So we started with five boats provisioned and otherwise prepared for a cruise of twenty days. The lieutenant in charge did not think it wise to land, as a bad feeling towards us was known to exist among the inhabitants, who were all more or less slave-dealers, or interested in the success of the slave-vessels, so we had to live in our boats. Rather hard lines, sleeping on the boat's thwarts, &c. Still we had that 'balm of Gilead,' hope, to keep us alive, and our good spirits. Many a longing eye did I cast to the shore, where, in spite of the bloodhounds, I should like to have stretched my cramped limbs. Ten or twelve days passed in dodging about, doing nothing but keeping a good look-out, and we almost began to despair, when one fine morning we saw a large brig, evidently a slaver, running in towards the shore with a fresh breeze. Our boats were painted like fishing boats, and our men disguised as fishermen, as usual; so, apparently occupied with our pretended business, we gradually approached the slave-vessel. My orders were strictly to follow the movements or action of my superior. Then I witnessed a gallant act, such as I have not seen surpassed during forty years of active service that I have gone through since that time. Lieutenant A.C., who was in the leading boat, a large twelve-oared cutter, edged pretty near to the advancing vessel, and when quite close under her bows one man seemed to me to spring like a chamois on board. I saw the boat from which the man jumped make an ineffectual attempt to get alongside the vessel, that was going at the rate of six miles an hour, and then drop astern. I heard a pistol shot, and suddenly the vessel was thrown up in the wind with all her sails aback, thus entirely stopping her way (sailors will understand this). Not knowing precisely what had happened, we pulled like maniacs alongside of the slaver. To do this was, now that the vessel's way was stopped, comparatively easy. We dashed on board, and after a slight resistance on the part of the slaver's crew, in which two or three more men, myself among the number, were wounded, we took possession of the brig. There we found our lieutenant standing calmly at the helm, which was a long wooden tiller. He it was who had jumped on board alone, shot the man at the helm, put the said helm down with his leg, while in his hand he held his other pistol, with which he threatened to shoot any one who dared to touch him.
I fancy that his cool pluck had caused a panic among the undisciplined crew, a panic that our rapid approach tended much to increase. What astonished me was that nobody on board thought of shooting him before he got to the helm, in which case we never could have got on board the vessel, considering the speed she was going through the water. What he did was a glorious piece of pluck, that in these days would have been rewarded with the Victoria Cross as the least recompense they could have given to so gallant an officer. Poor fellow! all the reward he got, beyond the intense admiration of those who saw him, was a bad attack of small-pox from the diseased animals (there is no other name for negroes in the state they were in) on board the slave-vessel, which somewhat injured the face of one of the handsomest men I ever saw. He is now an admiral, has done many gallant acts since then, but none could beat what he did on that memorable morning.
I have said that I was among those who were wounded on this occasion. What my friend A.C. did so far outshone anything that I had accomplished, that it is hardly worth while speaking of my share in the fray. However, as I am writing sketches from my life, I will not omit to describe the way in which I was wounded. We were, as I have said, making a rush to assist our gallant leader, who was alone on board the slaver. The reader will have seen that our business was boarding and fighting our enemy hand to hand. As I was making a jump on board I saw the white of the eye of a great black man turned on me; he brandished a huge axe, which I had a sort of presentiment was intended for me. I sprang as it were straight at my destiny, for as I grasped the gunnel down came the axe, and I received the full edge of the beastly thing across the back of my hand. I fell into the water, but was picked up by my sailors, and managed to get on board again. Had it not been for a clever young assistant surgeon, who bound up the wound in a most scientific manner, I should probably have quite lost the use of my hand; the mark remains across my knuckles to this day.
I was once sent from Rio to Demerara, an English colony on the coast of Brazil, with a cargo of blacks that we had freed. Then it was that I had a good opportunity of studying the character of these people certainly in their primitive state, and if ever men and women resembled wild animals it was my swarthy charges. When I arrived at Demerara I handed them over to their new masters, to whom they were apprenticed for seven years, and from all I can understand they were, during their apprenticeship, treated pretty much as slaves in every respect.
During the time I visited Demerara (and I fancy it is very slightly changed now) it was one of the vilest holes in creation. It is built on a low sandy point of land at the entrance of a great river, and is almost the hottest place on the earth. Mosquitos in thousands of millions; nothing for the natives to do but to cultivate sugar-canes and to perspire. There were two crack regiments quartered at Demerara, who, having to withstand the dreadful monotony of doing nothing, took I fear to living rather too well; the consequence was that many a fine fellow had been carried off by yellow fever. For my part, I took a rather high flight in the way of pastime by falling (as I imagined) desperately in love with the governor's daughter. The governor, I must tell my readers, was a very great swell, a general, a K.C.B., &c., and his daughter was a mighty pretty girl, much run after by the garrison; so it was thought great impertinence on my part, as a humble sub-lieutenant, to presume to make love to the reigning, if not the only, beauty in the place.
However, audacity carried me on, and I soon became No. 1 in the young lady's estimation. I used to ride with her, spent the evenings in the balcony of Government House with her, sent her flowers every morning, and so on, till at last people began to talk, and steps were taken by her numerous admirers to stop my wild career. This was done in a somewhat startling way (premeditated, as I found out afterwards). One evening I was playing at whist, one of my opponents being a momentarily discarded lover of my young lady; I thought he was looking very distrait; however, things went off quietly enough for some time, till on some trifling question arising concerning the rules of the game, the young man suddenly and quite gratuitously insulted me most grossly, ending his insolent conduct by throwing his cards in my face. This was more than I could put up with, so I called him out, and the next morning put a ball into his ankle, which prevented him dancing for a long time to come. He, being the best dancer in the colony, was rather severely punished; it seems that he had undertaken to bell the cat, hardly expecting such unpleasant results.
On returning home after the hostile meeting I found a much more formidable adversary in the shape of the governor himself, who was stamping furiously up and down the verandah of my apartment. He received me with, 'What the d—- l do you mean, young sir, by making love to my daughter? you are a mere boy.' (I was twenty and did not relish his remark.) 'What means have you got?'
After the old gentleman's steam had gone down a little I replied, 'Really, general, I hardly know how to answer you. Your daughter and I are very good friends, the place is most detestably dull, there is nothing to do, and if we amuse ourselves with a little love-making, surely there can be no great harm.' This rejoinder of mine made things worse; I thought the old boy would have had a fit. At last he said, 'The mail steamer leaves for England to-morrow; you shall go home by her, I order you to do so!' I replied that I should please myself, and that I was not under his orders. The general went away uttering threats. After he was gone I thought seriously over the matter. I calculated that my income of 120l. a year would scarcely suffice to keep a wife, and I decided to renounce my dream of love. I went to pay a farewell visit to my young lady, but found that she was locked up, so away I went and soon forgot all about it. Shortly afterwards I heard that the governor's daughter married the man whose leg I had lamed for his impertinence to me.
My last adventure while employed in the suppression of the slave trade is perhaps worth describing.
By international law it was ruled that a vessel on her way to Africa, if fitted out in a certain manner, whereby it was evident that she was employed in the nefarious traffic of slavery, was liable to capture and condemnation by the mixed tribunals, or in other words became the lawful prize of her captors.
