. Marriage Chancea Rated Better in South Africa CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA As eligible bachelor or spinster Is more likely to get married in South Africa than in any other part at the world. Statistics show that at every thou sand eligible persons in the Union of South AfriCk, 23 are likely to be married this year. In the United States the figure would be 21; in Britain, IT; France, 12; Germany, 8; Japan, IS; Denmark, 12; and Aus tralia, 11. Other figures show that a South African's average expectation oI life is nearly 58 years, compared with an Australian's 83Mi, an American's 81. a Briton's 80 and an Egyptian's ?L By U L. STEVENSON New York: Desiring to see the Aquacade at the World's (air, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Hood of Charlotte, N. C., joined a ticket-booth line in which there were probably 600 per sons. When the line hadn't moved an inch in 10 minutes, Mr. Hood asked a fair policeman what was causing the delay. The reply was that there was no delay. "But what are they doing in line?" persisted the North Carolin ian. "Oh, just standing," replied the officer. "That's a habit New York ers have. If any one is waiting they line up to see what will happen. When you go back to town? stop and look up at the sky and you'll have a mob around you in no time. This crowd's probably waiting for the next show, which will come three hours later." With that Mr. Hood stepped up to the window, bought tickets and he and his wife went in, leaving the 500 outside. ? ? ? Free-Show: Steam-shovel addicts ?the shovels are really gasoline powered nowadays?got eyes full in two ways while a monster was en gaged in chewing up the etreet in the vicinity of where the old post office building once stood. Kibitzers were on hand in plenty as the big scoop plowed up huge bites of as phalt and the sight of course was one eyeful. The other came in the way of dust stirred up by the work. Nevertheless, a large portion of the audience was so deeply interested that it didn't mind the dust And dust in the eye isn't pleasant either. I speak from first-hand knowledge acquired in the vicinity of where the old post office building once stood. ? ? ? Three Cheers: When he came up to a blind man who was hesitating at Broadway and Fifty-first street and offered to help him across, he had every indication of being one of those "good Samaritans" com mon in this supposed-to-be-emery hearted city- But as he was leading the blind man, he attempted to pick his pocket He might have got away with it, too, had it not been for the Havana-Madrid doorman who witnessed the whole proceed ing from his post The doorman captured the thief and before turn ing him over to the police gave him what is known as a "going over" and did it so thoroughly the thief was actually glad when a cop came up. And so, a salute to a deserving doorman. Behind N. I. Scenes: Scrubwom en who wash down thousands of steps after office workers go to their homes ... A chef in the kitchen of a large hotel who juggles plates when not busy . . . An information booth attendant in Grand Central asks a companion for the right word to fill out a cross-word puzzle . . . Tazicab drivers sit around listening to ball games on dull afternoons . . . Two street cleaners take time oft to pick horses from a racing sheet . . . A traffic cop in the back of a tailor shop leaves his wet raincoat to dry . . . Clerks ordered around during working hours order waitresses around during lunch hour . . . Thanks to Bob Stanley, musical di rector, for this assist. ? ? ? Protection: Frank Benedict, the veteran engineer, told me of the saloon in Superior, Wis., where a number of engineers were gathered and talking railroading. A stranger came in and, taking his place at a bar, asked the man in the white apron if he had an umbrella. "What do you want an umbrella for?" asked the bartender. "It isn't raining." "I want to keep the cinders out of my beer," was the reply. ? ? ? Ead Piece: Someone with a flair for mathematics has figured out that Jane From an can do almost 07 hours of continuious warbling with out resorting to sheet music or re puting a number. Miss Froman, if seems, knows the words to 2.000 songs which have been done over the air in the last few years. The average tune of one verse and one chorus rims two minutes. Thus, 4,080 minutes or 86 hours and 40 minutes, which is enough to indi cate that the gal has a good mem ory. (BsO Syndicate?WXU SotIMJ Steeplejack's Dog Follows Tradition PORTLAND, ORE.-Lady, an Austrian shepherd dog, trotted back and forth on the parapet of the fourteenth story of a down town Portland building and re fused to leave her dizzy perch Office workers leaned from win dows and a crowd gathered in the street far below. Peace and quiet were restored only when Steeplejack Roy Smith, her mas ter, climbed down from a 00-foot flagpole be was painting and chained his dog to the not. POULTRY BRED FOR PRODUCTION: D??ki RAISED FOR PKOK1T: CkUte SOLD BT QUALITY: Tirltji STARTED CBICE8: Palitta M1LFOBD HATCHEBY^^^ Showing the Latest Button-Front Styles VTO WONDER button - front * ' dresses are so popular far midsummer! They go on without mussing your hair or getting mussed themselves. They look so smart, crisp and tailored, and they are easiest of all to press! No. 1787 is an unusually pretty version, so easy to make that even beginners can do it. Inside pleats make your waistline small. Gathers give a nice round bustline. Make this of gingham, lmen, pique or shark skin, and trim it with lace or braid. Buttons to the Waistline. A new and delightfully different version of the button-front is No. 1790. It h?s buttons to the waist line only. The skirt is cut with a wide lap-over, and a pretty, circu lar swing. Por this, choose ging ham, percale, linen or pique, with snowy trills to make it the mora cool-looking and becoming. The Patterns. No. 1787 is designed for sizes 14, 16, 18, 20, 40 and 42. Size 16 re quires 4% yards of 35-inch mate rial with short sleeves; 1% yards of lace or braid. No. 1790 is designed for sizes 34, 36, 38, 40, 42, 44, 46 and 48. Size 36 requires 4% yards of 39-inch material without nap; 2% yards of trimming. Send your order to The Sewing Circle Pattern Dept., 247 W. Forty-third street, New York, N. Y. Price of patterns, 15 cents (in coins) each (Bell Syndicate?WNU Service.) How Women in Their 40's Can Attract Men Hot's food advice for ft woman during wr chance (usually from 88 to 62), wholaaia she'll lorn bar appeal to man, who worries about hot Pooh*. looo ot pop. dl*7 apolo. upset Bonras and moody spells. Gat more (rash air, 8 bra. sleep and if yoa ?psrisflft /er ?aiftsn. It helps Natwe build ap physical resistance, thus helps five more vfvsdty to enjoy life and aaaiet calming jittery servesa?d disturbingeymptOOTSt QakBrtmSr*- ^ ^ ? Motto of Quarrels Weakness on both sides, as we all know, is the motto of sill quar rels?Voltaire. ? Jfy KILL ALL FLIES ^ {?ermtam kod kfli 1m. i Ciuuutcad, ?fertlva. N?i I KUlWit ? HQ'*" I WOlBot Bfl Ttn)flRIB7UhC I Lmh iO aaniL IOi aTil I fhali n bran Sown, nc^ I li6Di ubAm3VrUi.T. I For the Cause It is the cause and not the death, that makes the martyr.?Napo leon. Too tad from announaad la tha eoluaana ol this papas fa, merchants of out who do not faal they must knap tha quality of Stair marchgn dtea or Stab pdoaa uadac ooaar. it is sofa to bur of tha mar chant who ADVERTISES.
The Alamance Gleaner (Graham, N.C.)
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Aug. 10, 1939, edition 1
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