Red Wing sentinel. [volume] (Red Wing, M.T. [i.e. Minn.]) 1855-1861, 1859-01-01
Narrative of the SLAYER Echo-..the Cap-
tue and Subsequent Events.
Co111>,pr. 9 q noo 9

OHOIAoAa, NJ !0s9 4CCs y, ACCCs
The refusal ofthe grand jury of this
district to find q true bill against the
crew Of the SLAYER, Echo, for piracy,
whilst it increases the important Bear
ing which she il destined to havesson
the future Of the laws against the slave
trade, is.likely tosdeprive sthe public,
tor willie at least, of the details Of
the capture ofthat;yessel by the Unit
ed States brig Dolphin, and of those
explanations of the various occurrence
es which would have been furnished
in the course of the testimony that
would have been produced before a
petit jury. The following narrative,
tfereforeA gathered mainly from the
principal actors in the affair, will be
read with much interest. raj
A1sUspICIoUs SAIL. .9,4;,
The Uniteds States brig Dolphin, .of
six guns, 90 1, Lieut.. Command
ling j AIafiit, Ut S.N., was in Au-
gust last cruising a.the; north coast at
Cuba, pursuant to 'oiders, to overhaul
suspicious vessels, and intercept illegal
traffic. About L4M past sly, o'clock On
the morningsd The 21st, Of. August; the
|sky clear and bright, and the wind
blowing.bfiskly about n. E., the signal
Of a esaiIiE sight was. given by the
lookout. A strange vessel, under a
press of canvas, was reported ahead,
and standing on the same course with
the Dolphin. No particular attention
was directed to the vessel during the
fforenool other than Al Il occasional
glance through Che glass, i.s a pass.
ing remark as to the lessening distance
between the two ships, from the deck
Of the Dolphin. About one o'clock,
however, >asnear view Of the stranger
being obtained, disclosed to the Unit
ed States officers the fact that she was
brig, light in the water, and coming
from the eastward through the South.
.ern channel. These circumstances at
once raised a suspicion in the mind Of
the commander of the Dolphin, as to
the character of the vessel, as he knew,
if engaged in lawful traffic, she would
not be very likely to come from that
direction light Of dranght. Orders
were, therefore, promptly issaed Is Keep
a sharp lookotr upon tie actions of the
stranger, while tile Dolphin, crowding
her sail, continued to overhaul her
rapidly.
At ten minutes past two. a hustle
was observed. on the deck of the YES
|sel, and she suddenly and very briskly
took in all her steering sails at once,
and hauled by the wind on the star
board tack. The speedy and seaman
like manner in which this was done,
at once confirmed the suspicious be,
fore excited, for It proved that the
strange brig was manned with unusual
strength. Quick as thought, there
fore, the commander of the Dolphin
gave the orders to chase; and in an
instant her deck We're alive with ofc.
fcers and men, eager with the excite
ment of the anticipated race, for il
was easy to perceive that the strangers
might prove no easily captured prize.
Immediately the brig broke cover, the
British flag was run up to the mast.
head by the commander Of the Dol
lphin, as a ruse to draw out the true
character Of the fugitive. This is q
general custom in all nayies, when
first breaking cover with, an enemy,
or a ship engaged in an unlawful traffic
Oh the high seas, and is designed pur-
posely to mislead the suspected craft
and discover her true character. The
strange sail continued to scud before
the wind, showing no flag in response,