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MY TRAVELS
A FAMILY STORY

/

S,..„.A

EDWARD P. HACKETT

MY TRAVELS

A FAMILY STORY

By
MARIA HACKETT
Edited by Her Son

ALBANY 1912

Copyright, 1912
Edward F. Hackett

INTRODUCTORY A Family Story
This is not a family history. Family
histories are invariably dull and of interest
only to a few who have a belief in, and are
proud of, their pedigree. It is the story
of the mother of a family who led a very
eventful life and traveled many thousand
miles, at a time when to meet with a trav
eled person was exceedingly rare.
My mother's travels began in 1828 and
lasted till 1854. The first trip was her
wedding journey, 18,000 miles on a sailing
ship. Shortly after her marriage her hus
band gave up his business in Ireland and
thought that Van Diemen's Land would
be a fine place for a young man with capi
tal. He had no difficulty whatever in
prevailing on his bride to take the trip.
Indeed, as she often told me, she would
have gone to any part of the world with
him, so much in love was she; and really
I am not quite sure that she knew where
Australia was, or cared, for that matter.
[vJ

MY TRAVELS

Her whole married life was a honeymoon.
She survived her husband many years; he
died in 1847 and she mourned him and
spoke lovingly of him until she passed
away in 1887.
Her travels had always been a source of
intense joy to her many children. She
liked to be drawn out and at the slightest
suggestion would drop into a reminiscent
mood. Particularly were we delighted with
the "Pirate Story," whieh the gentle
reader will find duly set forth. And then
the description of the crossing the line, at
whieh time all discipline on board ship
was relaxed and the ruffianly crew had it
all to themselves. How we did enjoy these
stories. Then one day some one suggested
that if she would write them out and have
them printed, others than the family would
be interested, and the Sunday Press of
Albany, of which the late John Henry
Farrell, the late Myron H. Rooker and the
late James MacFarlan were the proprie
tors, gladly accepted the articles as they
appeared and printed them in the paper.
The story was well received at that time,
[vi]

A FAMILY STORY

the early seventies, and the articles were
collected and printed in a cheap form. A
desire to have them appear in a form more
suited to their interest is the reason for
this edition.
Edwd. F. Hackett.
Albany, N. Y., August 26, 1912.

[vii]

SKETCHES OF TRAVEL.

CHAPTER I
Traveling Nearly Half a Century
Ago — Recollections of Scenes and
Places — Slavery in Brazil — An
Encounter with Pirates.
It has been my lot, during a life of sixty-
eight years, to have met with some start
ling adventures, visited many places, and
traveled around the world, at a time when
traveling, with the best accommodations,
meant hardship; when steamboats were
unknown, and life on shipboard a dreary
imprisonment. Many persons may have
traveled more than I, many may have met
with more adventures, and be better quali
fied to give entertaining descriptions of
their experiences, but few (and especially
ladies) can have had such varying for
tunes — such happiness, and trouble, and
[1]

SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
care — as I have met with. I trust that my
readers will be interested in the following
recital, and that they wiU make due allow
ances for the rambling character of the
sketches. On the 30th day of April, 1828, imme
diately after my marriage, I sailed from
Cork, Ireland, with my husband, on board
the good ship Coronet, Captain Daniels,
bound for Hobart Town, Van Diemen's
Land, a pleasant little bridal tour of 18,000
miles. We had some thirty-four cabin passen
gers, made up of the usual number of
good- and ill-natured people, all of whom
were assessed the large price of $400 the
trip, with the privilege of furnishing or
paying for one's provisions. To select
provisions for a six months' voyage was a
task which housekeepers can readily imag
ine, and was a serious drain on one 's purse.
There was the usual amount of seasick
ness for the first few days, although the
weather was very fine, and in eight days
we arrived at the Canary Islands, shortly
after we sighted the peak of Teneriffe, and
[2]

SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
on the 10th of May we landed at Funchal,
the capital of Madeira.
On accoimt of the great surf, the pas
sengers had to be taken on shore on the
backs of the sailors, and the ladies being
treated precisely the same way, the landing
was anything but dignified.
We were surprised to see so many Eng
lish people in bad health, many of them
being in the last stages of consumption, but
on account of the mildness of the climate
it had long been the resort of those who,
from lung diseases, were obliged to leave
their native land.
My husband, fortunately, understood the
language, and we added a large quantity
of wines and fruits to our stock on board
ship. The best quality of Madeira wine
was then fourteen cents per bottle. Bur
gundy, five cents a bottle, and fruit very
cheap. Vehicles called "palanquines,"
some carried by men and some drawn
by oxen, were the common mode of
conveyance. We soon set sail for Ascension, a wild,
rocky, miserable place in the middle of the
[3]

SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
ocean. It is an English settlement, and
all ships stop there for water. We availed
ourselves of the opportunity to add turtles
to our stock of provisions, and for many
days our first course was turtle soup. On
leaving Ascension we passed through shoals
of fish so thick as to somewhat retard the
speed of the vessel, and also encountered
large numbers of flying fish.
On the 18th of August, we landed at Rio
de Janeiro, Brazil, one of the finest harbors
in the world. There were at that time
twenty-four line-of-battle ships, twelve
French and twelve English, all at anchor,
besides many vessels from different nations.
It was really a splendid sight. While pass
ing through the harbor we were hailed by
the captain of one of the men-of-war, who
inquired, through a speaking trumpet, if
there were any passengers from Cork on
board. Our captain answered, "Yes," say
ing that Mr. and Mrs. Hackett and the Rev.
William H. Brown, a Protestant minister,
were among the number. A boat was
immediately lowered, and Captain Hayden
came on board. He proved to be a particu-
[4]

SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
lar friend of mine, whom I had not seen for
years, and invited my husband and me to
his house at Bota Foga, where he treated
us vsdth the greatest kindness.
Rio is not a particularly desirable place
in which to live; it is intensely hot; very
little fresh meat, no ice, no potatoes or
vegetables except yams, something like
sweet potatoes. Pineapples were abundant,
and oranges, luscious and large, made up in
a way for the scanty supply of vegetables.
We tried three of the best hotels, and at
last sat down to a regal repast of dry
bread and tea, without milk, which was the
best fare that could be got. Bananas,
pomegranates and limes were very plenti
ful. The oranges were so large that the
juice of one would fill an ordinary sized
tumbler, and they could be bought for
about six cents a dozen. The lemon and
orange groves were beautiful, and we fre
quently walked through them, enjoying the
fragrance. The most revolting sight possible to con
ceive was the slave market, and the condi
tion of the negroes was positively awful,
[5]

SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
yoked up like oxen, and a driver following
with a cruel-looking whip, slashing them
at every step.
No one has ever seen in the United
States such dreadful horrors as was the
everyday routine of Rio. The slave ships
were packed with young and old of both
sexes in a nearly nude state, and once a
day they were brought on deck, standing
so close together they could scarcely move,
and buckets of water were dashed on them
to keep them clean. A slave's life was of
no more value than a dog's, and no punish
ment was inflicted on any one who killed
a slave. Thank fortune, slavery has passed away,
and no more shall we see such barbarity
exercised toward our fellow men.
The meat generally used in Rio was sold
by the yard, and was called carnesea, or
dried beef. It was cut in thongs, and was
as disagreeable to the taste as to the eye.
The streets were very narrow and the
houses very high, many of them being at
least seven stories. The more respectable
the inhabitants, the higher up they lived,
[6]

SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
and some of them must have been very
high-toned indeed. We passed through one
street devoted entirely to jewelers' shops,
and the exhibition of silver, gold and jewels
was marvelous. Society was badly demor
alized. No lady could walk the streets
unaccompanied without being insulted, and
the semi-nakedness of the slaves was start
ling to European eyes. During our stay of
two weeks, while our ship was being over
hauled and painted, we had audiences with
Donna Maria de Gloria, Queen of Spain,
and also the Emperor of Brazil.
We visited, at odd times, Captain Hay-
den's home. His youngest child, then a
babe, was nursed by a slave, and eight
slaves were in attendance while the baby
was getting its usual morning bath. I saw
that baby afterwards in Ireland, a full-
grown man. His sister was married to the
Duke of Wellington 's nephew.
We bade adieu to our friends at the end
of two weeks and started again on our
weary way. We took on as a passenger at
Rio a mysterious personage, a Jew, who
furnished food for any quantity of con-
[7]

SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
jecture and gossip. He was known as Mr.
Slowman. He boasted of his riches, showed
large and beautiful jewels to the admiring
eyes of the lady passengers, and declared
that he had £4,000 in sovereigns in his
trunk. He was placed in the same state
room with the Rev. Mr. Brown, much to
the disgust of the latter, who complained
bitterly of the cries, groans and curses that
emanated from the stranger's berth every
night. We all strongly suspected that
murder or some other terrible sin was on
his conscience from the way he acted and
his ravings during his broken sleep.
Before leaving Rio we heard many re
ports about pirates who infested the equa
tor at that time, and who perpetrated the
most bloody deeds. It was but a month
before that the ship Cumberland, from
Australia, was boarded by a pirate, the ship
scuttled, and every soul on board marched
over the side of the vessel at the point of
the bayonet. The recital of this horrible
outrage had anything but a quieting eflfect
on us; we were all in constant terror lest
our ship should meet with a similar fate,
[8]

SKETCHES OP TRAVEL
and our horror and consternation can be
imagined when one day the man on the
lookout descried at eight o'clock in the
morning a piratical-looking craft bearing
down on us.

[9]

CHAPTER II
Overhauled by a Pirate — What He
Dm — Crossing the Line — Sailors'
Saturnalia — The Reign of Neptune —
Mr. Slowman Gives a Dinner — He Is
Arrested at the Table — ^Who He Was
AND Why Arrested.
Much consternation was experienced
among the passengers while the piratical-
looking craft described in my last letter
was drawing near. It was eight o'clock in
the morning when we first sighted her, and
a few hours later she was alongside. Mean
while, the captaui of our ship had not lost
his presence of mind, but had got all things
in readiness to fight if necessary. All the
male passengers were armed in the best
manner that the ship could afford, some
with horse pistols, some with guns, and the
sailors were supplied with marlinspikes and
swords. The women on board were in a
terrible state. We felt that our last hour
had eome, and the awful fate of the ship
[10]

SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
Cumberland only a month before was felt
as a forerunner of what we ourselves would
have to undergo. We bade our husbands a
tearful farewell and spoke our last words
in the full expectation of a bloody death.
In the midst of the excitement Mr. Slow-
man was discovered endeavoring to hide his
trunk full of guineas under his berth. He
was crying bitterly at his fate, at times
praying and at times cursing his luck. It
afforded (even in all our fear) some amuse
ment and we could not help laughing at the
poor wretch.
The pirate was now close alongside and
our vessel was hailed through a trumpet.
"What ship is that, and where bound?"
"The ship Coronet, from Cork, bound
for Hobart Town."
Then eame, ' ' I want to come on board, ' '
and in a few minutes a boat was lowered
and a tall, fine-looking man was soon on
our deck talking with our captain. Our
crew had been dressed in soldiers' coats in
hopes that the pirate would fancy we were
a prison ship, and so give us a wide berth ;
but a short inspection convinced him that
[11]

SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
we would be able to offer only a feeble
resistance. You can imagine with what
awe we looked upon the bloodthirsty
wretch who was talking apparently in the
most amiable manner. We could see the
murderous crew swarming on the sides of
his ship and could plainly discern a long
cannon on a swivel near the bow, pointed
ominously toward us. Captain Daniels
answered all the fellow's questions without
exhibiting any fear, pressed him to stay to
dinner and made him a present of a barrel
of corned beef and a small cask of whisky,
which he promptly accepted. He also, in
the most courteous manner, accepted the
invitation to dine, saying that as there were
so many ladies on board it would be neces
sary for him to return to his ship in order
to dress suitably. He thereupon, with many
salutations and bows to the captain and the
ladies (who were still greatly excited with
terror), took his departure with his six men
who had accompanied him. We felt then
that it was all up with us, and that having
found out our weakness, he would make an
easy capture. And now I am about to
[12]

SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
relate something marvelous, which the
scoffer may ridicule, but whieh I shall
always gratefully feel was a direct inter
position of Providence to save us from a
dreadful fate. No sooner had the pirate
returned to his vessel than a dense fog
sprang up and we saw him no more. This
may to some of my readers look like a
simple way to be extricated from danger,
but I most solemnly assure you that we all
felt that it was a providential interposition
in our behalf.
[Here I must say that no matter how
many times we had heard the story and
no matter how very opportunely this fog
had sprung up, we all heaved a sigh of
relief to think of the narrow escape our
parents had from sudden and ignominious
death. We always tried to get further
particulars or explanation of the apparent
miracle, but our dear mother could ascribe
the escape only to an interposition of
Divine Providence, in which she thoroughly
believed, and whieh we were satisfied to
accept.] [13]

SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
Five months from that time the pirate
was captured by a British man-of-war, and
every one on board was hanged at low-
water mark in Liverpool, they being taken
red-handed, as it were, with heaps of plun
der in their possession and with sufficient
evidence to prove that they were the scoun
drels that destroyed the Cumberland, a
bucket marked "Cumberland" on the
bottom, whieh mark they had not effaced,
helping vastly towards conviction.
And now comes the description of a
scene which was, at that time, common;
but whieh has long since passed away,
together with many other customs which
were barbarous and inhuman, and seem
ingly impossible for the society of fifty
years ago. I refer to the indignities in
flicted on all voyagers on crossing the
equator or, as it was called, "crossing the
line." Be it known, that fifty years ago
the sailors of a ship crossing the line were
relieved from all duty for one day, they
becoming masters, as it were, and looking
on the passengers as so much food for the
grossest practical jokes. My husband had
[14]

SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
made up his mind not to go through the
ordeal, and had, by threats and a generous
distribution of money to the crew, suc
ceeded in making terms with them ; that is,
he was to have only a partial interview
with the sea god, Neptune. Our friend,
Mr. Slowman, was early pounced upon by
the sailors, who stripped him almost naked.
They then tossed him in a large sail filled
with dirty bilge water until the poor fellow
was half dead. He was then treated to a
coat of grease and tar, and a burly sailor
dressed as Neptune proceeded to shave
him with a rusty iron hoop. The pain
inflicted by this ceremony must have been
very severe. The crew by this time were
greatly under the influence of liquor, and
were tossing the next candidate in the sail
full of dirty water. The next ordeal Mr.
Slowman was subjected to was called the
"kiss of Neptune." The sailor who took
the part had a strip of leather studded with
carpet tacks tied over his face, and then
he embraced the unfortunate man, causing
the blood to run in streams from him. He
was then deluged with buckets of bilge
[15]

SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
water and filth and, almost fainting, bleed
ing at every pore and half suffocated, was
at length released from his tormentors.
Nearly every male passenger suffered
this indignity, not even the clergyman
escaping, though he received his pimish
ment in a mitigated form. My husband
alone stood out and threatened to put a
bullet into the first one that touched him,
and his determination, added to the money
he had paid, saved him from insult. The
lady passengers were not allowed to escape,
each one being subjected to a deluge of
salt water thrown on them by the crew, and
even the captain had to take his share of
the last punishment. Altogether it was a
most unpleasant experience, and many of
us did not recover from its effect for weeks.
The custom has long since been discon
tinued, though the sailors fought stoutly
for this one day of license and outrage.
After crossing the equator our voyage
becarae exceedingly monotonous and devoid
of interest. The heat was stifling and often
for days we floated on the water becalmed.
It was with feelings of the greatest joy we
[16]

SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
first saw land, and on the 10th day of
October, 1828, we sailed up the Derwent
River and landed at Hobart Town, after
having spent nearly six months on ship
board. Those who take a journey in our fast
sailing steamers of the present day, enjoy
fully the first sight of land after a paltry
trip of at most twelve days, and they can
realize in a measure our great delight in
leaving the ship, where we had been closely
confined with none of the comforts of the
Cunarders or Inman line.
Mr. Slowman, our attentive friend, was
so delighted at escaping the perils of the
ocean, that he invited all the cabin passen
gers to a wine supper at the best hotel.
The invitation was unanimously accepted
and we sat down, a joyous party, to an ele
gant repast. In the midst of the festivities,
while Mr. Slowman was making a reply to
a toast in his honor, there came raarching
into the room two detective officers, who
arrested him in the middle of a speech,
clapped handcuffs upon him and marched
[17]

SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
him off without even giving him time to
settle his little bill for champagne.
In confusion the party broke up and not
till the next day did we find out the cause
of our mysterious passenger's sudden
arrest. He was the famous Ikey Solomon,
the greatest thief and receiver of stolen
goods in London. He had a large house
in London, all paneled, and between the
walls and panels he concealed the stolen
property. Several men had been hanged
on his account and many transported. He
had escaped from the police, fled to Rio and
from thence to Van Diemen's Land, only
to be arrested. He was immediately sent
back, tried and sentenced for life, and in
due time returned a prisoner again. I
afterwards saw him in chains. The man
who arrested him was sent out by the gov
ernment for that purpose, and had traveled
30,000 miles to accomplish the job.

[18]

CHAPTER III
Settling in Van Diemen's Land — De
scription, Peculiarities and Wonders
OF THE Country — Sir John Franklin,
THE Arctic Explorer — Lady Frank
lin, His Wife.
Upon our arrival in Van Diemen's Land,
we obtained a grant of land from the
British government of 1,000 acres. The
same amoimt of land was given to all who
desired to avail themselves of it, and the
giving away of so much territory was
intended to encourage emigration, whieh at
that time (before the discovery of the gold
fields) needed all the encouragement it
could get. To those who understood the
management of a farm this was a very
valuable privilege, as the soil was very
fertile, but my husband, being a distiller
and entirely unacquainted with farming,
sold his grant for about seventy-five cents
an acre. I may add here, that the same
grant was resold in 1841 for $10,000. Our
[19]

SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
grief at having parted with it for a mere
song was heartfelt.
The following description of the pecu
liarities and wonders of the country, given
after the lapse of fifty years, may seem
incredible, and perhaps will be attributed
to a desire to exaggerate, or, seen through
a mist of half a century, seem to be more
fanciful than real ; but I have no doubt that
if I were to exaggerate or give a too highly
colored description I would at once be con
tradicted, as it is by no means an unknown
coimtry. During a residence of thirteen years I
never saw what eould be called a really
disagreeable day, save, perhaps, a few days
when the heat was rather oppressive, and
that at Christmas time. The months of
November, December and January were
the summer months, and the severest winter
weather equaled the summer temperature
of England, without the excessive rains and
fogs. The fruits were of great variety and
very plentiful: peaches, nectarines, apri
cots, pears, apples, plums, mulberries, rasp
berries, in fact, all the choicest fruits of
[20]

SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
the known world, save lemons, oranges,
and fruits belonging to very hot climates.
Indian corn did not grow there, but was
brought from Sydney, a distance of six
hundred miles. Diseases such as measles,
scarlet fever, whooping cough and small
pox were utterly unknown, and sickness of
any kind was exceedingly rare, the people
living to a very old age. The flowers and
gardens were wonderful. Many extensive
hedges were composed entirely of gera
niums, which grew to a height of six feet
and had to be clipped very frequently.
Gardens required but little attention, and
of course, nearly every resident had a
garden attached to his dwelling. The
forest trees were all evergreens, whieh,
while presenting a beautiful appearance,
rendered them unfit for building, and lum
ber had to be brought from North Araerica.
Any quantity of manna could be gathered
from certain trees, but this had to be done
before sunrise, as the sun melted it at once.
Living was very cheap. The price of a
cow and calf was $6. Sheep by the hun
dred cost $25, and raany settlers had as
[21]

SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
many as 2,000 in a flock. Tea was 25 cents
a pound, best white sugar 6 cents, and
flour $8 a barrel. The labor was nearly
all done by convicts, as it was a great penal
colony ; the government allotted to any resi
dent as many prisoners as he wished to
keep, requiring that they be allowed at
least 101^ pounds of prime beef, 10^
pounds of flour, 14 pound of tea, and 1
pound of sugar per week. Such was the
discipline maintained that, though the
prisoners were composed of the most des
perate ruffians in the world, no scenes
of violence were witnessed, and doors and
windows were left open day and night and
no thefts occurred.
My husband rented a distillery on the
Derwent River, and as labor cost him very
little, save the expense of keeping the pris
oners, he for some years did a flourishing
business. Whisky was raade out of sugar,
which was very cheap, and raixed with raalt
raade an excellent article of spirits. The
aborigines long before our visit had been
driven or hunted away frora the white set
tlements, and were generally shot on sight,
[22]

SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
as they had a rather unpleasant habit of
spearing white people whenever they had
a chance. The government did aU in its
power to colonize them, and tried every
plan to civilize them. They sent as raany
of thera as they could catch to a place called
Maria Island, provided for them houses,
schools, teachers, doctors, clothing and
everything to make them comfortable, but
the result was that the schools and houses
remained unoccupied and the natives died.
This may seera very ungrateful on the part
of the natives, but it practically settled the
Indian question of that day and saved an
iraraense amount of trouble. I once saw
a shipload of thera about to start for
Maria Island. They were of copper color,
the men very tall and the women very
short, and both raen and women extremely
repulsive looking.
Garae was abundant on Van Dieraen's
Land. Hunting the kangaroo was a favor
ite arauseraent with Europeans. There is
no necessity for describing this well-known
animal ; but there were species of rats and
mice known as the kangaroos, very much
[23]

SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
the sarae, but on a smaller scale, that I
never have seen in any other part of the
world. Colonel George Arthur was governor
when we arrived. His salary was £7,000
per annum and he was allowed an elegant
residence, and any nuraber of servants, and
a farra of one hundred acres was kept in
the highest style of cultivation at govern
ment expense for his use. He was a raan
of great excellence, and made it an irapera-
tive rule that any officer guilty of immoral
conduct should be immediately disraissed
from the service. He was afterwards
appointed governor-general of Canada, and
his departure was greatly regretted. Our
next governor was Sir John Franklin, the
world-renowned Arctic explorer. He was
then about sixty years of age, of low stature
and quite stout. His wife was a beautiful
woman, many years his junior, being only
twenty-six. She was a lady of great cour
age and determination, as later events have
proved. She was the first white woman
who ever traveled from Melbourne to
Sydney, and she was also the first woman
[24]

SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
to ascend Mount Wellington (which was
an undertaking alraost equal to the ascent
of Mont Blanc), wearing out several pairs
of boots in the journey and occupying one
week in doing it. Sir John inaugurated
his new office by giving a series of balls,
to whieh my husband and I had the
honor of being invited. No possible
expense was spared in these entertain
ments, and I have never since seen any
thing that eould approach thera in raag
nificence. Lady Franklin and I becarae
quite intiraate, and I afterwards renewed
my acquaintance with her when she was
in New York on some business connected
with an expedition for the recovery of the
reraains of her husband at the North Pole.
I have now a very kind letter from her,
written previous to her departure frora
New York, in which she speaks of happier
times. My husband becarae a great friend
of Sir John's, and the recollection of the
kindness of this truly noble faraily to us
is very dear. I much regret to say that the
friendship was abruptly ended many years
ago on account of a grievous wrong per-
[25]

SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
petrated by the British governraent upon
my husband. Sir John being selected as the
agent for its perpetration.
Our business being very lucrative, we
had built a new and much larger distillery
than the one we had leased, and invested
in it many thousand pounds, thinking that
we would be araply repaid for the outlay
by increased trade. We called it the
Franklin Distillery, in honor of Sir John,
and our prospects were very favorable for
acquiring wealth. The attention of the
horae government was called to the fact of
the great amount of money being made by
the distillers, and a commission was irame-
diately sent out from England with full
power for the suppression or regulation of
the traffic.

[26]

CHAPTER IV
English Justice — Franklin's Arctic
Expedition — Preparations for Its
Sailing — Holman, the Blind Trav
eler — The First White Settlers op
Melbourne. The commission appointed by the gov
ernment to settle the distillery affairs, after
spending a long time in hearing testimony
and examining witnesses, agreed to pay the
distillers a fair amount on their presumed
annual earnings. My husband's share was
to be £1,100 a year for a term of years. So
far so good; but they took thirty months
before they paid a dollar, and then by some
fraud that never was fully explained away,
they reduced the araount £300 per annura.
Great as was the inconvenience and loss we
were subjected to, owing to the stoppage
of our business, the other distillers fared
infinitely worse, as they never received one
dollar of the amount awarded them and
to a raan became bankrupt. [27]

SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
Sir John Franklin in this matter acted
entirely against the interest of the colo
nists, and by his influence and recommen
dations laws were passed making it a penal
offense to make any whisky in Van Die
raen's Land, and visiting with heavy pun
ishment any one who should continue in
the business. A certain Mr. Gregory, who
then occupied a position as collector, be
came so disgusted with the wrongs per
petrated on the distillers that he resigned
a position worth £800 a year and went
to England at his own expense, to present
the real state of affairs. Instead of having
his reeoraraendations listened to, he was
publicly censured in the House of Lords
by Lord Stanley, the then colonial secre
tary, and his exertions were of no avail.
Were I to give a description of the
wrongs, annoyances and persecutions we
endured for a couple of years in the vain
endeavor to obtain satisfaction for the
infringement on our rights, I could fill a
larger space than perhaps would be allowed
me; but the conclusion may be safely
arrived at, that it is better to submit to a
[28]

SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
wrong when infiicted by a governraent,
than to spend money and time in getting
redress. It is might against right, and
might is always the victor.
Our return to England in 1841 was
actuated solely by a desire to obtain
redress, as we never would have left such
a delightful country except for iraperative
reasons. A short time before we left Hobart Town
we saw the ships Erebus and Terror, in
which the expedition coraraanded by Sir
John Franklin sailed for the Arctic
regions. Sir John himself showed us the
preparations he had raade for the voyage,
and spoke enthusiastically of his expected
discoveries and the benefits to be derived
from the discovery of a northwest passage.
He little thought that he would suffer such
a horrible fate as he did, and that his
existence from the tirae he reached the
Arctic regions would be shrouded in an
irapenetrable raystery only to be solved by
our noble American explorer, Dr. Kane.
Is it not a little smgular that to America
belongs the honor of finding Franklin dead
[29]

SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
and Livingstone alive, both devoting their
lives to science, though at the antipodes ?
Lieut. James Holman, the eelebrated
blind traveler, was a friend of ours in
Hobart Town. He was a raost remarkable
man and wonderfully gifted. He was a
Knight of Windsor, whose duty it was,
with eight other knights of the same degree,
to reside at Windsor Palace at the Queen's
expense. He attained considerable celeb
rity as a traveler and author, and I think
his works are to be found in the Y. M. C. A.
library of Albany. In one of his works
of travel he mentions our names favorably.
The first white raen who atterapted to
settle at Port Phillip, or Melbourne, as it
is now called, were a party of eight gentle
men, at the head of whom was Mr. Gilli-
brand, the attorney-general. The party
dined at our house imraediately previous
to their departure, and it was a very gay
affair. They were never heard of from the
time they set out, and it is presumed they
were eaten by the savages. Mrs. Gilli-
brand, the wife of the unfortunate leader
of the party, spent $5,000 in endeavoring
[30]

SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
to get sorae trace of thera, and the only
trace discovered was a piece of one of their
boats near the embers of a fire.

