Existing comment:
Capt. Mike Healy
Thomas Farrell, Pastel Chalk
Captain Michael "Hell Roaring Mike" Healy, commanding officer of the cutters Chandler, Corwin, Bear, McCullough and Thetis, became a legend enforcing federal law along Alaska's 33,000 mile coastline. In addition to being a friend to missionaries and scientists, he was a rescuer of whalers, natives, shipwrecked sailors and destitute miners. Born the son of a slave mother in 1839 near Macon, Georgia, he was sent north by his Irish immigrant father to obtain an education. Healy, however, had other ideas and ran away from whatever school his father sent him to. At the age of 15, he finally ran away for good and began his 49-year sea career starting as a cabin boy aboard a clipper ship bound for Asia. During the Civil War, he requested and was granted a commission in the Revenue Cutter Service from President Abraham Lincoln. |