Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 280, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 November 1910 — HE NAMED "OLD GLORY.” [ARTICLE]

HE NAMED "OLD GLORY.”

Life Story of Captain William Driver, Who Christened the Flag. Captain William Driver, the man who christened the American flag “Old Glory,” was born in Salem, Mass., March 17. 1803. At the age of 13 Driver was apprenticed to a blacksmith, instead of making plows and shoeing horses, however, the blacksmith’s wife set him at work milking cows and doing light chores. In order that he might surpass the other boys of the place in personal appearance, the blacksmith’s wife clothed him with a shirt waist of unbleached goods, with great rows of ruffles down the front. Driver demurred, but the blacksmith’s wife insisted that the shirt must stay on. However, when Driver was going out through the gate it was noticed that he rolled up his sleeves; he knew that he was in for a fight with every boy in town. When he got around the corner he carefully cut away as touch of the ruffles as he could, but he had to fight, nevertheless; and he cameout of it all triumphant, though somewhat disfigured, as might be expected of a lad that has to lick the whole crowd just because some woman puts a ridiculous costume on him. So he ran away and went to sea. During his first voyage at sea after a severe storm, which caused the ship to spring a leak, the men refused to work the pumi|s unless their wages were raised. The old Captain of the ship sent Driver below for his pistols and pipe. When he brought them on deck the Captain cut the boats loose, lit his pipe, sat down and notified the crew they would either pump or “all hands would go to hell together.” They returned to the pump and saved the ship. He sailed with this Captain for five years, who soon afterward made him mate, and from him he learned many valuable and useful lessons. He left him to become a mate on another vessel, and soon afterwards trading master. At the age of 21 he was made master of a ship in 1824. It was about at this time that he christened the flag “Old Glory,’’ as he and his old Captain had seen some stirring times under its folds and considered no name too sacred for it. He commanded different ships from that time on until he left the ocean and settled In Nashville, Tenn., in 1837. He passed through many thrilling and perilous adventures after he became Captain, was chased by a heavily armed “Yankee pirate” in the Caribbean Sea for six hours. He outsailed and dodged him in the dark, and saw the pirate hanged afterward, much to Captain Driver’s satisfaction. He, had considerable experience with Malay pirates and South Sea cannibals, to say nothing of the ocean storms. He left Salem once' in company with six other vessels. They were caught in one of the worst snaw and wind storms ever known on the New England coast. His ship alone escaped; the other six and all on beard were lost. He stood at the wheel for 48 hours during the storm and saved his ship. During this voyage he rescued 65 persons, descendants of the mutineers of the English ship Bounty, who had been taken from Pitcairn Island to Tahiti and were dying with fever. He took them back to Pitcairn Island, their original home, 1,400 miles out of his course, free. He received a very pathetic testimonial. for his kindness, dated September 5, 1831, signed by their teacher, George Hl Noble and others. From there he sailed completely around Australia and adjacent islands before he returned home. He afterward made two trips around the world, the last in 1836, in the ship Black Warrior, was the shortest on record for a sailing vessel, the log showing about 40,000 miles in 197 sailing days, nearly seven miles log run per hour, fair or foul weather. The trip including 80 days’ stoppage in ports, made it altogether 268 days.

This was his last trip to sea. His flag “Old Glory” which had been his companion for years he packed in his camphor wood sea chest and moved to Nashville, Tenn., in 1817, where he died March 2, 1886. He gave the flag to his daughter, Mary Jane Roland, in 1873. She still has it in her possession at Welts, Nev. Its original dimension was 10 by 20 feet, blue field 5 by 6, an anchor in the lower Inside corner blue field, 13 stripes and at the breaking out of the Civil War 34 stars, the number of states in the Union at that time. He asked to have a new star put on the flag every time a new state was admitted, but added none after the war, as the old flag had seen its day. An effort will be made to have this flag taken to Washington and placed in the national archives and historic relics —Salt Lake Herald. \ It has been ascertained that while some of the herrings caught in German wafers are only three years old, others are up to 14 years old. It is argued that the compulsory adoption of the incandescent system of electric lighting in mines will greatly cut down the death roll. The proposed Henry Hudson memorial bridge will be the largest span of concrete or stoi;e in the world. It will be 703 feet in the dear. There are some larger spans of metaL _