The Sun.
London, England, 1863-01-14 00:00:00

PRICE .4d.
STAMPED —.51

The Capture of the Ariel by the Alabama.

(From the New York Tunes.)
PANAMA, DEC. 16, 1862.
The principal topic of interest among us for
the past few days, as you may well imagine,
has been the boarding and robbery of the Ariel
by the Confederate steamer "290,", or Alabama.
It is probable before this you have had the main
facts, so what I may write can be placed under the
head of " further particulars.' My facts I get from
Captain Sartori and Captain Jones. On Sunday,
tile 7th inst., at two p.m., just as the passengers in
the first cabin had sat down to dinner, a report was
brought to Captain Jones of "steam warship in
sight." No alarm was created by this announce-
ment, Captain Jones excusing himself to his dinner
companions, said he would see what she was like.
On ascending to the deck the vessel was about four
miles off, under Cape Maize, and was just coming
out of the sun glare. She had an American flag
flying, but Captain Jones exclaimed, " If that isn't
an English rig you may shoot me.'' He ordered his
engineer to put on all steam, thinking to run away
from the suspected vessel. He soon saw that the
bark was rapidly overhauling him, and in a few
minutes she fired a blank shot. Captain Jones paid
no attention, but kept on his way. A moment after,
the bark hoisted the Confederate flag, and bang !
bang! two shells passed over the Ariel. One was
a 100-pound steel pointed missile, which explodes
immediately on striking the object, but this shell
fortunately passed over the vessel without touching
her. The other, a round common fuse shell, struck
the foremast above the hurricane deck, cutting
nearly its size from the mast. In the meantime
the 140 officers and marines on board, under Major
Garland, had been drawn up on the deck of the
Ariel, with their arms, prepared for resistance. Bat
the character of the craft having been fully ascer-
tained, and the futility of defence being clearly ap-
parent, notwithstanding the remonstrances of Cap-
tain Jones who wanted to fight, and who declared
he would never lower his flag so long as he could
fight, the marines were disarmed and ordered below.
Then the Stars and Stripes came down, and the
Ariel surrendered. At this time the Ariel was going
about 81 knots, fast for her, and the Alabama 11
knots, without sail, and only under lllbs. of steam
—so says Capt. Jones. Her fires had been banked,
and less than an hour before the Ariel hauled down
her flag she had started them up. Capt. Semmes
told Capt. Jones that under 171bs. of steam he had
made 131 knots, but had never worked his steam up
any higher, as he never had occasion to do so. He
said he could make 15 knots under steam. By 3 p.m.
a boat from the Alabama, with 12 men, under the
command of Lieut. Low, a young Georgian, the
men armed with pistols and cutlasses, was along-
side. At this time, the consternation and fright
among the passengers, particularly among the
women, was indescribable. The least many of them
expected was to be robbed and have their throats
cut. The more prudent had hidden away their
money, watches, and jewellery the best way they
could, and the more cunning had passed their per-
sonal articles of value into the hands of British and
French passengers. Many who had sworn allegi-
ance to Uncle Samuel, and who had eaten his salt
for 20 years, suddenly forgot to aspirate their h's,
and not one of the " Tems" could speak English.
As Lieut. Low, in his neat uniform and bland smil-
ing face, stepped on deck, and politely lifted his
cap, the fears began to slightly subside. The first
thing he did was to assure the passengers that not
a hair of their heads should be plucked out, and not
a dollar of personal property taken. Observing that
there were United States' officers and marines on
board, Lieut. Low communicated with Captain
Semmes, and the latter ordered that Captain Jones
should come on board the Alabama. When Lieut.
Low returned he paroled all the officers and marines,
the conditions being that they "should not serve
the United States in any manner during the war."
To a question of Capt. Sartori, as to whether this
prevented the marines and soldiers from serving in
the forts of California, to which most of them were
destined, he replied, " Yes ; you are to do no service
of any kind for your Government." Lieut. Low
called for the manifests, and finding some money
on them, took possession of 8,000 dole. in Treasury
notes, belonging to Messrs. Wells, Fargo, and Co.,
and 1,500 dole. in silver Niacaragua, belonging
to Mr. Peyton Middleton, late United States'
Special Inspector of Customs in Panama, and to
his American partner in Nicaragua, Mr. E. S.
Lane. Being assured by Purser Wheeler that the
Ariel had no letter mail, he did not overhaul the
sacks, and in fact nothing in that line was dis-
turbed. Wells, Fargo, and Co.'s sacks, the private
sacks of the Panama Railroad Company, the South
and Central American and Panama mails, and even
the State Department sacks for the United States'
Consul at Aspinwall, containing his own corres-
pondence and that for other consuls, ministers, and
naval officers, came safely to hand. Lieutenant
Low ordered all the officers to give up their swords,
and all the soldiers and marines their arms, and
these were taken on board the Alabama. He com-
pelled Capt. Jones to bond the ship for 125,000 dole.,
the cargo for 123,000 dols., and freight for 12,000
dols., to be paid within 30 days after the establish-
ment of the independence of the Confederate States.
The Lieutenant, before he left, ordered all the sails
of the Ariel to be cut away and thrown overboard,
but no ether property was damaged or destroyed,
save the liquors of the ship, and not a dollar's worth
Was taken out of her except the money. The liquors
were destroyed by request of Captain Sartori and
Major Garland, as a precaution against their own
men, who they feared might get at them in the con-
fusion, and become unmanageable, now that their
officers were disarmed. The heads of the whisky
barrels were broken in, and the liquors in the bar
thrown overboard. In this connexion it may not
be amiss to say that Capt. Semmes complained bit-
terly to Capt. Jones of the false reports he averred
had been made by the commanders of some of the
sailing vessels he had taken, particularly of the
master of the Lamplighter, who reported that the
first thing the officers and sailors demanded on
boarding him was liquor. He said that not a drop
of liquor was used by his men on that ship, but that
it was destroyed, immediately she was boarded, for
fear his men might get at it and make brutes of
themselves. Lieutenant' Low ordered the Ariel to
keep company with the Alabama, and both ships
steamed toward Jamaica. At night he again visited
the Ariel, and took away with him one a :LI. I
steam valves, so as to temporarily disable the
engine. Of course, the Arid drifted about (it
was calm weather), and the Alabama left her
to look for other prey. Captain Jones was in-
formed by Captain Semmes that his passengers
mie!
_s at a great d o
in San Domingo
would be landed at
a porn
few buts,
thisan Captain Jones ear-
which has only a
dis-
tance from supplies-
neatly remonstrated. For God's sake, Captain
Semmes, don't leave us there !" exclaimed Captain
Jones..
"What, in Heaven's name, are 850 per-
' sons—a third of them women and children—to live
on there ?" He then said he would land them in
Jamaica, for he was determined to burn the ship.
He said Vanderbilt had given one of the finest
steamers in the world to the Government to run
him down, and he would destroy everything of his
he fell in with. The next day, Monday, the valve
was restored, and the Ariel ordered to keep com-
pany as before. Every little while the Alabama
would dart off, leaving the Ariel, on perceiving a
sail, give chase to her, and finding she was not
American, returned to her game, which she was
enabled to do, from the fact she could steam two
miles to the Arid's one. At night the valve was
again taken out. On Tuesday the ships kept com-
pany, the Alabama occasionally going on a little
cruise after Yankee craft till half-past 10 at night,
when they made a light on Jamaica. Capt. Semmes
then informed Captain Jones that he would not put
his passengers on shore at Port Royal, as the yellow

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