[31]

CHAPTER V
Correction — Valuable Servants — Ship
wrecked Passengers — Terrible Tale
OF Brutality — Celebrated Prisoners —
Visit of a New Zealand Chief.
In ray last sketch I led your readers to
understand that the ships Erebus and
Terror, under the command of Sir John
Franklin, sailed from Hobart Town for
the Arctic region. The facts of the case
are, that I saw the ships in Hobart Town,
while the expedition really started from
Greenwich, London, May 24, 1845.
During a residence of thirteen years in
Tasmania, we formed many acquaintances,
became intimate with a variety of people,
and raet raany odd characters. Hired labor
was very scarce there, and on one occasion
when a vessel arrived from Calcutta, the
sailors, who were nearly all Mohammedans,
deserted the ship and engaged with the
colonists. We had the good fortune to engage one
of them, who proved himself far superior
[32]

SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
to the "help" of the present day. He was
a good washer and ironer, an extremely
good cook, and understood the management
of children. His dress consisted of a long
blue cloth garment, trimmed with scarlet,
a turban encircled with a gold band, a
cummerbund or scarf of seven or eight
yards of mull rauslin tied around his waist,
the ends hanging almost to his feet. He
had very fine features, long black silken
hair, and his food consisted principally of
rice, his religion forbidding hira to eat raeat
or use intoxicating drinks. When he had
saved $100 he left us, saying that with that
sum in his country he eould live without
work for the remainder of his life, and he
took ship for Calcutta.
One of the noblest of men and dearest of
friends was Captain William Moriarity,
who was captain of the port of Hobart
Town, son of Admiral Moriarity of the
British Navy. He sailed from England to
this port in the ship Coronet, the sarae ship
that brought us here. While the vessel was
in the harbor of St. lago the place was
visited by a terrible earthquake and tidal
[33]

SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
wave. The ship was destroyed, the pas
sengers losing everything and barely escap
ing with their lives. They were taken by
an American ship to Brazil, and from there
were forwarded to Hobart Town, after suf
fering many raiseries and trials. Captain
Moriarity raade it a special point to succor
shipwrecked persons, and I have seen as
raany as thirty sufferers by perils of the
sea enjoying his hospitality.
Lieutenant Small, of the Sixty-third
Regiraent, British Array, who brought out
letters of introduction to ray husband, had
a pitiful story to relate. While on the voy
age out the ship anchored off an island
inhabited by savages. The captain gave
permission to many of the passengers to go
ashore, of whieh they gladly availed thera
selves. About twenty-five, consisting of
men, women and children, proceeded to the
beach in the ship 's boats. They made some
delay, and a favorable breeze having
sprung up, the inhuraan captain sailed
away, leaving thera to their fate. Lieuten
ant Small, whose son was amongst the party
so deserted, became so exasperated that he
[34]

SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
drew his sword and stabbed the captain,
seriously wounding hira. He was placed
in irons by the direction of the captain for
the remainder of the voyage, and on his
arrival at Hobart Town was tried for
mutiny on the high seas. This was an
offense punishable with death, but upon the
facts being elicited at the trial the tables
were turned. Lieutenant Small was ac
quitted, the captain placed on trial, and
received a sentence whieh doomed him to
two years' imprisonment. The ship was
also confiscated. Nothing was ever heard
of the unfortunate party left on the island.
Imagine the feelings of the unhappy people
on seeing the vessel contaiuing loved mera
bers of their families slowly disappearing
from their tearful eyes and frenzied vision,
and add to that the thought of the inevi
table death that awaited them either from
starvation or frora hostile savages, who
possibly sacrificed thera to their cannibal
propensities. One celebrated prisoner who was servant
to the Hon. Mr. Barrett, colonial secretary,
was Sir Henry Hayes, who was transported
[35]

SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
for the atterapted forcible abduction of
Miss Pike of Cork, a very rich lady, whose
money he coveted, and whora he wished to
marry. When I saw hira he was dressed in
a yellow jacket and pants, his head shaved
and altogether presenting a most forlorn
appearance. We once had a prisoner servant who was
previously a banker in London, immensely
wealthy, and had his carriage and four.
He was transported for forgery. While he
was with us he did nothing but cry and
lament his unhappy fate, and we were
obliged to dismiss him.
There was a prisoner named Solomon
who offered a hundred thousand dollars to
the government for the privilege of return
ing to England for one year. As this was
before the system of "ticket of leave" was
introduced, his request was not granted.
The richest man in Melbourne, shortly
after gold being discovered, was John Mills,
who was a prisoner and worked with us as
a raaltster. He became free, went to Mel
bourne, bought building lots at $25 each,
which he sold after the gold was discovered
[36]

SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
for $500 a foot frontage. He then started
a brewery and made a large fortune.
My husband told me one day that he had
invited to dinner the famous New Zealand
chief, Kanawanga Tapita. I made great
preparations for entertaining so distin
guished a guest, but on seeing him I was
so disgusted with his appearance that I
refused to allow hira in the house, and we
satisfied hira by giving him some raw meat,
which he ate ravenously on the back piazza.
Those who have not seen the New Zealand
natives cannot form an opinion of their
hideous appearance. Chief as this man
was, his dress was mainly coraposed of a
filthy mat carelessly hanging frora his
shoulders. His lower limbs and feet were
uncovered. His face presented the appear
ance of being corduroyed frora the ridge
and furrow process of tattooing having
been deeply gone into. His features were
of a regular cast, but the artistic touches
of the human reraodeler made them repul
sive, at least to those not aeeustoraed to
artificial development of the facial outline.
[37]

CHAPTER VI
Leaving Australia — Provisions Neces
sary for the Voyage — Death of a
Faithful Friend — Landing in Lon
don — Two Summers in One Year —
The Great Famine Fever in Ireland —
Emigrate to America.
In January, 1841, we started frora
Hobart Town for London, after spending
thirteen years in Van Diemen's Land. We
sailed in the ship Mary Anne, of Glasgow,
commanded by Captain Marshall.
During our stay in Tasraania, God had
blessed us with a large family; at the tirae
of our departure we had a family of eight
children, the youngest being a babe of one
month. We numbered, all told, eleven,
including a servant; and we engaged the
whole of a cabin, for which we paid the
sum of $1,000, besides furnishing our own
provisions. It may not be uninteresting
to give a list of the articles necessary for
such a long voyage. The following is the
[38]

SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
list, as near as I can remember: We
bought eight barrels of flour, one hundred
pounds of crackers, eighteen barrels of
potatoes, ten live sheep, five live pigs, five
dozen chickens, two dozen ducks, one dozen
geese, ten turkeys, two large flitches of
bacon, ten haras, five barrels of apples, two
boxes of raisins, two boxes of currants, two
hundred and fifty pounds of butter, fifty
dozen of eggs, one himdred pounds of pre
serves, five gallons of raspberry vinegar,
ten gallons of brandy, two hundred pounds
of sugar, forty pounds of coffee, twenty -five
pounds of tea, and forty dollars' worth of
Bologna sausages. In addition to live
stock, we had two goats to furnish us with
milk, and the quantity of food for the
animals and poultry was necessarily very
great. In order to overcome the inconvenience
of washing clothes on shipboard, all the
underclothing had to be taken with us
unmade. When used, the undergarments
were thrown overboard and new ones
made, and of course we had to have large
quantities of linen and muslin in the piece.
[39]

SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
An incident took place on our departure
which saddened all the children, and,
indeed, cast a gloora over the elder members
of the faraily. Our faithful Newfoundland
dog, the pet of the children, vainly
endeavored to follow us on board the ship,
but was put on shore by the sailors. When
the ship sailed he juraped into the water
and swara away out to sea after us. We
watched hira with tearful eyes, until the
faithful animal sank from exhaustion
beneath the billows.
The voyage was a splendid and prosper
ous one. We rounded Cape Horn, which
is one of the most desolate places on the
face of the earth. Near the Falkland
Islands we met a whaler, whose captain
carae on board. He was very anxious for
news, as he stated he had been out
three years, and was last from Vancouver 's
Island. We next sighted two small islands, called
Corvo and Flores. Mark Twain, in ' ' Inno
cents Abroad," describes thera and their
inhabitants. These were thickly settled
and looked very pretty. The language
[40]

SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
spoken there was Portuguese. Many of the
people carae alongside our ship in boats,
and sold a large quantity of oranges and
other fruits, fowls and eggs, to the captain
and to us, we being the only passengers.
About the first of July we arrived off
Flushing in Holland and a few days later
we sailed up the Thames to London. It
was Simday when we arrived in London,
but it was Saturday by our reckoning, we
having gained a day sailing round the
world in an easterly direction. Another
singular fact was that it was summer when
we arrived in England, and it was suramer
when we left Australia; so that I enjoyed
two summers in the year 1841.
We spent a month in London. My hus
band was very much occupied in trying to
get a settlement of his clairas against the
governraent, but with very little success.
We then started for Cork, where my
husband bought a distiUery, and again
entered on his old business. The change
of cliraate was very severe upon our chil
dren, and they all took sick, successively,
with raeasles, whooping cough, scarlet fever
[41]

SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
and other diseases peculiar to children, but
which were utterly unknown in the place
we had just corae frora. Six years after,
in 1847, the great typhus fever broke out
in Ireland, and ray husband, who was inter
ested in bread distribution and other socie
ties for the relief of the poor, contracted
the disease and forfeited his life in trying
to relieve the miseries of others. Eighteen
gentleraen, our near neighbors, died of the
same disease, and many farailies in Cork
were bereft of their sole support in conse
quence of having contracted the fever. It
is a matter of history, and therefore needs
no description from my pen; but the ter
rible destitution and suffering of the poorer
class of the people of Ireland at that tirae
is without paraUel. The misery, however,
was alleviated in a great raeasure by the
generosity of the Araerican people, who
sent large quantities of com and flour for
the relief of the destitute.
I continued the business rayself until
1854, when, becoming convinced that ray
children would have a better opportunity
of iraproving their prospects by going to
[42]

SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
the United States, and as my two eldest
sons were already there, I disposed of my
business and started for America.
[The above chapters have dealt solely
with a description of ray mother's long
voyage to Australia and return, a raatter
of 36,000 miles. According to her descrip
tion of Hobart Town, it must have been a
delightful place in whieh to live. She lived
there with her devoted husband for thir
teen years, and became the mother of nine
children. Eight of these children came
back with her, one died (an infant), and
her tenth child was born in Cork, being the
only Irishraan of the family.
You raay have noticed the very pathetic
incident related of the faithful Newfound
land dog swiraraing after the vessel until
he sank beneath the waves. This always
seemed to us children a particularly sad
incident, and we criticised (as rauch as we
dared) our parents' conduct in not insist
ing on bringing the poor fellow along.
The continuation of the story involves
the account of a shipwreck whieh to a great
[43]

SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
extent is very similar to the loss of the
Titanic. The location was nearly the same,
off the coast of Newfoundland. The ship,
on her first trip, was lost, but fortunately
there was no loss of life as just before
sinking the boat was run on the rocks.
However, the lifeboats were all in use, the
women and children taken off first, but
there was almost as rauch terror and fright
experienced as there was on the Titanic]

[44]

CHAPTER VII
Shipwrecked — Narrow Escape of All on
Board — How They Were Saved.
On the 31st day of August, 1854, we left
Liverpool in the steamship City of Phila
delphia, of the Inraan line, comraanded by
Capt. Robert Leiteh. We had been de
layed for two weeks in Liverpool, owing
to an accident happening to the steamer
on her trial trip in the Clyde. It was to be
her first trip, and she was one of the finest
vessels ever built by the Inman line, who
have so raany elegant steamships.. The day
of departure was a beautiful one, and as
we stood on the deck during the passage
down the Mersey, we were in high spirits.
Everything augured a prosperous and
speedy voyage, the passengers were all
delighted, and as the weather was fine and
the sea smooth, but little seasickness was
experienced. After passing the eoast of Ireland rough
weather was experienced, and the nuraber
[45]

SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
of promenaders on deck, and eaters at the
table, was very sensibly diminished. The
voyage was without incident until the 7th
of September. We had neared the banks
of Newfoundland, and, as usual in that
locality, were in a dense fog. About twelve
o'clock we were awakened by a terrible
crash, and some of us were thrown from
our berths. We all rushed upstairs as fast
as possible, only to find the saloon filled
with terrified passengers of both sexes, who
in their anxiety to learn the cause of the
accident, had hurried up without losing
any tirae in changing their clothes, suited
only to the privacy of their staterooras.
The scene was a terrible one, and our con
sternation was added to by the report that
the ship was sinking. Mothers were shriek
ing for their children, husbands looking for
raembers of their faraily, all praying
fervently and bidding eternal adieus.
One of the officers, at this juncture,
calmed us by saying that there was no
danger, and inforraed us that the ship had
struck on a rock supposed to be Cape Race,
and had backed off without sustaining any
[46]

SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
serious daraage. Upon this we returned to
our rooms and dressed ourselves, as sleep
was entirely out of the question. Upon
reassembling on the deck we learned the
fuU extent of the disaster. The ship was
sinking, and again the prayers, the groans,
the adieus, were repeated with renewed
energy. At this time, seeing the critical
state of affairs, Captain Leiteh had the ship
headed towards the land, and ordered the
boats to be got ready. In an instant there
was a rush on the part of the steerage pas
sengers for the boats, which were filled
by raen even while they hung at the davits.
The officers and sailors, under command
of the captain, at once cleared the boats
by striking without mercy the cowardly
wretches who had sought to save them
selves alone, and armed men were placed
in sufficient numbers around each boat to
prevent any one getting possession. News
was now brought up that the fires were out,
and the situation was becoming precarious.
Before the engines had ceased to work the
ship grounded with great force upon some
sunken rocks, and remained as firmly on
[47]

SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
them as if she was on stocks. It was fortu
nate the sea was smooth or else she would
have gone to pieces.
The captain ordered all the woraen and
children into the boats, and after rowing
about half a mile we were landed on the
shore in a place called Chance Cove. In
due tirae the raaie passengers were brought
off, and at early dawn the passengers,
about seven hundred, were all on shore.
We could see the elegant stearaer stranded
on the rocks, looking as if she were about
to be launched; but her journeylngs
had ceased forever, and she never left her
cradle on the rocks until the storms of
successive winters had broken her to
fragraents. At the tirae of the shipwreck the early
operations of the Atlantic Telegraph Com
pany were taking place, and a sraall
steamer belonging to the corapany was
seen about twelve o'clock. Signals of dis
tress were hoisted and guns fired, and she
finally bore down on us and took as many
passengers as she could accommodate
(about seventy-five) to St. John's, New-
[48]

SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
foundland. It being irapossible to take
passage in her, we were forced to reraain
in Chance Cove, and provisions were
brought from the ship and tents made out
of the sails, and we succeeded in making
ourselves comparatively corafortable. A
fleet of wreckers surrounded the ship, and
all the raaie passengers were armed to repel
attack. For several nights we were rauch
alarmed at the report of firearms, and
learned each raorning that skirmishes were
going on with these pirates, and it needed
all possible precautions to keep thera at
bay. After a stay of four or five days we were
taken off by sraall steamers chartered for
the purpose and conveyed to St. John's.
We reraained a month here, and as we had
the good fortune to raeet many kind rela
tions and friends who dwelt there, our time
was passed very agreeably. While we were
in St. John's a small French propeller
carae in one Simday morning very much
disabled. She was naraed the Vesta, and
reported that she had struck a large
stearaer and, being disabled, had put into
[49]

SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
St. John's. Her foremast was gone and
her bow stove in. On board her they did
not know the extent of the damage the
other steamer had sustained, but we soon
learned that it was the Arctic of the Collins
line that had been run into, and that out
of 560 passengers but thirty were saved,
Mr. Collins (the owner of the line) and
family being araongst the lost. The sur
vivors came in next day in a lifeboat, and
the tale they told was indeed a sad one.
One of thera, the purser of the Arctic,
becarae insane from the horrors and suffer
ings he had endured, and had to be kept in
close confinement.
After remaining a raonth in St. John's,
we sailed for Philadelphia in the Osprey,
chartered by the Inman line at an expense
of $500 a day, and our first landing in
Araerica was at Martha's Vineyard, where
we put in for a few hours. We were struck
with the quaintness and beauty of the
place and the civility of the inhabitants.
On the 21st of October we landed at
Philadelphia and our trials were over.
I deem it proper to say at this time
[50]

SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
that the conduct of the Inman Company
deserved unqualified admiration.
It is a common remark that corporations
have no souls, but this company is an
admirable exception. It treated all the
passengers with the utmost courtesy, and
endeavored in every way to eorapensate
thera for the discoraforts and losses by the
accident, paid for every pound of baggage
lost, and indeed paid everything with a
lavishness and generosity rare to see.
We left Philadelphia soon after for
Ithaca, Torapkins County, New York State,
where we resided two years and then left
for Albany, arriving on the day James
Buchanan was elected.
I have now corae to the conclusion of my
description of travels and incidents of a
long life. Many incidents have occurred
which, while deeply affecting and serious
in their nature, were too sacred for publi
cation. If I have interested any of my
readers, I am well repaid, and trust that
the tirae I have occupied has not been
considered as wasted. [51]

SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
I ara sorry to inform my readers that I
ara now totally blind; seeing neither sun
nor moon nor stars, but total darkness in
the raidst of noon.
[The ending of this story is very
pathetic. Cataracts had forraed on my
mother's eyes and for years before her
death she was unable to see. Notwith
standing this affliction, she was active, and
continued to be interested in charitable
work. She was passionately fond of rausic
and a little girl attendant had a long list
of her pieces which she would read off and
the dear old lady would play from raera-
ory. She never had an illness, was a strong
and vigorous woraan, with great raentality
and force of character.
The following obituary notice, published
by the Sunday Press in 1887, is an evi
dence that her good qualities were appre
ciated and her loss deplored. In simple
words it gives an idea of the characteristics
of a remarkable woman. She was abso
lutely unselfish, generous to a fault,
[52]

SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
devoted to her faraily and as good a mother
as she had been a loving wife :
OBITUARY.
Maria Hackett.
One of our best-known and raost highly
esteemed old ladies passed away yesterday
to the final reward of a life filled with good
deeds and incessant efforts in behalf of
her fellow creatures. Mrs. Hackett had
reaehed the unusual age of 82 years and
had entered upon the 83d with the same
ambition and hopefulness of accoraplishing
more good, that characterized her entire
life. She had, for many years of late,
evinced a most remarkable activity, excit
ing the wonder and admiration of all who
carae in contact with her. She was pos
sessed of a vast fund of reminiscences and
several years since wrote for the Sunday
Press a very interesting series of articles on
life in Australia, in which country she
passed a portion of her life. She was
warmly devoted to her religion and prac
ticed its precepts raost rigidly. It was a
source of delightful pleasure to secure her
company and listen to her recitals of expe
riences during her long and eventful life.
[53]

SKETCHES OP TRAVEL
Mrs. Hackett leaves two sons, Messrs.
Edward F. and Theodore M., to raourn her
loss, who will receive the sympathy of a
widely extended circle of friends.]

[54]

BRIEF SKETCH OF THE MILITARY
CAREER OF
EDWARD F. HACKETT, JR.
LIEUTENANT COMPANY A, 42nd REGIMENT
NEW YORK STATE VOLUNTEERS

lieutenant EDWARD F. HACKETT, Jr.

BRIEF SKETCH OF THE MILITARY
CAREER OF EDWARD F. HACKETT, JR.

