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McCORMICK MESSENGER. McCORMICK. S. C.. THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 1937 Adventurers’ Club it 99 When the Sea Came In By FLOYD GIBBONS Famous Headline Hunter J T HAPPENED a long time ago, but maybe some of you still remember the wreck of the U. S. cruiser Memphis in San Domingo harbor August 29, 1916. Do you remember how, caught in the disturbance set up by a sub marine volcano, battered by a series of tidal waves, she was tossed against the cliffs of a rockbound shore and smashed to pieces in the short space of an hour and a half? But we’re going to have the story of the Memphis told by a man who never saw those waves—by a man who saw the Mem phis disaster from the spot where the REAL battle was fought. We're going to hear about the wreck as it was seen by the boys down in the engine room, where some of the most heroic deeds of that historic affair were done. Charles H. Willey, warrant machinist, United States Navy retired, of Concord, N. H., is the Distinguished Adventurer of today’s column. Ordered Below to Get Up Steam. Charley was in his stateroom reading when, without any warning, the ship rolled over at an alarming angle. At the same time the order came for the emergency watch to go below and get the ship under way. When Charley got below his men were already going about their duties. The steam was up in only two boilers. The job now was to raise it in the other four so the ship could get under way. For, until she under way, the Memphis would be at the mercy of the raging seas. The waves, which had been mere heavy swells at first, were getting higher every minute. The ship rocked alarmingly, but inside of ten minutes steam was forming in four boilers and the men in the engine rooms were warming up the engines with steam from the two live boilers. Firemen All Worked Desperately. “There was a fireman at every one of those boilers, working des perately to force it,’’ says Charley. “The ship kept pitching and heav ing. Us poor devils down there couldn’t see the waves, but we knew we were in their grip. “Over the voice tube from the engine room came the cry of ‘STEAM —Give us steam.’ “And the steam, thank God, was rising fast. The gauges were show ing pressure, but we had to get it to at least 200 pounds. Even 250 would have been little enough in an emergency like this one.” The steam was on the way up. Navy efficiency and discipline were doing their work. In another few moments the engines would be turning. And then—SUDDENLY—another violent lurch of the ship and a deluge from above. Water—sea water—COMING DOWN THE VENTILATORS. Engines Stopped, Fourteen Men Killed. Says Charley: “We knew what that meant. The ship was broad side to the waves and those waves were sweeping clean over us. Now water began coming down the smoke stacks, putting out our fires just when we were nearing victory. “We cut in the four boilers on the main steam line. The engines were turning slowly, but how they ate up the steam! “A sudden lurching pitch—a sickening pounding of the ship on the bottom, and then, with a roar the 14-inch main steam line burst in the port engine room killing seven men and stopping the engine. “There is a mad rush to close the stop valve. Water—tons of it—still pouring down the stacks! Steam hisses from strained boiler tubes. The lights go out. The dynamos have been shorted by sea water and we are left in darkness!” Forced to Abandon Stations. And still those gallant firemen in the engine room of the Memphis stuck to their posts trying to get up steam. There was bedlam every where below decks. Slice bars, hoes, coal buckets were sloshing around the room with every roll and toss of the ship. And yet, in the flickering light of the fires, the men were trying to get up steam. There was another crash—A DEAFENING ROAR OF ESCAPING STEAM “And then,” says Charley, “I knew we were gone. In another minute she had struck again and the boilers let go at their tube joints. “I yelled: ‘Abandon stations. Every man for himself.’ “I tried to get to the air lock—stumbled and fell into sea water that was coming in through the ship’s bottom. Live steam was filling the room. , . , , “I ripped off my jumper, soaked it and wrapped it around my head. How Willey Escaped the Inferno. “I heard agonized screams from the men who had gone up the ladder ahead of me—up over those hot, hellish, steam-twisted boilers to what they thought was safety in the uptake passage. - “Somehow God gave me strength to reach them in the uptake. Steam had risen there first and they were trapped in it. “They were breathing it. It was searing their flesh and their lungs and cutting them down before they could open the heavy iron door. “I kept my wet jumper over my face and reached the door. Fran tically I worked at the dogs that clamped it shut. At last I got it open —dragged out some of those dying men—” And then Charley lost consciousness. He awoke TWO WEEKS later in the Naval hospital in Washington—to learn that he was the only one of that brave fireroom crew of his that had lived! It was a whole year before Charley was out of the hospital. Now he lives in retirement on a little inland farm in New England. A few years ago he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. “Yet,” says