While cruising off Pernambuco we boarded a Portuguese vessel bound to Africa, so evidently fitted out for the purpose of slave trade that my captain took possession of her, and sent me to convey her to the Cape of Good Hope for adjudication. It was the usual thing to send the captain of a vessel so captured as a prisoner on board his ship, so that he might be interrogated at the trial. In this case the master and three of his crew were sent. The prize crew consisted of myself and six men. Now the captain was an exceedingly gentlemanlike man, a good sailor, and a first-rate navigator.
At first I treated him as a prisoner, but by degrees he insinuated himself into my good graces to such an extent that after a while I invited him to mess with me, in fact, made a friend of him, little thinking of the serpent I was nourishing.
For several days all went well. I was as unsuspicious as a child of foul play. We lived together and worked our daily navigation together, played at cards together, in fact were quite chums. The three men who were supposed to be prisoners were allowed considerable liberty, and as they had, as I found out afterwards, a private stock of grog stowed away somewhere, which they occasionally produced and gave to my men, they managed to be pretty free to do as they wished. For all that, I ordered that the three prisoners should be confined below during the night.
As the weather was very hot I always slept in a little place on deck called a bunk, a thing more like a dog-kennel than aught else I can compare it to, excepting that the hole for entrance and exit was somewhat larger than that generally used for the canine species.
I always slept with a pistol (revolvers were unknown in those days) under my pillow. Luckily for me that I did so, as the result will show.
I had remarked (this I thought of afterwards) that the prisoner captain and some of his men had been whispering together a good deal lately; but not being in the slightest degree suspicious I thought nothing of it.
One evening I retired to my sleeping place as usual, after having passed a pleasant chatty evening with my prisoner. I was settling myself to sleep, in fact I think I was asleep as far as it would be called so, for I had from habit the custom of sleeping with one eye open, when I saw or felt the flash of a knife over my head. The entrance to my couch was very limited, so that my would-be murderer had some difficulty in striking the fatal blow. Instinct at once showed me my danger.
To draw my pistol from under my pillow was the work of a second; to fire it into the body of the man who was trying to stab me, that of another. A groan and a heavy fall on the deck told me what had happened, and springing out of my sleeping berth I found my ci-devant friend the captain lying on his face, dead as a door nail. In the meantime I heard a row in the fore-part of the ship. On going forward I saw one of the prisoners in the act of falling overboard, and another extended full length on the deck, while my stalwart quarter-master was flourishing a handspike with which he had knocked one of his assailants overboard and floored the other. Now it will be asked what was the man at the wheel doing? Hereby hangs a tale. He swore that he heard or saw nothing. Considering this sufficient evidence of his guilt, I put him in irons. Shortly afterwards he confessed the whole story. It seems that a conspiracy had been planned among the prisoners to retake the ship—that the man at the wheel had been bribed to let free two of the prisoners, under promise of a large reward if the result had been the retaking of the ship.
The only provision he made was that he was to take no murderous action against his countrymen. The man at the helm and the quarter-master being the only men on deck, and I being gone to roost, all seemed easy enough, but Providence willed it otherwise.
I buried the captain in the sea without further ceremony; the man who fell overboard I suppose was drowned (I did not try to pick him up); the man knocked down was put in irons, and all went smoothly for the rest of the voyage; but when I arrived at the Cape of Good Hope without the captain, the lawyers who defended the ship wanted to make out that I had murdered him, and I was very nearly sent to prison on the charge of murder.
In the above pages I have endeavoured to give some notion of what used to go on in old times when there were no steam launches, and when, I may be forgiven for saying it, sailors were in every sense of the word sailors.
I could recount many more adventures somewhat similar to those I have described, but I do not wish to bore my readers or appear egotistical in their eyes. The only comparison I would make in regard to our doings in those days is with the work done by the blockading squadron during the civil war in America; for if ever men required plucky endurance and self-denial it was the poor fellows who had to keep, or endeavour to keep, blockade-runners if not slavers from communicating with the stormy shores of Florida and South Carolina. They are too modest now to tell us what they went through. Perhaps forty years hence they will do as I am doing, and recount some of their adventures, which I am convinced would quite put into the shade anything I or my boat's crew ever did.
I do not wish to be mistaken in my remarks about the black race. I will not venture to give an opinion as to what Providence meant to be done with those interesting creatures. I only assert, and this I do from my own personal experience, that a black man is a happier and wiser man in America than he is in his own wretched country, North and South.
I returned from the Cape to England. On arriving there I was appointed to the Queen's yacht, as a reward for what their lordships at the Admiralty were good enough to designate my active and zealous services while employed in suppression of the slave trade.
To be appointed to Her Majesty's yacht was in those days considered a very great distinction. Even now the Queen invariably chooses officers who have seen what is called 'service.' Such an appointment, apart from the honour of being so near Her Majesty, always tends to rapid promotion.
The Queen at the time I write of was very fond of cruising in her yacht, paying visits to foreign potentates, &c. Her Majesty had been then five years married, with a young family springing up around her, and her beloved husband the Prince Consort always with her, participating in all her pleasures; so we, the officers of the Royal yacht, had a rare time of it, were made a lot of wherever we went, and thought ourselves very great men indeed. Amongst other trips, we conveyed the Royal family up the Rhine, where Her Majesty visited the King of Prussia at Stolzenfels.
Afterwards we went to the Château d'Eu, where Her Majesty was received by King Louis Philippe and the Reine Amélie.
I shall never forget the condescending kindness of Her Majesty and Prince Albert to all on board the Royal yacht. As to the Prince Consort, he treated the officers more in the light of companions than subordinates, always ready to join us in a cigar and its accompanying friendly conversation.
Apropos of smoking, I cannot refrain from mentioning a little incident that happened on board the 'Victoria and Albert,' that I, for one, shall never forget. Her Gracious Majesty never approved of smoking, and it was only through the kind consideration of the Prince Consort that we were allowed to indulge in an occasional cigar in the cow-house. The cow-house was a little place fitted up for two pretty small Alderney cows, kept specially for supplying milk and butter for the Royal table.
Her Majesty was very fond of these animals and had the habit of visiting them every day, and the young Princes used to be held up to look in at the window, out of which there was room for the favoured cows to stretch their heads. One evening we were smoking as usual when I espied a pot of blue paint on the deck of the cow-house, with, as bad luck would have it, a brush in the pot. I cannot say what induced me, but I deliberately took the brush and painted the tips of the noses and the horns of both animals a pretty light blue. Having done this I thought no more of the matter. The next morning Her Majesty—well, I think I had better say no more about it. I, the culprit, was denounced and had to keep out of the way for a day or two. Then it was that the good-natured Prince proved himself a friend, and got me out of my scrape.
I passed two of the happiest years of my life in the Queen's yacht, after which I was promoted to the rank of lieutenant, and appointed to a ship in the Mediterranean, where I passed for several years the usual humdrum life of a naval officer during times of profound peace.
However, while serving as a lieutenant in the Mediterranean, I had the advantage of taking part in one of the most interesting political events of the century, namely, the flight of Pius IX. from Rome. The ship I was in was stationed at Civita Vecchia, the sea-port of Rome, partly in order to protect British interests—that is, the persons and properties of British subjects—partly with the object of taking that half-hearted part in religious politics which has always been such a humiliating rôle for England.
