Part 13
The story, as related in the poem, is in the main true. The church, however, was St. Philip’s (Charleston, South Carolina), an earlier edifice that stood upon the same site as St. Michael’s. The slave, moreover, received his freedom, not from the city authorities, but from the vestrymen of the church. The fire occurred in the year 1796.
59. THE RIDE OF COLLIN GRAVES. By John Boyle O’Reilly.
John Boyle O’Reilly was born in Dowth Castle, County Meath, Ireland, June 28, 1844. Entering the British army at the age of eighteen, he was detected in a Fenian plot, and sentenced to twenty years penal servitude in Australia. He escaped in an open boat, was picked up by an American whaler, and brought to this country. Settling in Boston, his ability won for him speedy recognition, and he was made editor of the _Pilot_, a position which he held at the time of his death, which occurred on the 10th of August, 1890. His most notable contribution to poetry was his “Songs of the Southern Seas.”
The disaster at Williamsburg, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, took place on the 16th of May, 1874. The Mill River dam, which burst, covered one hundred and twenty-four acres to the average depth of twenty-four feet. Nearly two hundred lives were lost in the villages of Williamsburg, Skinnerville, Haydenville and Leeds.
=l. 73.= =Curtius= (Mettus, or Mettius), a young Roman who sacrificed his life for his country’s welfare, B.C. 362. A chasm had opened in the forum, and the soothsayers declared that it could only be filled by casting into it that which was most precious in Rome. Curtius appeared on horseback, clad in full armor, and leaped into the abyss, crying as he did so, “Rome has no greater riches than courage and arms!” According to tradition, the chasm at once closed over him.
60. JIM BLUDSO. By John Hay.
John Hay, our present (1900) Secretary of State, and recently United States Ambassador to Great Britain, was born in Salem, Indiana, October 8, 1838. He has long been connected with the diplomatic service. During the Civil War he was a private secretary to President Lincoln, and in conjunction with John G. Nicolay is the author of the most complete biography of Lincoln published.
Jim Bludso was Oliver Fairchild, the engineer of the steamer _Fashion_. Mr. Hay is unable to fix the date of the disaster to the _Fashion_.
61. GEORGE NIDIVER. Anonymous.
62. A MAN’S NAME. By Richard Realf.
Richard Realf. See note on “The Defense of Lawrence.”
David Simmons, railroad engineer, was killed in the disaster near New Hamburgh, New York, on the Hudson River, February 6, 1871.
63. THE MAN WHO RODE TO CONEMAUGH. By John Eliot Bowen.
John Eliot Bowen, a journalist and the translator of Carmen Sylva’s “Songs of Toil,” who was for a number of years connected with _The Independent_, was born in Brooklyn, New York, June 8, 1858, and died in the same city, January 3, 1890.
The bursting of the dam upon the south fork of the Conemaugh River took place on the afternoon of May 31, 1889. It is stated that sixteen million tons of water were precipitated down the Conemaugh valley upon Johnston, Conemaugh, and various smaller towns. A conservative estimate of the loss of life gives it as three thousand, though some reports place it as high as five thousand.
The name of the hero who rode in front of the flood, giving the alarm, was Daniel Peyton, or Periton. The following poem, by an anonymous hand, pays tribute to the rider’s bravery and self-sacrifice.
DANIEL PERITON
(May 31, 1889.)
Now that the land lies stricken By a deluge dire and dread, And the bravest spirits sicken At thought of the doomed and dead, Let a chord of praise be smitten For the hero-hearted one, And a requiem song be written For Daniel Periton!
Go not to your olden story For one with a deathless name!-- With never a dream of glory, With never a heed of fame, He dashed through the fated city And called to the folk to fly; O God of infinite pity, Would all might have heard his cry!
Too late, too late the warning! For the wave that bore despair Rushed down with a ruthless scorning Of mortal strength and prayer. It smote in its mad derision, It gulfed with its choking breath, And set on a people’s vision The blinding seal of death.
And what of him who had striven To save in that awful hour When the stoutest walls were riven By the flood’s remorseless power? Dead by the bridge they found him,-- Him and his gallant steed; But ever will shine around him The light of his noble deed!
A germ of divine creating Abides in the human race, And a man is always waiting To spring to the hero’s place. And so let the lyre be smitten In praise of the fearless one, And a requiem song be written For Daniel Periton!
64. JOHNNY BARTHOLOMEW. By Thomas Dunn English.
Thomas Dunn English. See note on “Arnold at Stillwater.”
Though this poem has a newspaper paragraph for its basis, the author states that he has every reason to believe that the story is a true one.
65. HIS NAME. By Margaret Junkin Preston.
Margaret Junkin Preston. See note on “The Hero of the Gun.”
An incident of the great Boston fire, November 9, 1872.
66. OLD BRADDOCK. By John Vance Cheney.
John Vance Cheney, poet and essayist, was born in Groveland, New York, December 29, 1848. He at one time practised law in New York City. He has been in charge of the San Francisco Public Library, and is now head librarian at the Newberry Library, in Chicago.
This poem has no foundation in fact.
67. IN APIA BAY. By Charles George Douglas Roberts.
Charles George Douglas Roberts. See “A Ballad of Manila Bay.”
The destructive hurricane at Apia (island of Upolu, Samoa), occurred on the 15th of March, 1889. Three German and three American warships were either driven ashore, or crushed upon the coral reefs, and nearly one hundred and fifty lives were lost. The British ship which breasted the terrific force of the storm, and succeeded in escaping from the harbor, was the corvette _Calliope_. The American flag-ship was the _Trenton_ (see poem), carrying the flag of Rear-Admiral Kimberley.
Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber:
Lighty, gaily=> Lightly, gaily {pg 90}
brigadier from Massachussetts=> brigadier from Massachusetts {pg 207}
John Burns, of Gettyburg=> John Burns, of Gettysburg {pg 218}
Confederate brigadier-genrral=> Confederate brigadier-general {pg 219}