Rensselaer Journal, Volume 12, Number 3, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 June 1902 — A BRAVE CHINAMAN [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

A BRAVE CHINAMAN

Charley Tong Sing, who keeps a restaurant at Los Angeles, Cal., Is the only Chinaman who ever received a medal from Congress for bravery. He is very proud of this fact Charley was a member of the Greely relief expedition of 1894, commanded by Captain (now Rear Admiral) Schley. He is a naturalised citizen of the United States, and is as thoroughly Americanized as his thirty years’ residence here can make him. But he has a greater distinction than having been a member of this expedition. He is one of the three survivors of the Jeanette expedition. He was steward of the Jeanette when, in 1879, that 111-fated vessel sailed on a voyage of exploration in the arctic seas. His splendid physique and natural hardiness were all that brought him safely through the hardships and exposures and horrors of that terrible experience. When telling about it now he says: “We go looking for north pole. Many go to find pole, but no catch him. None is able to reach pole. Come back dead.” Charley joined the Jeanette expedition at San Francisco.

He was then an experienced sailor, having served aboard American merchant ships In various capacities. He acted the part of a hero during this trip, and when he returned the Navy Department, in recognition of his services, presented Charley with a handsome medal. Upon it is inscribed: “Charley Tong Sing, Arctic Steamer Jeanette; Fidelity, Zeal, Obedience.” On the reverse side is a picture of the old frigate Constitution, and the words, “United States Navy.” By special act of Congress, Sept. 30, 1890, another medal was presented. It bears the date upon which the act was approved by the President, and around it the words, “Jeanette Arctic Expedition, 1879-1882.” On the reverse side is represented the Jeanette in the ice, with the crew waving her a farewell. The medal depends from a clasp held in the beak of a silver eagle. It was not a great while after this adventure when Charley Tong Sing started with Capt. Schley on the Greely relief expedition. After his return from that voyage he served in the navy on the Tennessee.