Charley, “I have never worn it, for somehow I feel I am unworthy of it. Those men who stuck by me down there in that black inferno till the last—they were the real heroes. THEY PAID WITH THEIR LIVES.” C—WNU Service. Arlington National Cemetery rlington National Cemetery was tituted by an act of congress for interment of United States sol- rs and sailors who have fallen in tie, or all men and women who e died in the regular or volun- : military or naval service of the ted States, after having been stered out or honorably dis- rged. The presentation of the imission warrant, letter of ap- itment, certificate of discharge, pension certificate, provided re were no dishonorable charges nected therewith, is sufficient fence for interment. The Isle of Pines rhe Isle of Pines has an area of 80 square miles and a population 5,000. It is located about 50 les south of Cuba, erf which it is part. The land is virtually all ned by Americans. The chief ms are Nueva, Gerona and Sante The island produces citrus lits, pineapples and potatoes. Cat raising is the chief industry. Facing the Music The origin of the expression “fac ing the music” isn’t definitely known, though the expression ap pears to have come from military sources. Three attempts at expla nation—the first of them the most likely—attribute its origin to: (1) The drumming out of men dis missed from the army; (2), the mustering of militiamen, who are drawn up in ranks facing the band; (3), the difficulty in training army horses to remain quiet when placed near a regimental band. Another suggestion is that the phrase is de rived from the situation of the actor, who, when before the orchestra, is facing his critics also. “Spice,” Not Tree Name “Spice” is not a tree name. It is a classification name used to de scribe one or more of a group of aromatic substances. Just as the word “vegetable” and “grain” are names of classifications, describing one or a number of things in a special class. UNCOMMON AMERICANS By Elmo Scott Watson © Western Newspaper Union She Modeled Lincoln T N THE rotunda of the United * States Capitol at Washington stands a statue of Abraham Lin coln. Among all the sculptured like nesses of the Great Emancipator this one is unique. It is the only one which was modeled from life and it is the work of a young girl. Vinnie Ream was her name and she was born in Wisconsin in 1847. As a girl she amused herself by sketching the Indians whom she saw when her father, a surveyor, took her with him on his trips in the West. They were crude sketches but an old Italian who saw them recognized her latent talent and en couraged her. When she was fourteen her father secured a position for her as a copy ist in the post office department at $50 a month. She became ac quainted with Clark Mills, the fa mous sculptor, and while watching him at work, exclaimed, “Oh, I could do that if I had some clay!” Mills told her to help herself and he was delighted with the progress which she made. Then Vinnie Ream conceived the idea of modeling President Lincoln from life. When this was first sug gested to him he refused, but after talking to the girl and becoming impressed with her earnestness, he gave his consent with the under standing that she was to come to the White House every afternoon during his rest period. She was not to talk and he was to sit, walk, or lie dowT> to take a nap, as his mood dictated. So for five months she spent part of every afternoon in his study. As he lay on the couch she took life masks of his face and hands. As he walked about or sat at his desk, she sketched his figure again and again. After Lincoln’s assassination con gress decided to erect a statue in his memory and asked sculptors to submit sketches. Many famous art ists responded but the work of this sixteen-year-old girl was the one se lected. In 1869 congress advanced her $5,000 and she went abroad to study and complete the statue. After nearly two years of steady work she finished it and it was un veiled in 1871. When the statue was placed in the rotunda of the Capi tol an old servant who had lived in the White House exclaimed “the real Lincoln has returned to us.” Vinnie Ream later married Lieut. Richard L. Hoxie but continued her work as a sculptor until her death in 1914. She made many other stat ues and modeled medallions and busts of many notables, both here and abroad. But she is best re membered as the only sculptor who ever modeled Lincoln from life and the pioneer woman sculptor of America. Soldier-Painter TF YOU think of a painter as an 1 impractical idealist, revise that view before applying it to Charles Willson Peale. Born in Maryland in 1741 he was apprenticed to a sad dler at the age of thirteen and was such a good workman that he won his freedom by the time he was twenty. Then he went into busi ness for himself and later formed a partnership with a chaisemaker who promptly absconded with all of the firm’s money. To get out of debt Peale next tried clock and watch making and set himself up as a silversmith. Becoming interested in painting, Peale took lessons from a Swedish- American artist and paid for them with a saddle which he had made. Next he spent two years studying under Copley in Boston and then went to England to learn more from the famous Benjamin West. Returning to this country a few