We had an accredited agent, a nondescript sort of person, representing England at the court of Pope Pius IX. This gentleman's duty was to watch and report, but not to act. It was through him that England's idea of the policy to be pursued by the Pope was conveyed. We did not, and we did, want to interfere. The question of the balance of power of Italy as an independent nation was too important to neglect; it was impossible to separate altogether religion and politics. However, at the time I write of things were rushing to a crisis.
The Pope, who a short time previously had been considered the great supporter of liberty, was now looked upon as its enemy. Garibaldi was, in a mad sort of way, fighting in its cause—at least, he professed to do so. He had marched with a band of howling volunteers to the gates of Rome, and established himself there as its conqueror, virtually making the Pope a prisoner in the Vatican. In the meantime France interfered in the Pope's cause, and sent General Oudinot with a small army to dislodge Garibaldi. England's doubtful diplomatic relations made it necessary to choose every sort of means of communicating with the Pope, and I had the honour on more than one occasion of being the messenger chosen to communicate, not only with His Holiness, but between Garibaldi and the French commander. On the first occasion I was sent to Rome with despatches from Lord Palmerston to be delivered (so said my orders) into the Pope's own hands.
On my arrival at Rome I went straight to the Quirinal and asked to see Cardinal Antonelli. When I informed him of my instructions, he said at once, 'You may give your despatches to me; you cannot expect to see His Holiness.' 'No, sir; to the Pope I will give my despatches, or take them back again,' and from this decision no persuasions or threats would move me. Finding me obstinate the Cardinal at last took me with him into a room where the Pope was sitting. His Holiness seemed in a great state of anxiety, but was most kind and condescending. He gave me his hand to kiss, and congratulated me on having been so firm in obeying orders in relation to my despatches. I afterwards found that these despatches influenced very much the important step taken by Pio Nono a few days afterwards.
Subsequently I several times conveyed communications between General Garibaldi and General Oudinot. The former had most pluckily taken possession of an important position inside the walls of Rome, and it was a hard piece of work to dislodge him.
I used to gallop in between General Oudinot's camp and Garibaldi's headquarters, having on my arm a red scarf for a sign that I was not a belligerent. My scarf was not much use, however, as I was generally fired at all the time that I was passing the space between the French camp and Garibaldi's headquarters in Rome.
I was amused by the audacity with which Garibaldi resisted the French army. I fancy he wanted to delay matters so that the Pope should be induced to take the ill-advised step of leaving Rome, and in this the republican general succeeded. What went on in Rome, the way in which the Pope escaped, &c., I am not able to relate. All I know is that one fine morning a simple carriage arrived from Rome at Civita Vecchia, bringing a portly individual enveloped in the large cloak of an English coachman, and another man in ordinary apparel. They strolled down to the place of embarkation, and went quietly on board, not (as was expected) the English man-of-war, but a French vessel-of-war which was lying with her steam up.
This vessel then left the harbour, almost unnoticed, and it was not for hours afterwards that we heard that His Holiness Pius IX. was the humble-looking person who had embarked before our eyes, and thus got away safely to Gaëta.
In 1854 the war (commonly called the Crimean war) broke out, and I was appointed first lieutenant of H.M.S.—— for service in the Baltic.
I shall never forget the excitement among us all when, after so many years of inactivity, we were called upon to defend the honour of our country. Unfortunately for old England the Baltic fleet was put under the command of Sir C. N——, 'fighting old Charley' as he was called, though it was not long before we discovered that there was not much fight left in him. It might well be said by those generously inclined towards him, in the words of the old song, that the
'Bullets and the gout
Had so knocked his hull about,
That he'd never more be fit for sea.'
A finer fleet never sailed or steamed from Spithead than that destined for the Baltic in 1854. The signal from its commander, 'Lads, war is declared! Sharpen your cutlasses and the day's your own,' sent a thrill of joy through every breast. After following the melting ice up the Baltic Sea to within almost reach of the guns of Cronstadt, we waited till the ice had disappeared, and then went in as we thought for the attack.
The ship to which I belonged being a steamer, and drawing much less water than the line-of-battle ships, led the way. A grander sight could not be conceived than that of twenty splendid line-of-battle ships, formed in two lines, steaming straight up to the frowning batteries of Cronstadt. On our approaching the batteries a shot was fired, and fell alongside the ship I was in, which, as I said, was leading for the purpose of sounding, when, to our astonishment and disgust, the signal was made from the flag-ship to the fleet 'Stop!' and immediately afterwards to 'anchor.'
It is not for me to say the reason 'why.' All that I can vouch for is that, in the general opinion of competent judges, had we gone on we could have taken or destroyed Cronstadt, instead of which—what was done? They sent to England for special boats to be made ready for the next summer, when the attack would be made on Cronstadt.
We remained a few days at anchor off that place, when some half of the fleet were detached to the Aland Islands, where an insignificant fort called Bomarsund was to be attacked—not by the English and French fleets, who were fit to do any mortal thing, but by an army fetched from France. When the army came, the poor little fort attacked by the fleet on the seaside, and on the shore by the soldiers, after firing a few shots surrendered. During the attack I was appointed acting commander of H.M.S.——, and was mentioned honourably in despatches.
Many promotions were made for the taking of Bomarsund, but I fancy I had as usual given my opinion too freely, as I was left out in the cold. I shall never forget old Charley's answer to me when I applied for my promotion, it was so worthy of him. He said, 'Don't ye come crying to me, Sir; you are a lord's son: I'll have nothing to do wi' ye.'
Immediately after the capture of Bomarsund, the admiral detached a small squadron under Captain S—— to reconnoitre the Russian port of Abo. Of that squadron the vessel of which I was commander formed one. We left with sealed orders, which were not to be opened until we arrived at, or near to, our destination.
On sighting the enemy's port we perceived that every preparation was being made to give us a warm reception. A council of war was held on board the senior officer's ship, at which council the sealed orders were opened, when to our disgust it was found within that we were ordered 'not to fight, merely to reconnoitre.'
Sickening humiliation! There were the Russian gunboats inside the bar of the harbour of Abo, firing at us with all their might. The forts on the heights, such as they were, very insignificant temporary batteries of field-pieces, had commenced to get the range of the ships; but as we were not to fight, we took a sulky shot or two at the enemy and retired.
To this day I cannot understand the policy that actuated this weak, vacillating conduct on the part of our chief. But some idea may be given of his fighting notions by the following occurrence, of which I was a witness.
One morning despatches arrived from England. A signal was made from the flag-ship for commanding officers to repair on board that vessel. On our arrival there, we were asked to sit down to breakfast. Our chief, who was opening his letters, suddenly threw a despatch over the table to S——, the admiral of the fleet, saying, 'What would ye do, mun, if ye received a letter like this?' S——, after reading the letter said, 'If I received a letter like that, I'd attack Revel or Sveaborg if I lost half my fleet.' Our chief's answer I shall never forget. It was: 'I haven't got nerve to do it, and I'm d——d well sure C—— hasn't.' There are many living besides myself who can vouch for the accuracy of this statement.
