New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1852-09-29
From Eliza Cooks Jgurn;
TALES OF THE SLAVE SQUADRON.

TALES OF THE SLAVE SQUADRON.
gbe aebsnge.
Lieutenant Armstrong was commander (act-
ing) of the Curlew for some months after the
occurrence of the incidents related In former
paper; and q more jealous or successful officer
has never, in my belief, been engaged in hazard
Gus and difficult service on the slave coast. In
four months, we had made three captures-irre-
spective of the Fair Rosamond-the name OF one
of which, Ell Reyna, a clipper brig that had long
eluded the vigilance and outstripped the speed
of our cruisers, as well as the ingenious mode by
which she was finally made captive, must have
attracted the notice Of many newspaper readers
Of those DAYS But although "A first-rate seaman
and dashing commander, there was defect
perhaps | should say an exaggeratlon OF charac-
term Lieutenant Armstrong, which. in a con-
siderable degree, rnarred his high qualities, and
gave tone of harshness to his demeanor, under
certain circumstances, quite foreign, L am sure,
to his real disposition. He was, in a word-as
! believe have previously hinted-an iron dis
ciplinarian, and this entirely from q conviction
that only by the stern, relentless application of
the maritime code of punishment could the su-
premacy of the navy be permanently main
tained. Peremptory, irresponsible power, such
as then existed in the service, is pretty sure, at
one tiiae or other, to lead officer who indulges
III it to the commission OF serious wrong and in
justice. This, at all events, was once the case,
during his professional life, with Lieutenant
Armstrong, and the consequences Of that grave
error were, by u remarkable fatality, visited
upon him and others, at time and in manner
equally unexpected and terrible. This omitted
but instructive passage in our naval history [
ain now about to place before the reader.
We took El Reyna into Sierra Leone, and
while there, news was brought that lie Requin
(The Shark,) ftly-named, notorious, and sue
cessful SLAYER, was on the coast. This vessel,
the property of q French Brazilian Creole, was
commanded by q skillful and active desperate
of the English name Of Harrison, and once a
petty officer in the royal navy. His assumed
designation, however, was borrowed from the
fine craft he commanded-Captain LIE Requn-
and he was reported to have under his orders a
motley crew of some of the most reckless ruffians
that could be picked out of the refuse of half a
dozen civilized nations 1t was, moreover, well
known that LIE Requin, when the GO black mar
ket was slack, overstocked, or more than usually
hazardous, did a little in the way of ordinary,
| admitted piracy; and stringent orders had con-
sequently been issued to the officers of the squad
ron to their utmost efforts to sink or capture
so daring and unscrupulous a rover.
1t was manifest that Lieutenant Armstrong
listened to the many runors atioat relative to
the probable whereabouts of LIE Requin with a
far deeper than merely professional interest
His inquiries as to the appearance of the ves-
sci, and the haunts she chiefly frequented, were
earnest and incessant; and it was whispered
among US that Harrison had served in the same
ship with the commander of the Curlew, and
that circumstances of an unusual character had
occurred in connection with them both How
ever this might be, there was evidently some
strong private motive at the bottom of the lieu
tenants desperate anxiety to get away in search
Of the piratical SLAYER, and so quickly did he
dispatch his official business relative to the Cur
LEWIS last important capture, that we were at
sea again in half the time we had reckoned upon
| remaining at Sierra Leone. Our course was tt
| the south and east, and as the winds proved ia.
yorable, the Curlew rapidly swept the African
| sea board from Sierra Leone to the Blight @
| Biafra, looking as we passed into every inle
that might afford shelter or concealment to th
| object Of our search. A sharp, wearying look
out was at lengtMrewarded by passing CLEAN
of success. We were in about thirty leagues o
[ Cape Lopez, when the look out at the mast heat
| announced first and then two sail on thu
weather. bow. They rose quickly out of the
water, and no wonder for they had had a gale
of wind on the quarter, and it was not long be.
fore we could guess very accurately at the char
| acter of both. The headmost was q square
rugged ship, of about four hundred tons burthen
pursued by an armed schooner OF half that ton
mage, coming up with her hand over hand
Commander Armstrong Immediately pronounced
the schooner to be LIE Requin, an opinion con
irmed by several old salts who had obtained q
passing glimpse of the celebrated craft upon one
or two occasions AS the Curlew, in anticipa.
tion of a dirt night, had been made very snug
and did not show much top-hamper, it was hoped
she might not be seen until LIE Requin was
within reach Of her guns For upwards of al
hour this appeared likely enough; but at last
the anxious men, whose eyes swept the horizon
in all directions from the mercha ntman's decks
caught sight Of us, and unable to restrain theil
exultation at the glad vision of q man-of- wal
| creeping up to the rescue, instantly let off 8
piece of pop-gun artillery, ran up the union.
jeck, and set up a tiny shout in derision of the
pursuer, which the direction of the wind just
| enabled us to hear and echo with sundry very
hearty maledictions of their stupid throats
LIE Requin quickly hauled her wind, and al
| once recognizing the character of her new custo
mer, got, with all possible speed, upon the SAINT
tack as ourselves, and being a remarkably fin,
weatherly vessel went off full half point closer
to the wind than the Curlew, thus showing from
the first moment the well nigh hopeless aspect
of the chase.
| Night fell--black as the inside of a tar barre
with gale of wind that by midnight had in
| creased TO a tempest, accompanied by flashes O
lightning and peals of thunder which those ac
quainted only with the electrical phenomena O
| temperate regions can form but faint concep
tion Of Frequently, during the night, more
than usually brilliant coruscation showed us L,
Requin upon the white crest of a huge wave
far away to windward; but when the cold gray
morning dawned, the schooner had utterly dis
| appeared. leaving us miserably cold, wet, disap
pointed and savage. One thing, at all events
our nights chase had taught us--that the Cur
| lew was no match for lie Requin in point 0
speed. and that if we ever should succeed il
putting salt upon his tall it must be by SOM
cleverer eXpedient than that of running aftel
| him at the rate Of five feet to his six.
| Captain Armstrong looked considerably bluel
than the bluest of us, and did not reappear OF
deck till five or six hours after the ascertane'
disappearance of the schooner. He then ordere
the Curlews course to be changed to the north
west till further orders. The further order
were not issued till about noon on the morrow
when the sloop's head was pointed nearly du
south and whilst cracking under o stiff breez
in that direction, the commander new g dodge
for entrapping the coveted prey developed itsel
The broad white ribbon along the gun line wa
painted black; our No. /. man-of- war canvs
was exchanged for some worn, and here an
there patched, merchant sails, fshed up frol
the hold the shiny brass fittings of the decl
and the glitteripg tigure-head, were smudge
brown the brass swivel gun amidships was III
shipped and sent below; the carpenter and h
crew manufactured a lot of wooden gun -muzzle
(Quakers,) and these, when painted, were prt
truded from the PORTFOLIOS in place of the re,
barkers, which were carefully concealed beneat
tarpaulin, sails, hencoops, gratings and othe
pfofi