years before the Revolution, he be gan painting portraits of Colonial celebrities, one of which was des tined to make him famous. It was the picture of a young colonel in the Virginia militia named George Washington. At the outbreak of the Revolu tion Peale, who was an ardent pa triot, organized a company of mi litia and became a captain. For the next three years he mixed painting and soldiering, winning distinction in both. Next he went into poli tics and in 1779 and 1780 served as a member of the Pennsylvania as sembly. After the war, Peale gathered to gether all of the portraits of Revo lutionary leaders he had painted including several of Washington and started a picture gallery in his home, which was so popular that he had to seek larger quarters. In 1802 he opened the famous Peale museum on the second floor of In dependence hall. There he exhib ited not only his paintings but also a remarkable collection of natural history specimens he had collected. At the age of eighty-one Peale turned from portraiture to paint re ligious pictures. When he died in 1827 he left behind him a collection of 269 portraits and historical scenes as a memorial to one of America’s greatest painters and also one of her most versatile geniuses. Twas This Way By LYLE SPENCER © Western Newspaper Union. Barbershop Harmony A BOUT 3,000 years ago, a court barber was trimming the beard of the famous King Archclaus. “How shall I cut it, sire?” he asked. “In silence,’’'thundered the king. The silence that then ensued is the last ever known to have occurred in g barber shop. Barbering establishments of one kind or another have served as gos sip centers from time immemorial. They once were far more important than they are today. Up until the time of the French revolution, bar bers not only cut hair but pulled teeth and performed surgical oper ations as well. Many a man boasted that he could “breathe a vein” as well as he could mow a beard. In fact, the barber’s pole is a hangover from the days when the town barber was also its surgeon. The two spiral ribbons painted around the pole represent the band ages used to bind up the wounds of patients. In those days, barbers used the same instruments for shaving as for surgical work. Customers were asked whether they preferred to be shaved with a carving knife or a pen knife. In addition to that, barbers during the middle ages often held shaving competitions. Old records say that Robert Hardie of England still holds the all-time quick-shaving mark. Hr once won a $2,500 bet by shaving six men in one minute and 29 sec onds. He claimed to be able to shave one man, no matter how harsh his beard, in 12 seconds. He could also do the job blindfolded, with a carv ing knife, in 45 seconds. Selling at Auction HE auction sale seems to be as old as mankind. We know thatj it was used at least 4,000 years ago by the Babylonians as a means of securing wives for eligible young men. According to an account handed down to us by Herodotus, the girls of a marriageable age were directed to go each year to the auction mart, where the young men also congre-i gated. There they were sold by the public crier. The pretty girls were put up first and sold to the highest bidder. This system was really not quite as bad as it sounds. Many a young man who could not afford to pur chase a pretty girl was bribed to marry an ugly one, and the pur chase money obtained for the beau ties was distributed among the homely ones, according to their de gree of homeliness. So many an ambitious young man picked up a small fortune with which he could establish his own business as well as a home. Another feature of these primitive auctions was that the father could not choose the man who was to buy his daughter. It was strictly an open market. The girls in their turn were, also safeguarded by requiring the purchasers to marry them on the spot. But after the sale, if the young lady did not turn out to his liking, the law provided that the customen could return her and get his money back. As Good as Mother’s Biscuits IT' ING HENRY II, of France, was making a tour through the provinces one year with his court. Ordinarily a gluttonous eater, Hen ry’s appetite had been very poor lately, and he desired a new dish to tickle his jaded palate. So he ordered the village baker to con coct for him a cake that was not only delicious but unknown to the rest of the world. That put the poor baker squarely on the spot. If he failed, the king, who had a violent temper, might throw him in jail or even order his head chopped off. If he succeeded, on the other hand, he would probably be handsomely re warded. He repaired himself to his kitchen and went furiously to work. He mixed flour, sugar, and milk in every conceivable way he knew, but the harder he tried, the worse the mixture tasted. In despair, he finally threw down his ladles and went over to the nearest saloon to drown his sorrows. In his absence, his apprentice re turned to the bake house from an errand, and found the dough on the mixing table. The master, who had become lost among his wine glasses, did not return, and the boy, fearing the dough would spoil, moulded them into little cakes and popped them into the oven. He was just taking them out of the oven when his boss came reeling back into the bakery. “What the—have