I shall say no more of the doings of the English fleet in the Baltic during that year. Suffice it, that if ever open mutiny was displayed—not by the crews of the ships, but by many of the captains, men who attained the highest rank in their profession—it was during the cruise in the Baltic in 1854: and no wonder.
Many gallant deeds were performed by single ships, but the fleet did absolutely nothing, except help to capture Bomarsund. I returned to England disgusted and disheartened. The next year the commander-in-chief was changed; I was appointed to his ship, and we went again to the Baltic, taking with us all the necessary appurtenances for bombarding forts and attacking the enemy's coast.
As soon as the melting of the ice permitted we arrived off Cronstadt, and found that the Russians had not been asleep during our absence for the winter months; for they had defended the approaches to that place to such an extent, that an attack was considered (and on this occasion there was no difference of opinion) most unadvisable. So we fell back on Sveaborg, which place was bombarded by the combined fleets, I venture to think most successfully, and I believe, had we had a force to land, we could have taken possession of that large and important fortress.
Our losses during the operation were small on board the squadron of mortar-boats which I had the good luck to command—some fifty-eight men hors de combat.
In this service I received my promotion to the rank of commander, and returned to England.
Peace was made between Russia and England, previous to which, however, I was appointed to a vessel in the Mediterranean which formed part of the fleet off Sebastopol. Unfortunately, I arrived too late to see much active service there.
While serving as a commander in the Mediterranean, I was principally under the command of Sir Wm. M——, a man whose reputation as being the smartest officer in the navy, I must venture to say, I think was greatly exaggerated, though he was doubtless what is called a 'smart officer.'
His idea was to rule with a rod of iron, and never to encourage anyone by praising zealous and active service. He used to say, 'I am here to find fault with, not to praise, officers under my command.' So many a fine fellow's zeal was damped by knowing that no encouragement would follow in the way of appreciation from his chief, however much he might have merited it.
I cannot refrain from recounting a very amusing incident that occurred in connection with my command of H.M.S. F—— . I may mention that, differing as I did most materially with the system of discipline followed by the commander-in-chief, I was no favourite of his.
One day, however, I was somewhat surprised at being ordered to prepare for the official inspection of my ship, and by no less a person than Sir W. M——himself. I must mention that one of the crotchets of the chief was that vessels such as mine—namely, a gunboat of the first class—could be floated off the shore, in case of their stranding, by water-casks being lashed round them. So orders were given that all vessels of that class were to lumber their decks with water-casks. I did so, according to orders; but, not having the least confidence in the manner in which the commander-in-chief proposed to employ them, I utilised them, as will be seen presently, for an entirely different purpose.
The day of my ship's inspection was evidently not one of my lucky days. To begin with, a horrid little monkey belonging to the crew—amusing himself running about in the hammock-nettings near to the gangway over which the great man had to pass—seeing something he thought unusual, made a rush as the commander-in-chief was stepping on board, stooped down, and deliberately took the cocked hat off his head, dropped it into the sea, then started up the rigging chattering with delight at the mischief he had done. The cocked hat was at once recovered, wiped dry, and placed in its proper place. The admiral, always stern as a matter of principle, looked, after this incident, sterner than usual, hardly recognised me except by a formal bow, then proceeded to muster the officers and crew. This over, he commenced to walk round the deck. I remarked with pleasure his countenance change when he saw how neatly his pet water-casks were painted and lashed to the inner gunnel of the ship. He said quite graciously, 'I am glad to see, Captain Hobart, that you pay such attention to my orders.' I began to think I was mistaken in my idea of the man; but, alas! for my exuberance of spirits and satisfaction. While the admiral was closely examining one of his pet casks, his face came almost in contact with the opening of the barrel, when, to his and my horror, a pretty little spaniel put out his head and licked the great man on the nose.
I shall never forget the admiral's countenance; he turned blue with anger, drew himself up, ordered his boat to be manned, and walked over the side not saying a word to anyone.
The facts which led to this untoward occurrence were that, seeing the necessity of having my decks crowded with what I considered useless lumber, in the form of water-casks, I had utilised them by making them into dog-kennels. The admiral hated dogs, hated sport of all kind, and, after what occurred, I fancy hated me. Well, I didn't love him; I never saw him again.
The very next day I was ordered to the coast of Syria: just what I wanted, i.e., to be out of the commander-in-chief's way, and to have some good shooting.
On receiving my rank as post-captain, I found myself shelved, as it were, for four years, while waiting my turn for a command. This was according to the rules of the navy, so there was no getting out of it. What was I to do? I consulted several of my friends who were in a similar position, who, like myself, did not wish to remain idle so long, so we looked about us for some enterprise, as something to do.
The upshot of it was that we thought of trying if we could not conceive some plan for breaking through the much-talked-of blockade of the Southern States of America, then in revolt against the government of Washington. Four of us young post-captains took this decision, and as it would have been, perhaps, considered infra dig. for real naval officers to engage in such an enterprise, we lent our minds, if not our bodies, to certain alter egos, whom we inspired, if we did not personally control, as to their line of conduct. My man I will call Roberts, whose adventures I now give, and in whose name I shall write. There are people who insist that I was Captain Roberts; all that such people have to do is to prove I was that 'miscreant,' whoever he may have been. The following is his narrative:—
During the late civil war in America the executive government undertook the blockade of more than 3,000 miles of coast, and though nothing could exceed the energy and activity of the naval officers so employed, the results were very unsatisfactory, inasmuch as it was not till absolute possession was taken of the forts at the entrance of the great harbours, such as Charleston, Mobile, and Wilmington, that blockade-running was stopped.
I trust that our American friends will not be too severe in their censures on those engaged in blockade-running; for, I say it with the greatest respect for and admiration of enterprise, had they been lookers-on instead of principals in the sad drama that was enacted, they would have been the very men to take the lead. It must be borne in mind that the excitement of fighting did not exist. One was always either running away or being deliberately pitched into by the broadsides of the American cruisers, the slightest resistance to which would have constituted piracy; whereas capture without resistance merely entailed confiscation of cargo and vessel.
The vessel I had charge of—which I had brought out from England, was one of the finest double-screw steamers that had ever been built by D——n; of 400 tons burden, 250 horse-power, 180 feet long, and 22 feet beam—and was, so far as sea-going qualities, speed, &c., went, as handy a little craft as ever floated. Our crew consisted of a captain, three officers, three engineers, and twenty-eight men, including firemen, that is, ten seamen and eighteen firemen. They were all Englishmen, and as they received very high wages, we managed to have picked men. In fact, the men-of-war on the West India station found it a difficult matter to prevent their crews from deserting, so great was the temptation offered by the blockade-runners.
I will begin by explaining how we prepared the vessel for the work. This was done by reducing her spars to a light pair of lower masts, without any yards across them; the only break in their sharp outline being a small crow's-nest on the foremast, to be used as a look-out place. The hull, which showed about eight feet above water, was painted a dull grey colour to render her as nearly as possible invisible in the night. The boats were lowered square with the gunnels. Coal was taken on board of a smokeless nature (anthracite). The funnel, being what is called 'telescope,' lowered close down to the deck. In order that no noise might be made, steam was blown off under water. In fact, every ruse was resorted to to enable the vessel to evade the vigilance of the American cruisers, who were scattered about in great numbers all the way between Bermuda and Wilmington—the port at the time I write of most frequented by blockade-runners. While speaking of the precautions used I may mention that among the fowls taken on board as provisions, no cocks were allowed, for fear of their proclaiming the whereabouts of the blockade-runner. This may seem ridiculous, but it was very necessary.
