A FAMOUS FLAG

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 29, 4 February 1925, Page 7

A FAMOUS FLAG

ORIGINAL "OLD GLORY"

WITNESS OF STRANGE SCENES

GALLANT AMERICAN MARINER.

The origin of the term "Old Glory," as; a pqpular name for 'the American national flag, is interestingly told, along w|(,|»!.the history of the flag and its owner, in' the "New York Times" by 11. S. Bryant. William Driver, although he had just reached his twenty-first birthday, had for several years been a deep-water sailor of judgment and action far beyond most youths p'f his age, and so on 17th March, 1824, he celebrated not only his arrival at the. age fixed by law and custom as the beginning of manhood, but also his elevation to the very pinnacle of his profession, tli rank'of master mariner, the youngest man ever to; attain that rank;so far us he or arty of his friends knew. ylt was a day of rejoicing for which grout preparations had^ been made, the most • important amougf'them being the making in secret of a splendid .American Hag. At the appointed time tjie. young sailor was ushered in state into a hitherto closed room,' to behold the handiwork of his devoted mother and girl friends, who had realised what such a gift, would mean to one whose patriotism and devotion to his flag and the ideals for which it stood were well Unown. A moment's pause while he controlled his emotion and the boy sprang forward, grasped the flag in his. hand and, .turning toward his family and friends, exclaimed, "Old Glory!" And so it was done; a name never to be forgotten was given to go down the ages •is an affectionate nickname for the emblem of liberty. "Old Glory" was true to its name through the hurricanes and blistering sunshine of the seven seas, the dangers of the impassjoned sectionalism of the Ljvjl War, and the usurpation of its name and honours • by fraudulent aspirants for its true fame.

SHIP SAVED BY A DOG,. In- two trips around -the world and lessor qiies tp New -Zealand, Australia and elsewhere, "Old Glory" beheld many strange and exciting' incidents, among them the saying of the ship by the captain's dog Charlie in/the 'South 1 acitie. Knowing the ah'ievrng ' instincts, of the natives, Captain Driver ordered that while at anchor all li'>hl iron and leaden objects be taken below and that he be called if any canoes came near the ship. Suddenly aware of confused sounds and trampliivj on deck . he rushed up 'the companionway, to lmd the decks filled with native men and women,, the former in their war mats, strutting around as if the ship belonged to them.

They were members of a large war party in ten canoes uncV,v the command of Te 'i'era, oneof the worst men ot bore Rodica!/ bound iiorth«on a plundering expedition. A hasty examination revealed that the natives had already stolen the leaden gun- unions, pump bolts, and deep sea leads.^Captain Driver ordered Te Tera to lake his party out of the ship, ' The, answer vyas an insultjng .-laugh.- Exasperated, the captain ■ called all hands, each asmed with a cutlass amUbraee of Jieayy na.vy: pistols. • -He also" ordered two" short twelve-pound carronades to be loaded to the muzzle and trained to .'sweep-: the decks, adding to his commands the direction that 'liisrhuin were to' lire when ordered, regardless, of. I,is own safety -lo lera saw- that he was in a tight place and ordered part of his followers into theyr canoes, where eacU produced an English musket and prepared for ac-

Unwilling to strike the first blow Uptaliv Driver coiilr! not for a moment determine how to ml. liimself of ins unwelcomp coiiipany wiUr- (.ho least possible damage. Suddenly he saw the dog Charhp straining at liis leash. Taking le'Tewi. l:»y, the hand he Jed him to the gangway, showed him five minutes on-his watch and made it clear that it he and his crowd wereMiot pff the ship by that time the dog would lie turned Joose. A" sneering laugh was turned to a, shriek of dismay when Uiarhe, cut loose by the cabin boy, J ablo, dashed aniong the natives still onboard, biting and tearing their flesh. J-noy went overboard like howlin» wolves leaving mqst . oE the ato!en ° behind them, Te Tera himself showed ins personal-bravery-by being the last to leave the ship, and, after swimming to ]iis canoe, nearly v mjle away, ho danced his war dunce and exhibited tna stolen deep scq, lead in defiance. AIDED THE PITCAIBN ISLANDERS. Later "Old Glory" saw her owner in urn character of the Good Samaritan rescuing from Tahiti and restoring to tlieir homus on pitcairn Island the descendants of the survivors of the Bounty mutineers. Driven from.- Pitcairn '-v ecarwty of water a British ship had unded them in Tahiti a few months be-loi-o. They arrived, on a Sunday . and their hearts were filled with delight at the sight of the green hills of their new home. Alas! they had arrived at the moment of a native revolution and almost as they watched, the' calm 'was broken by the sound of/the war conch and the cry of battle. • _ The Pitcairn people, who for years had Jived as one great family, unsullied and unacquainted with the vices .of the world,.were landed mr the midst of the depraved followers of Queen Pomara With eyes rudely opened to the disgusting scenes around them, the Pitcairn flock, pointing to their children begged to be taken back to their own na),ive hills.

Cut Government orders could not be disobeyed. The British ship had been ordered to remove the • Piteairn people to lahiti, and. without orders to the contrary .could do nothing more. Leaving them with six months' supplies tho ship sailed away, and Queen..Poraara gave them a little village to dwell jn until they, could build a bettor Settlement on land set aside for them, ' Such was the situation on 23rd July 1031 when Captain Driver, in the bri.' Miarles Doggett, with <'Qjtl Glory" fK° ">S at. the masthead, anchored in Mattai' ai »i n Immediately he was besieged Ijy the. 1 itcairn people to .take them back to their native island. Despite the fact ii!at his ship's insurance would be voided should accident befall him, which in' those dangerous and little known seas was more than a possibility, and, further that his ship was a small one-ioo small in the event of a storm to permit of all going helow-he listened to the voice of compassion and agreed to do his best to restore the islanders to their former home The voyage consumed twenty-one days. The captain slept on deck the entire time; the hatches were cT s lckt Ss d 'thereWaSnofcasin Sle^

KIVALS TO THE NAME About six years later "Captain .'Driver quit his sea:anng life, and took up his resl« at Nashville, Tennessee,- whitl t or Old Gory" accompanied him, to bo displayed on -gala .occasions. Hero it Hung to the bree?e on Lincoln's election md remained until Tennessee seceded from thojDnion. It was then taken in ■»od sewed inside of a bed quilt that it

might not be found and confiscated. It remained hidden until the morning of 25th February, 1862, when the Federal troops occupied Nashville and "Old Glory was brought forth amid the cheers of the soldiers to fly from the- dome of the State House. The war over, "Old Glory" again disappeared until some years later a flag bearing that name was placed on exhibition in the ?ssex Institute at Salem, Massachusetts, its birthplace. And now arose the greatest dispute in the history of this grand old flag. Another claimant for the title of "Old Glory" appeared far out in Nevada and the controversy waxed warm between the rival factious. But ''murder will put," and in duo time the Western claimant proved to be the rightful possessor of the title. Thereupon th.fi officials, of the Essex Institute, who, had acted in good fa.jth jn exhibiting what they supposed to be" the real flag, removed the impostor, and tq President Harding fell the duty," on behalf of the daughter of Captain Driver, of presenting to the National Museum at Washington^ the genuine "Old Glory" for permanent preservation. There it may be seen in company with the original "Star Spangled Banner and other flags linked inseparably with the history of our nation.'' ■ /