In publishing a family story one raay be
pardoned for giving prominence to the
youngest member of the faraily, who not
only had a record as a traveler but who
also distinguished hiraself in the Spanish-
American War.
Early in May, 1898, Edward F. Hackett,
Jr., enlisted in Company A, Tenth Bat
talion, as a private. Shortly afterward the
regiraent left Albany for Camp Black.
Many will reraeraber the departure of the
regiment for the front: the raarching
from the Armory down Washington Ave
nue to the depot; the erabarking of the
troops, the cheering, the display of flags
and bunting; the band playing patriotic
airs; the shouts and good-byes of the on
lookers and the wild enthusiasm of the
crowd that lined the streets. Shortly
afterwards came news of Camp Black; the
suffering and lack of comfort experienced;
the insufficiency of shelter; the sleeping on
[57]

SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
wet ground ; everything to show the incom
petency of the powers that be. Then came
word that the regiment had been ordered to
Honolulu and long descriptions followed of
the experiences there in that delightful
climate. In Noveraber, 1898, the First
Regiment was ordered home and about
Christraas of that year a grand welcorae
was given by Albanians to the soldiers who,
although they had not met the eneray or
even had a skirraish with thera, had shown
their readiness to fight for their country.
In February, 1899, Private Hackett was
honorably discharged, and soon obtained a
commission as Second Lieutenant in the
Twelfth New York. After a short stay in
Cuba the regiment was mustered out of
service, arriving in New York, March 27,
1899. Shortly after the Lieutenant was again
commissioned in the Forty-second New
York Volunteers with headquarters at Fort
Niagara and after a brief time spent in
recruiting service he started for the Philip
pines. For about eighteen raonths he
served gaUantly, enduring much hardship
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SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
and privation and participating in several
engagements. Of one very severe fight at
Pinauran the foUowing comment which is
taken from The Albany Journal, February
14, 1901, speaks for itself :
YOUNG ALBANY OFFICER
HONORED
LiKUTENAXT Edward F. Hackett
Furnished with Official
Report op Orders
C0MiIE^1)r^'G his actio^^
Participated with His Compaxt ix ax Assault
ITpox ax Almost lirPEEGXABLE Posrnoif
A young Albany soldier in the army in the
Philippines seems to be covering himself with
glory. Lieutenant E. F. Hackett, Jr., of the
Forty-second Eegiment. TJ. S. V., has received
recognition which many officers who served during
the Civil War and on the plains were unable to
attain. The following report of an engagement in
northem Luzon, Xovember 22. 1900, explains in
terse military manner the battle in which Lieuten
ant Hackett bore himself in most gallant manner:
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SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
Headquarters Sixth District, Department of
Northern Luzon, El Deposito, P. I.,
December 21, 1900.
Major E. C. Cary, Forty-second U. S. Volunteers:
Sir: The District Commander directs me to express
his appreciation of the services rendered by your
command, the main column of the expeditionary
forces, under Colonel J. Milton Thompson, Forty-
second Infantry, TJ. S. Volunteers, during the expe
dition against and engagement with the insurgent
forces under Licerio Geronimo, at Pinauran, the
insurgent stronghold northeast of Montalbon, P. I.,
November 22, 1900, resulting in the destruction of
the enemy's quarters, supplies, etc. The prompt
ness with which your two leading companies (A
and I, Forty-second Infantry) scaled the almost
vertical walls of the canon of the river Anginan,
which had they been bare of vegetation would have
been difficult enough, but which, on account of the
dense growth of cane, looked as if they were insur
mountable obstacles, is worthy of comment.
While the country over which the column oper
ated, though it presented extremely great diffi
culties, offered easy traveling compared with that
over which the other columns marched, yet the
fact that the main column engaged the enemy to a
greater extent, made up the difference.
Very respectfully,
Joseph E. McAndrews,
Forty-second Infantry, TJ. S. "Volunteers,
First Lieutenant and Battalion Adjutant, Acting
Assistant Adjutant General.
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SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
Headquarters Sixth District, Department of
Northern Luzon, El Deposito, P. I.,
December 21, 1900.
Official copy respectfully furnished Second Lieu
tenant E. F. Hackett, Jr., Forty-second Infantry,
TJ. S. Volunteers, who commanded Company A,
Forty-second Infantry, TJ. S. Volunteers, which was
part of the main column in the above mentioned
expedition and engagement.
By order of the Colonel. Joseph E. McAndkews,
First Lieutenant and Battalion Adjutant, Forty-
second TJ. S. Volunteers, Acting Assistant
Adjutant General.
Mr. Hackett, who now holds a First Lieutenant's
commission, commanded his company on this occa
sion. The American column consisted of 1,400
men. Against them 3,000 Filipinos were arrayed
in a stronghold which seemed to be impregnable.
To reach them it was necessary to scale the side
of a canon, which, as the official report discloses,
was almost vertical. Company A of the Forty-
second, commanded by Lieutenant Hackett, seems
to have been foremost in the assault, and the fact
that Colonel Thompson directed that an official
copy of the report of the affair should be furnished
him, proves that he must have acquitted himself
with singular gallantry. Five Americans were
killed. The Filipinos' loss is not stated, but they
were routed and all their supplies in the strong
hold captured.
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SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
Lieutenant Hackett is a son of E. F. Hackett.
He was a member of Company A of the Tenth
Battalion, and went with the First New York
Eegiment to Honolulu. On the return of the First
he applied for a commission for service in Cuba,
and obtained one in the Twelfth New York. On
his arrival in Cuba he was made Post-Adjutant of
the regiment, but in a short time the Twelfth was
ordered home. Then he secured a commission in
the Forty-second, where he has seen hard service.
He has been down with fever and suffered all the
hardships of the campaign in northern Luzon. The
fact that he has been mentioned in the way above
indicated will be a source of pride to his many
friends hereabouts, for his action reflects credit
on the city of his birth.
On January 2, 1901, he was promoted to
First Lieutenant. The Forty-second Regi
ment returned to San Francisco, June 21,
1901, and was raustered out of service.
After his return frora the Philippines he
never fully recovered frora the effects of
his hardships and fever he suffered from
while on duty. His health was greatly
impaired and while he struggled raanfuUy
to engage in business and was a short time
previous to his death in very lucrative
eraployraent in New York City he was
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SKETCHES OF TRAVEL
obliged to give up his position. He was
born in Albany in 1877 and attended the
boys' acaderay, and he died in Albany in
June, 1907, in the thirtieth year of his
age. Previous to his enlistment in the array
in 1897 he made a voyage around South
America, going as far north as Bucador on
the west coast. Counting his trip to Hono
lulu and return and his voyage to the
Philippines, he had a record of travel of
nearly one hundred thousand miles. He
was popular araong his associates and was
of, an extreraely happy disposition.
This brief sketch of Maria Hackett 's
grandson is not, it would seera, iraproperly
inserted in this little book, and if one takes
pride in recounting the patriotisra and
bravery shown, it will be reraerabered that
it was for his country that Edward F.
Hackett, Jr., virtually gave up his life.

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