The distance from Bermuda to Wilmington (the port we were bound to) is 720 miles. We started in the evening. For the first twenty-four hours we saw nothing to alarm us, but at daylight the second day there was a large American cruiser not half a mile from us, right ahead, who, before we could turn round, steamed straight at us, and commenced firing rapidly, but very much at random, the shot and shell all passing over or wide of us.
Fortunately, according to orders to have full steam on at daybreak, we were quite prepared for a run; and still more fortunately a heavy squall of wind and rain that came on helped us vastly, as we were dead to windward of the enemy; and having no top-weights we soon dropped him astern. He most foolishly kept yawing, to fire his bow-chasers, losing ground every time he did so. By eight o'clock we were out of range—unhit; and by noon out of sight of anything but smoke.
Luckily, the chase had not taken us much off our course, as the consumption of coal during a run of this sort, with boilers all but bursting from high pressure of steam, was a most serious consideration—there being no coal in the Confederate ports, where wood was only used, which would not suit our furnaces.
We were now evidently in very dangerous waters, steamers being reported from our mast-head every hour, and we had to keep moving about in all directions to avoid them; sometimes stopping to let one pass ahead of us, at another time turning completely round, and running back on our course. Luckily, we were never seen or chased. Night came on, and I had hoped that we should have made rapid progress till daybreak unmolested. All was quiet until about one o'clock in the morning, when suddenly, to our dismay, we found a steamer close alongside of us. How she had got there without our knowledge is a mystery to me even now. However, there she was, and we had hardly seen her before a stentorian voice howled out, 'Heave-to in that steamer, or I'll sink you.' It seemed as if all was over, but I determined to try a ruse before giving the little craft up. So I answered, 'Ay, ay, sir, we are stopped.' The cruiser was about eighty yards from us. We heard orders given to man and arm the quarter-boats, we saw the boats lowered into the water, we saw them coming, we heard the crews laughing and cheering at the prospect of their prize. The bowmen had just touched the sides of our vessel with their boat-hooks when I whispered down the tube into the engine-room, 'Full speed ahead!' and away we shot into the darkness.
I don't know what happened; whether the captain of the man-of-war thought that his boats had taken possession, and thus did not try to stop us, or whether he stopped to pick up his boats in the rather nasty sea that was running, some one who reads this may know. All I can say is, that not a shot was fired, and that in less than a minute the pitch darkness hid the cruiser from our view. This was a great piece of luck.
All the next day we passed in dodging about, avoiding the cruisers as best we could, but always approaching our post.
During the day we got good observations with which our soundings agreed; and at sunset our position was sixty miles due east of the entrance to Wilmington river, off which place were cruising a strong squadron of blockading ships. The American blockading squadron, which had undertaken the almost impossible task of stopping all traffic along 3,000 miles of coast, consisted of nearly a hundred vessels of different sorts and sizes—bonâ-fide men-of-war, captured blockade-runners, unemployed steam-packets, with many other vessels pressed into government service. Speed and sufficient strength to carry a long gun were the only requisites, the Confederate men-of-war being few and far between. These vessels were generally well commanded and officered, but badly manned. The inshore squadron off Wilmington consisted of about thirty vessels, and lay in the form of a crescent facing the entrance to Cape Clear river, the centre being just out of range of the heavy guns mounted on Fort Fisher, the horns, as it were, gradually approaching the shore on each side; the whole line or curve covered about ten miles.
The blockade-runners had been in the habit of trying to get between the vessel at either extremity; and the coast being quite flat and dangerous, without any landmark, excepting here and there a tree somewhat taller than others, the cruisers generally kept at a sufficient distance to allow of this being done. The runner would then crawl close along the shore, and when as near as could be judged opposite the entrance of the river, would show a light on the vessel's inshore side, which was answered by a very indistinct light being shown on the beach, close to the water's edge, and another at the background. These two lights being got into a line was a proof that the opening was arrived at; the vessels then steered straight in and anchored under the Confederate batteries at Fort Fisher. More vessels were lost crawling along this dangerous beach than were taken by the cruisers. I have seen three burning at one time, for the moment a vessel struck she was set fire to, to prevent the blockaders getting her off when daylight came.
This system of evading the cruisers, however, having been discovered, it was put a stop to by a very ingenious method, by which several vessels were captured and an end put to that little game. Of course I can only conjecture the way in which it was done, but it seemed to me to be thus: At the extreme end of the line of blockaders lay one of them with a kedge anchor, down so close to the shore that she left but a very little space for the blockade-runner to pass between her and the beach. The captain of the runner, however, trusting to his vessel's speed and invisibility, dashed through this space, and having got by the cruiser thought himself safe. Poor fellow! he was safe for a moment, but in such a trap that his only chance of getting out of it was by running on shore or giving up. For no sooner had he passed than up went a rocket from the cruiser who had seen the runner rush by, and who now moved a little further in towards the shore, so as to stop her egress by the way she went in; and the other vessels closing round by a pre-arranged plan, the capture or destruction of the blockade-runner was a certainty.
Some of the captains most pluckily ran their vessels on shore, and frequently succeeded in setting fire to them; but the boats of the cruisers were sometimes too sharp in their movements to admit of this being done, and the treatment of those who tried to destroy their vessels was, I am sorry to say, very barbarous and unnecessary. Moreover, men who endeavoured to escape by jumping overboard after the vessel was on shore were often fired at by grape and shell, in what seemed to me a very unjustifiable manner. Great allowance, however, must be made for the men-of-war's men, who after many hard nights of dreary watching constantly under weigh, saw their well-earned prize escaping by being run on shore and set fire to, just as they imagined they had got possession. On several occasions they have been content to tow the empty shell of an iron vessel off the shore, her valuable cargo having been destroyed by fire.
But I have left my little craft lying as was stated about sixty miles from the entrance of the river. I had determined to try a new method of getting through the blockading squadron, seeing that the usual plan, as described above, was no longer feasible or, at least, advisable. I have mentioned that our position was well defined by observations and soundings, so we determined to run straight through the blockaders, and to take our chance. When it was quite dark we started steaming at full speed. It was extremely thick on the horizon, but clear overhead, with just enough wind and sea to prevent the little noise the engines and screws made being heard. Every light was out—even the men's pipes; the masts were lowered on to the deck; and if ever a vessel was invisible the D——n was that night.
