390 NortH Carouina Troops, 1861-65.

“Day dawned upon one of the ocean’s most beautiful morn-
ings; the soft, blue sky circled the blue horizon, and over
the broad expanse a profound calm settled upon the sleeping
waters. It seemed difficult to realize that such serenity was
ever tortured into the most wild and terrific commotion by
the rude storms and hurricanes that often hold high revelry
where now not a ruffled wave appeared or a gentle ripple
bleared the mirrored surface. Solitary and alone we pur-
sued our voyage, flattered with the hope that it would ter-
minate without interruption. At 4 in the afternoon we were
aroused from this felicitous reverie by the familiar cry from
the mast-head of ‘Sail ho!’

“*Can you make her out,’ was the official interrogatory.

“Yes, sir; a large steamer heading for us.’ Our course
was immediately changed ; so was that of the stranger. When
she was reported we were engaged in overhauling the engines
and cleaning fires. Of course, our speed under these cir-
cumstances was inconsiderable, and the steamer neared us
without difficulty. The old flag was recognized—in former
days a welcome banner—and the chase commenced. Night
approaches in a royal blazonry of gold and crimson, the
sun sinks below the horizon, leaving a brief twilight to
light up the scene of contest. Some derangement of
our engines depletes our speed, and the unpleasant knowl-
edge causes the thermometer of-hope to fall below zero.
Perplexed and annoyed, I debated the expediency of reliev-
ing the vessel by throwing overboard a portion of her cargo.
Fortunately a happy thought came into my mind. Promptly
acting upon the mental suggestion, I sent for the chief en-
gineer and inquired if he had a quantity of coal dust conven-
ient. ‘I have, sir,’ was the response. ‘Be ready in fifteen
minutes to feed with it, and have at hand clean fuel that will
not smoke.” The order will be given in due season.’

“In the darkness of night a chasing vessel is guided by the
smoke of the fleeing craft. This fact was familiar from ex-
perience, and at the proper time I availed myself of the ac-
quired knowledge. The enemy held his own, though at
times we thought he gained upon us. At length I directed
the engineer to give a liberal application of coal dust, and in-

 

BLocKADE RunNNING. 391

stantly dense volumes of sooty vapor rolled out of the fun-
nels and traveled on the bosom of the northeast winds to the
southward and westward. By the aid of good glasses we
were charmed to observe that the bait had been swallowed,
as the Federals steadily pursued our bank of smoke. When
this became obvions, clean coal was applied that emitted no
tell-tale evidence of our position. The course was changed
to the northward, and our pursuer left to capture the Confed-
erate shadow. This successful ruse excited much hilarity
and considerable laughter over what was considered a ‘cute
trick.’ At sunrise, entering the friendly port of Nassau we
were warmly greeted by many friends—by none more vocif-
erously than the sons of Africa. The cargo was promptly
landed, and the return freight received on board. * * *

“We are ready to depart; friends bid us farewell with
lugubrious indulgence of fears for our safety, as the hazards
of blockade-running had recently increased in consequence
of the accumulated force and vigilance of the enemy. Dis-
regarding gloomy prognostications, at dusk we left the har-
bor. Before break of day Abaco light was sighted, a place
of special interest to Federal cruisers as the turning point of
blockade-runners. At the first blush of day we were startled
by the close proximity of three American men-of-war. Not
the least obeisance made they, but with shot and shell paid
the early compliments of the morning. The splintering
spars and damaged bulwarks warned us of the necessity for
traveling, particularly as 900 barrels of gunpowder consti-
tuted a portion of our cargo. A chance shell exploding in
the hold, would have consigned steamer andall hands to
tophet. We were in capital running condition and soon
passed out of range. Tenaciously our pursuers held on to
the chase, though it was evident that the fleet Confederate
experienced no difficulty in giving them the go by. In the
zenith of our enjoyment of a refreshing sense of relief the old
ery of ‘Sail ho!’ came from aloft. The lookout announced
two steamers ahead and standing for us. A system of zig-

zag running became necessary to elude the persistent enemy.
Our speed soon accomplished the object. In about three
hours the Federals faded under the horizon, and our proper