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BLOCKADE RUNNING. 365

Aye, aye, sir, we will,” came back the prompt response. In
a few moments they were with us, and joined our captain,
chief and second officer in an immediate attack upon the mal-
contents, who had retreated to the forecastle. Each man
who refused to work was then unceremoniously knocked

‘down, dragged out, and put in irons, and in an almost in-

credibly short time we were steaming away to sea again. <A
few hours meditation in the calaboose without food or water,
and the dread of further punishment when we reached the
Confederacy, brought the unruly firemen to their senses and
to their work.

As night drew on we were out of sight of land, and with
horizon clear of cruisers, began the usual precautions against
chase or capture. The cabin lights were most carefully
screened by heavy curtains across the port holes, and even the
binnacle lamp was tightly covered, leaving only a small peep-
hole the size of a silver dollar, for the guidance of the quar-
termaster at the wheel. We saw and passed in darkness, sev-
eral vessels, being invisible to them, and at dawn carefully
avoided all those which appeared to be under steam; one of
the greatest dangers being the proximity of a hostile vessel at
daybreak, or upon the clearing of a fog. On the morning of
the second day we sighted several United States cruisers, but
successfully evaded them. At noon of the third day we
found ourselves in a heavy sea, about fifty miles to the north-
eastward of Cape Lookout, and as we approached nearer the
land, we sighted a large man-of-war to windward, which
speedily bore down upon us and soon got us within range of
his heavy guns. Owing to the swell which kept our paddles
rolling out of water, we could not run away, and for several
hours both vessels steamed a parallel course, so nearly to-
gether that I could see the men at the guns, their broadside
batteries raking us fore and aft every minute. Nothing but
the heavy seaway upon which we bobbed up and down like
a cork, thereby defeating their aim, saved us from destruc-
tion. We were truly in a bad position which was made worse
by the collapse of one of our boilers, reducing our speed from
twelve to eight knots, and by the abject fear of our panic-
stricken engineers and stokers, who came up in a body and