We passed several outlying cruisers, some unpleasantly near, but still we passed them. All seemed going favourably, when suddenly I saw through my glasses the long low line of a steamer right ahead, lying as it were across our bows so close that it would have been impossible to pass to the right or left of her without being seen. A prompt order given to the engine-room (where the chief engineer stood to the engines) to reverse one engine, was as promptly obeyed, and the little craft spun round like a teetotum. If I had not seen it, I could never have believed it possible that a vessel would have turned so rapidly, and (although, perhaps, it is irrelevant to my subject) I cannot refrain from bearing testimony to the wonderful powers of turning that are given to a vessel by the application of Symond's turnscrews, as he loves to call them. On this occasion £50,000 of property was saved to its owners. I do not believe the cruiser saw us at all, and so very important to us was the fact that we had turned in so short a space, that I scarcely think we lost five yards of our position. Having turned we stopped to reconnoitre, and could still see the faint outline of the cruiser crawling (propelled, probably, only by the wind) slowly into the darkness, leaving the way open to us, of which we at once took advantage. It was now about one o'clock in the morning; our lead, and an observation of a friendly star, told us that we were rapidly nearing the shore. But it was so fearfully dark, that it seemed almost hopeless ever to find our way to the entrance of the river, and no one felt comfortable. Still we steamed slowly on and shortly made out a small glimmer of a light right ahead. We eased steam a little, and cautiously approached.
As we got nearer, we could make out the outline of a vessel lying at anchor, head to wind, and conjectured that this must be the senior officer's vessel, which we were told generally lay about two miles and a half from the river's mouth, and which was obliged to show some sort of light to the cruisers that were constantly under weigh right and left of her. The plan of finding out this light, and using it as a guide to the river's entrance, being shortly after this time discovered, the vessel that carried it was moved into a different position every night, whereby several blockade-runners came to grief.
Feeling pretty confident now of our position, we went on again at full speed, and made out clearly the line of blockaders lying to the right and left of the ship which showed the light; all excepting her being apparently under weigh. Seeing an opening between the vessel at anchor and the one on her left, we made a dash, and, thanks to our disguise and great speed, got through without being seen, and made the most of our way towards the land. As a strong current runs close inshore which is constantly changing its course, and there were no lights or landmarks to guide us, it was a matter of great difficulty to find the very narrow entrance to the river.
We were now nearly out of danger from cruisers, who seldom ventured very close inshore in the vicinity of the batteries; and our pilot, who had been throughout the voyage in bodily fear of an American prison, began to wake up, and, after looking well round, told us that he could make out, over the long line of surf, a heap of sand called 'the mound,' which was a mark for going into the river.
This good news emboldened us to show a small light from the inshore side of the vessel; it was promptly answered by two lights being placed a short distance apart on the beach, in such a position that, when the two were brought into line, or, as the sailors call it, into one, the vessel would be in the channel which led into the river. This being done without interruption from the cruisers, we steamed in and anchored safely under the batteries of Fort Fisher.
Being now perfectly safe, lights were at once lit, supper and grog served out ad libitum, everybody congratulated everybody, and a feeling of comfort and jollity, such as can only be experienced after three nights' and three days' intense anxiety, possessed us all. On the morning breaking we counted twenty-five cruisers lying as near as they dared venture off the river's mouth, and a very pleasant sight it was, situated as we were. There was evidently a move among them of an unusual kind; for the smaller vessels were steaming in towards the shore on the north side, and the ships' launches, with guns in their bows, were pulling about from vessel to vessel. The cause of it as day advanced was but too apparent.
Just out of range of Fort Fisher's heavy artillery, on the north side of the river's entrance, a splendid paddle-wheel blockade-runner was lying on the beach, having been run on shore during the night to avoid capture.
Her crew had evidently escaped to the shore, and a smouldering smoke showed that she had been set fire to, and that a little wind was all that was necessary to make the flames break out. The blockading ships do not appear to have been aware of the damage they had done till daylight discovered the vessel, that they probably thought had either got into the river or escaped to sea, lying on the beach. However, they were not slow in making preparations for capturing her, if possible.
Meanwhile, two of the crew of the blockade-runner managed to get on board of her, and setting her on fire in a dozen different places, everything in the vessel was soon destroyed, and her red-hot sides made boarding an impossibility.
So the gunboats retired out of range, and the artillery with the Whitworth guns returned to Fort Fisher. The shell of this vessel lay for months on the beach and was by no means a bad mark for the blockade-runners to steer by.
Having witnessed this little bit of excitement and received on board the crew of the stranded vessel, we took a pilot on board and steamed up the Cape Clear river to Wilmington.
It will be difficult to erase from my memory the excitement of the evening we made our little craft fast alongside the quay at Wilmington; the congratulations we received, the champagne cocktail we imbibed, the eagerness with which we gave and received news, the many questions we asked, such as, 'How long shall we be unloading?' 'Was our cargo of cotton ready?' 'How many bales could we carry?' 'How other blockade-runners had fared?' &c.; and the visits from thirsty and hungry Southerners of all ranks and denominations, many of whom had not tasted alcohol in any form for months, to whom whatever they liked to eat or drink was freely given, accompanied by congratulations on all sides. All these things, combined with the delightful feeling of security from capture, and the glorious prospect of a good night's rest in a four-poster, wound one up into an inexpressible state of jollity. If some of us had a little headache in the morning, surely it was small blame to us. Our host's cocktails, made of champagne bitters and pounded ice, soon put all things to rights; and after breakfast we lounged down to the quays on the river-side, which were piled mountains high with cotton-bales and tobacco tierces, and mixed in the lively and busy scene of discharging, selling, and shipping cargoes.
I may now, I trust, without appearing egotistical, digress slightly from the narrative to give an account of how I managed with my own private venture, which I had personally to attend to; for it is scarcely necessary to mention that in blockade-running everyone must look after himself. If he does not his labour will have been in vain.
Before leaving England I had met a Southern lady, who, on my inquiring as to what was most needed by her compatriots in the beleaguered States, replied curtly: 'Corsages, sir, I reckon.' So I determined to buy a lot of the articles she referred to, and on arriving at Glasgow (the port from which we originally started) I visited an emporium that seemed to contain everything in the world; and I astonished a young fellow behind the counter by asking for a thousand pairs of stays. Such an unusual request sent him off like a rocket to higher authority, with whom I made a bargain for the article required at one shilling and a penny per pair, to be delivered the next day. At the same time I bought five hundred boxes of Cockle's pills, and a quantity of toothbrushes. Well, here I was in Wilmington, with all these valuables on my hands; the corsages were all right, but the horrid little Cockles were bursting their cerements and tumbling about my cabin in all directions. I was anxious, with the usual gallantry of my cloth, to supply the wants of the ladies first. The only specimens of the sex that I could see moving about were coloured women, who were so little encumbered with dress that I began to think I was mistaken in the article recommended by my lady friend as being the most required out here. After waiting some time, and no one coming to bid for my ware, I was meditating putting up on the ship's side a large board with the name of the article of ladies' dress written on it—a pillbox for a crest, and toothbrushes as supporters—when an individual came on board and inquired whether I wished 'to trade.' I greedily seized upon him, took him into my retreat, and made him swallow three glasses of brandy in succession, after which we commenced business.
I will not trouble my reader with the way in which we traded; regarding the corsages, suffice it to say that he bought them all at what seemed to me the enormous price of twelve shillings each, giving me a profit of nearly eleven hundred per cent.
On my asking where the fair wearers of the article he had bought could be seen, he told me that all the ladies had gone into the interior. I hope they found my importations useful; they certainly were not ornamental.