you done with my dough?” he stormed. “I made them into little cakes, and baked them twice,” (bis-cuits) said the lad. They turned out to be delicious. The king was greatly pleased, and in a short time the bis-cuit became the nationa 1 cake of France, as it still is today. William, Mary College Hall The main hall of William and Mary College, of Williamsburg, Va., was designed by Sir Christopher Wren, architect of London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral. A ND the girl holding the curtains back, just looking on, might be join ing the fun except for her misconception that “party” clothes are hard to sew. She made the neat sweet house model she’s wearing with no trouble at all—but— And Here’s the Story. Marge, did you really make your pretty dress all yourself? It looks so elab orate; I’d be afraid to cut into chiffon like that for fear I’d ruin it.” “Be yourself, Rose. It doesn’t take a bit more skill to make my dress than yours. The pattern ex plains everything. You can’t go wrong. I get a double kick out of making a party frock—I feel im portant sewing it and elegant wear ing it. I couldn’t begin to have so many party clothes if I didn’t belong to The-Sew-Your-Own! ’ ’ Mother Made Daughter’s Dress. “Joanie, dear, aren’t you begin ning this party business pretty young?” “No, Auntie Rose, of course not. I’ve another one just like it that Grandma made for me. It’s red and it has blue bands around it. I’m going to wear it to school tomorrow. “Well, I see where I’ve got to get some silks and crepe, pluck up my nerve, and have clothes like other people. I wanted to join the Jolly Twelve but I just felt I didn’t have anything to wear. Now I’ve decided to join The Sewing Circle and make a real fashion debut, come Spring!” The Patterns. Pattern 1237 is for sizes 34 to 46. Size 36 requires 4% yards of 35 inch material plus five-eighths of a yard contrasting. Pattern 1241 is cut in sizes 14 Unde PkllQ J&Gjjji: Your Work at Hand Look to tomorrow and plan for tomorrow — but don’t forget to work today. The people are not so often “fooled” as it seems. They’re in different. If you find that life is trying, do a little trying yourself. Pleasures are the commas that punctuate life’s sad story. Hold on to the Handrail Friendship is the handrail up the stairway of life. Grouchy folks are sincere in this: They do not try to hide their bad temper. But that makes them no more likable. Happiest housewife is one who has just made a noble pudding when her husband has unexpect edly brought a friend home to dinner. Which Kind Have You? One kind of temperament stands aside and scorns the human race, another kind tries to see what can be done to better it. You never can tell. An exploded theory doesn’t always wake up the theorist. One likes as a friend an optimist with a strong peppery flavor of pessimism in his makeup. Scandal is the devil’s merry-go- round. That Is a Friend A true friend will multiply your joys and divide your sorrows. Haste makes waste, it is true, but not like extravagance. A black sheep is sophisticated; you can’t pull the wool over his eyes. Future grandpas will tell more about the hard times of this era than about the “good old days.” He is a poor fighter who permits an idea to strike him when he if off his guard. to 20 (32 to 44 bust). Size 16 re quires 4% yards of 39 inch ma terial, and 1% yards of ribbon for the belt together with 3 yards of machine made trimming. Pattern 1852 comes in sizes 2 to 8 years. Size 4 requires 2% yards of 35 or 39 inch material. To trim as pictured 6 yards of ribbon ars required. New Pattern Book. Send for the Barbara Bell Spring and Summer Pattern Book. Make yourself attractive^ practical and becoming clothes, selecting designs from the Bar bara Bell well-planned easy-to rn ake patterns. Interesting and exclusive fashions for little chil dren and the difficult junior age? slenderizing, well-cut patterns for the mature figure; afternoon dresses for the most particular young women and matrons and other patterns for special occa sions are all to be found in the Barbara Bell Pattern Book. Send 15 cents (in coins) today for your copy. Send your order to The Sewing Circle Pattern Dept., Room 1020, 211 W. Wacker Dr., Chicago, m. Patterns 15 cents (in coins) each, © Bell Syndicate.—WNU Service. 10$ WORLD’S LARGEST pSELLER AT St.Joseph to////? Lost Virtues Virtues lose themselves in self- interest, as streams lose them selves in the sea.—Rochefoucauld, Do something about Periodic Pains Take Cardiff for functional pains of menstruation. Thousands of wom en testify It has helped them. It Cardul doesn’t relieve your monthly discomfort, consult a physician.' Don’t just go on suffering and put off treatment to prevent the trouble. Besides easing certain pains, Oar- dul aids in building up the whole system by helping women to get more strength from their food. Cardul la a purely vegetable medicine which you can buy at the drug store and take at home. Pronounced “Card-u-L'* Our Allies Good manners and soft words have brought many a difficult thing to pass.—Aesop. SMALL SIZE 60c LARGE SIZE $1.20 JA recognized Remedy for Rbeemetk' end Nevritii mfieren. A perfect Bleed Purifier. Mekee tkin Blood Rich end Healthy. Build* Strength end Vigor. Alway* Effective . . . Why rmffer? A1 ALL GOOD DRUG STORES