Elated as I was by my success, I did not forget the Cockles, and gently insinuated to my now somewhat excited friend that we might do a little more trading. To my disgust he told me that he had never heard of such a thing as Cockle's pills. I strongly urged him to try half-a-dozen, assuring him that if he once experienced their invigorating effects he would never cease to recommend them. But the ignorant fellow didn't seem to see it; for, finishing his brandy and buttoning up his pockets, he walked on shore. I never thought of naming toothbrushes, for what could a man who had never heard of Cockles know of the luxury of toothbrushes? So I sat quietly down, and began to sum up my profits on the corsages.
I was deeply engaged in this occupation when I felt a heavy hand on my shoulder. Turning round I saw my friend the trader, who, after having smothered my boot in tobacco-juice, said, 'I say, captain, have you got any coffin-screws on trade?' His question rather staggered me, but he explained that they had no possible way of making this necessary article in the Southern States, and that they positively could not keep the bodies quiet in their coffins without them, especially when being sent any distance for interment. As I had no acquaintance, I am happy to say, with the sort of thing he wanted, it was agreed upon between us that I should send to England for a quantity, he, on his part, promising an enormous profit on their being delivered.
I cannot help remarking on the very great inconvenience and distress that were entailed on the South through the want of almost every description of manufacture. The Southern States, having always been the producing portion of the Union, had trusted to the North, and to Europe for its manufactures. Thus, when they were shut out by land and by sea from the outer world, their raw material was of but little service to them. This fact tended, more than is generally believed, to weaken the Southern people in the glorious struggle they made for what they called and believed to be their rights,—a struggle, the horrors of which are only half understood by those who were not eye-witnesses of it. Whether the cause was good, whether armed secession was justifiable or not, is a matter regarding which opinions differ. But it is undeniable that all fought and endured in a manner worthy of a good and a just cause, and many were thoroughly and conscientiously convinced it was so. Such men as Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and others would never have joined any cause against their convictions; but it won't do for a blockade-runner to attempt to moralise. So to return to my story.
My readers will be desirous of knowing what was the result of my speculation in Cockles and toothbrushes. Regarding the former, I am sorry to say that all my endeavours to induce my Southern friends to try their efficacious powers were of no avail, so I determined to take them with me to Nassau (if I could get there), thinking that I might find a market at a place where everyone was bilious from over eating and drinking, on the strength of the fortunes they were making by blockade-running; and there I found an enterprising druggist who gave me two chests of lucifer matches in exchange for my Cockles, which matches I ultimately sold in the Confederacy at a very fair profit. My toothbrushes being not in the slightest degree appreciated at Wilmington, I sent them to Richmond, where they were sold at about seven times their cost.
So ended my speculation. The vessel's cargo consisted of blankets, shoes, Manchester goods of all sorts, and some mysterious cases marked 'hardware,' about which no one asked any questions, but which the military authorities took possession of. This cargo was landed, and preparations made for taking on board THE paying article in this trade, namely, cotton.
I never bought it in any quantity, but I know that the price in the Southern States averaged from twopence to threepence a pound, the price in Liverpool at that time being about half-a-crown.
We were anxious to try the luck of our run-out before the moon got powerful, so the cargo was shipped as quickly as possible. In the first place, the hold was stored by expert stevedores, the cotton-bales being so closely packed that a mouse could hardly find room to hide itself among them. The hatches were put on, and a tier of bales put fore and aft in every available spot on the deck, leaving openings for the approaches to the cabins, engine-room, and the men's forecastle; then another somewhat thinner tier on the top of that, after which a few bales for the captain and officers, those uncontrollable rascals whom the poor agents could not manage, and the cargo was complete. Loaded in this way, the vessel with only her foremast up, with her bow-funnel, and grey-painted sides, looked more like a huge bale of cotton with a stick placed upright at one end of it, than anything else I can think of. One bale for——, and still one more for—— (I never tell tales out of school), and all was ready.
We left the quay at Wilmington cheered by the hurrahs of our brother blockade-runners, who were taking in and discharging their cargoes, and steamed a short distance down the river, when we were boarded to be searched and smoked. This latter extraordinary proceeding, called for perhaps by the existing state of affairs, took me altogether aback. That a smoking apparatus should be applied to a cargo of cotton seemed almost astounding. But so it was ordered, the object being to search for runaways, and, strange to say, its efficacy was apparent, when, after an hour or more's application of the process (which was by no means a gentle one), an unfortunate wretch, crushed almost to death by the closeness of his hiding-place, poked with a long stick till his ribs must have been like touchwood, and smoked the colour of a backwood Indian, was dragged by the heels into the daylight, ignominiously put into irons, and hurled into the guard-boat. This discovery nearly caused the detention of the vessel on suspicion of our being the accomplices of the runaway; but after some deliberation, we were allowed to go on.
Having steamed down the river a distance of about twenty miles, we anchored at two o'clock in the afternoon near its mouth. We were hidden by Fort Fisher from the blockading squadron lying off the bar, there to remain till some time after nightfall. After anchoring we went on shore to take a peep at the enemy from the batteries. Its commandant, a fine, dashing young Confederate officer, who was a firm friend to blockade-runners, accompanied us round the fort. We counted twenty-five vessels under weigh; some of them occasionally ventured within range; but no sooner had one of them done so, than a shot was thrown so unpleasantly near that she at once moved out again.
We were much struck with the weakness of Fort Fisher, which, with a garrison of twelve hundred men, and only half finished, could have been easily taken at any time since the war began by a resolute body of five thousand men making a night attack. It is true that at the time of its capture it was somewhat stronger than at the time I visited it, but even then its garrison was comparatively small, and its defences unfinished. I fancy the bold front so long shown by its occupiers had much to do with the fact that such an attack was not attempted till just before the close of the war. The time chosen for our starting was eleven o'clock, at which hour the tide was at its highest on the bar at the entrance of the river. Fortunately the moon set about ten, and as it was very cloudy, we had every reason to expect a pitch-dark night. There were two or three causes that made one rather more nervous on this occasion than when leaving Bermuda.
In the first place, five minutes after we had crossed the bar, we should be in the thick of the blockaders, who always closed nearer in on the very dark nights. Secondly, our cargo of cotton was of more importance than the goods we had carried in; and thirdly, it was the thing to do to make the double trip in and out safely. There were also all manner of reports of the new plans that had been arranged by a zealous commodore lately sent from New York to catch us all. However, it was of no use canvassing these questions, so at a quarter to eleven we weighed anchor and steamed down to the entrance of the river.
Very faint lights, which could not be seen far at sea, were set on the beach in the same position as I have before described, having been thus placed for a vessel coming in; and bringing these astern in an exact line, that is the two into one, we knew that we were in the passage for going over the bar. The order was then given, 'Full speed ahead,' and we shot at a great speed out to sea.
Our troubles began almost immediately; for the cruisers had placed a rowing barge, which could not be seen by the forts, close to the entrance, to signalise the direction which any vessel that came out might take. This was done by rockets being thrown up by a designed plan from the barge. We had hardly cleared the bar when we saw this boat very near our bows, nicely placed to be run clean over, and as we were going about fourteen knots, her chance of escape would have been small had we been inclined to finish her. Changing the helm, which I did myself, a couple of spokes just took us clear. We passed so close that I could have dropped a biscuit into the boat with ease. I heard the crash of broken oars against our sides; not a word was spoken.
I strongly suspect every man in that boat held his breath till the great white avalanche of cotton, rushing by so unpleasantly near, had passed quite clear of her.
However, they seemed very soon to have recovered themselves, for a minute had scarcely passed before up went a rocket, which I thought a very ungrateful proceeding on their part. But they only did their duty, and perhaps they did not know how nearly they had escaped being made food for fishes. On the rocket being thrown up, a gun was fired uncommonly close to us, but as we did not hear any shot, it may have been only a signal to the cruisers to keep a sharp look-out.
We steered a mile or two near the coast, always edging a little to the eastward, and then shaped our course straight out to sea. Several guns were fired in the pitch-darkness very near us. (I am not quite sure whether some of the blockaders did not occasionally pepper each other.) After an hour's fast steaming, we felt moderately safe, and by the morning had a good offing.
Daylight broke with thick, hazy weather, nothing being in sight. We went on all right till half-past eight o'clock, when the weather cleared up, and there was a large paddle-wheel cruiser (that we must have passed very near to in the thick weather) about six miles astern of us. The moment she saw us she gave chase. After running for a quarter of an hour it was evident that with our heavy cargo on board, the cruiser had the legs of us, and as there was a long day before us for the chase, things looked badly. We moved some cotton aft to immerse our screws well; but still the cruiser was steadily decreasing her distance from us, when an incident of a very curious nature favoured us for a time.
It is mentioned in the book of sailing directions, that the course of the Gulf Stream (in the vicinity of which we knew we were) is in calm weather and smooth water plainly marked out by a ripple on its inner and outer edges. We clearly saw, about a mile ahead of us, a remarkable ripple, which we rightly, as it turned out, conjectured was that referred to in the book. As soon as we had crossed it, we steered the usual course of the current of the Gulf Stream, that here ran from two to three miles an hour. Seeing us alter our course, the cruiser did the same; but she had not crossed the ripple on the edge of the stream, and the course she was now steering tended to keep her for some time from doing so. The result soon made it evident that the observations in the book were correct; for until she too crossed the ripple into the stream, we dropped her rapidly astern, whereby we increased our distance to at least seven miles.
It was now noon, from which time the enemy again began to close with us, and at five o'clock was not more than three miles distant. At six o'clock she opened a harmless fire with the Parrot gun in her bow, the shot falling far short of us. The sun set at a quarter to seven, by which time she had got so near that she managed to send two or three shots over us, and was steadily coming up.
Luckily, as night came on, the weather became very cloudy, and we were on the dark side of the moon, now setting in the West, which occasionally breaking through the clouds astern of the cruiser, showed us all her movements, while we must have been very difficult to make out, though certainly not more than a mile off. All this time she kept firing away, thinking, I suppose, that she would frighten us into stopping. If we had gone straight on, we should doubtless have been caught; so we altered our course two points to the eastward. After steaming a short distance we stopped quite still, blowing off steam under water, not a spark or the slightest smoke showing from the funnel; and we had the indescribable satisfaction of seeing our enemy steam past us, still firing ahead at some imaginary vessel.
This had been a most exciting chase and a very narrow escape; night only saved us from a New York prison. All this hard running had made an awful hole in our coal-bunkers, and as it was necessary to keep a stock for a run off the blockaded Bahama Islands, we were obliged to reduce our expenditure to as small a quantity as possible. However we were well out to sea, and after having passed the line of cruisers between Wilmington and Bermuda, we had not much to fear till we approached the British possessions of Nassau and the adjacent islands, where two or three very fast American vessels were cruising, although five hundred miles from American waters. I am ignorant, I confess, of the laws of blockade, or indeed if a law there be that allows its enforcement, and penalties to be enacted, five hundred miles away from the ports blockaded. But it did seem strange that the men-of-war of a nation at peace with England should be allowed to cruise off her ports, to stop and examine trading vessels of all descriptions, to capture and send to New York, for adjudication, vessels on the mere suspicion of their being intended blockade-runners; and to chase and fire into real blockade-runners so near to the shore that on one occasion the shot and shell fell into a fishing village, and that within sight of an English man-of-war lying at anchor in the harbour at Nassau. Surely it is time that some well-understood laws should be made, and rules laid down, or such doings will sooner or later recoil on their authors.
Having so little coal on board, we determined on making for the nearest point of the Bahama Islands, and luckily reached a queer little island called Green Turtle Quay, on the extreme north of the group, where was a small English colony, without being seen by the cruisers. We had not been there long, however, before one of them came sweeping round the shore, and stopped unpleasantly near to us; even though we were inside the rock she hovered about outside, not a mile from us.
We were a tempting bait, but a considerable risk to snap, and I suppose the American captain could not quite make up his mind to capture a vessel (albeit a blockade-runner piled full of cotton) lying in an English port, insignificant though that port might be. We had got a large white English ensign hoisted on a pole, thereby showing the nationality of the rock, should the cruiser be inclined to question it. After many longing looks, she steamed slowly away, much to our satisfaction. Coals were sent to us from Nassau the next day, which having been taken on board, we weighed anchor, keeping close to the reefs and islands all the way. We steamed towards that port, and arrived safely, having made the in-and-out voyage, including the time in unloading and loading at Wilmington, in sixteen days.
To attempt to describe at length the state of things at this usually tranquil and unfrequented little spot is beyond my powers. I will only mention some of its most striking features. Nassau differed much from Wilmington, inasmuch as at the latter place there was a considerable amount of poverty and distress, and men's minds were weighted with many troubles and anxieties; whereas, at Nassau, everything at the time I speak of was couleur de rose. Every one seemed prosperous and happy. You met with calculating, far-seeing men who were steadily employed in feathering their nests, let the war in America end as it might; others who, in the height of their enthusiasm for the Southern cause, put their last farthing into Confederate securities, anticipating enormous profits; some men, careless and thoughtless, living for the hour, were spending their dollars as fast as they made them, forgetting that they would 'never see the like again.' There were rollicking captains and officers of blockade-runners, and drunken swaggering crews; sharpers looking out for victims; Yankee spies; and insolent worthless free niggers—all these combined made a most heterogeneous, though interesting, crowd.
The inhabitants of Nassau, who, until the period of blockade-running, had, with some exceptions, subsisted on a precarious and somewhat questionable livelihood gained by wrecking, had their heads as much turned as the rest of the world. Living was exorbitantly dear, as can be well imagined, when the captain of a blockade-runner could realise in a month a sum as large as the Governor's salary. The expense of living was so great that the officers of the West India regiment quartered here had to apply for special allowance, and I believe their application was successful. The hotel, a large building, hitherto a most ruinous speculation, began to realise enormous profits. In fact, the almighty dollar was spent as freely as the humble cent had been before this golden era in the annals of Nassau.
As we had to stay here till the time for the dark nights came round again, we took it easy, and thoroughly enjoyed all the novelty of the scene. Most liberal entertainment was provided free by our owner's agent, and altogether we found Nassau very jolly: so much so, that we felt almost sorry when 'time' was called, and we had to prepare for another run. In fact, it was pleasanter in blockade-running to look backwards than forwards, especially if one had been so far in good luck.