Newbern weekly progress., 1862-06-07

After the Farewell Address Of Com. Foote
to his men on the Mississippi the orrespon ii
dent of the N. Y. Tribune gives the following q
graphic sketch:-
There was hardly dry eye on the deck
while the Commodore spoke, and old tars that
had braved the frozen horrors OF the Northern
seas and the plaques of the tropics; that had
doubled the Horn again and again, and sailed
under the Equator, aud touched at every prom.
inent land-pont on the globe, stood in the hot
sun. with hotter tears upon their cheeks, and
melted into tenderness Of woe at thought oi
parting from their brave old commander whom
they had learned to love so well.
| | thought had seen the Commodore for the
last time, but after the DE Soto was cut Of
sight, it was discovered the mail had been left
behind, and Capt. Phelps ordered the captain
Of q tug lying alongside to take the mail and
catch the transport by all means.
A fellow. journalist and myself leaped on
board the little marine Mercury, and We were
inm ,dately steamlng rapidly up the river.-
Faster and faster darted the tug through, and
against, the strong current Of the Mississippi
Sixty pounds OF steam is all the boats are
allowed under ordinary circumstances to car
ry; but 10 ten minutes the stean.guage mark.
I ed ninety. The fremen worked nobly, and
the boilers glowed anew the little boat fairly
leaped out Of the water, throwing the white
; spray above the speeding bow. I
. One hundred and ten, twenty thirty, ,saFt
a The steam guage; but still We seemed ~ be
!. gaining little on The De Soto.
/, Fire up, boys" shouted the Captain
!, !, ave have orders TO catch that boat, and III
q 90 it, il blow the tug to h-l'
y Opon flew the doors Of the furnace, and the
Il coal cracked in the blazing fire, and the boil.
&c ers sung shrilly and ominously, while the
y steam. guage went up 10 one hundred and six
J. ty. The Tug trsmblcd in every joint, and
t. and radated heat on every side, as we darled
1t through the sweeping tide Of the mighty river.
i. One hundred and seventy, and eighty and
= ninety, proclaimed the steam.guase and, al
y we went flying through the water, the engineer
re observed: "She went bear much more
le something will break soon"
ve "Lct it break" shouted the Captain, wh'
lie had overheard the remark "Onr orders ar
~ TO catch the De Soto, and We must DO it,
~, Never mind the tug. Wen do our part;
9 she don't do hers that's her business
ot We we're gaining rapidly on the boat. W
les saw her smoke rising around bend, and
nm We sped after her, observed we were carry
IT,, ing exactly 200 pounds Of steam.
ny There was some ,hing exciting in the rae
at against time, and the spice Of danger made
ial interesting Gods how hot the tiny craft was
,es how swift We went! She threw out he
.ho as house on fire. Every joint sheok ever
~ seam creaked; every square inch throbS'
under tho high pressure Of the chained yapo
that seemed burning to discharge their pa'nl
me deaths upon the slender crew.
nto The tug ran like marine greyhound, Al
y. while We we're specializing upon the chanc
III of being blown into fragments, we dart
in. through narrow chute, and in less than ii
minutes passed cut aud were by the side
~ the De Soto.
are The race was ever. The order had be
am executed
'n'' Perhaps more than one person on the I
us breathed ireer, as we ran alongside ana Gel
. 20 cred the mail. But the excitement Was goh
the interest was Mt an end, and the tug oeca'
ma. an ordinary tug, as the stsan-gauge tell
,oya seventy again, and danger dwindlsd aw'
49,
i've Not a bed or berth could be found, for Il
,ss- or money, on board the United States m
boat I. r. Stcor, on Wednesday evening
ere the representative of the Philadelphia p,
had to take off his arstocratc mein and
down alsng with his benighted brethren
true democratic style So, on shawl -pre
rice on the floor Of what prolesscd to be n "Ladi
the Saloon" laid myself down to enjoy wi
.,a proved to be most comfortable nights re
o2, On my right was Capt. II. NJ. Swift, of
ont eomn'issary department, with whom | shar
:. my bed, and who returned the compliment
'"ii taking charge Of my valuables, which valuab
'ur- were three sheets of paper, two envelopes
,, stnmpy pen, and twenty five cent inkstar
oh' On my left was a Fortress Monroe su,ler yoi
ave up on business At my hoad was Psnns
rot vania soldier, who kindly lent me his leg fol
"'' pillow. and, at foot, an infantry captain. Sn,
'rc- ers were all around me, and finer set
the fellows, kinder, and more gentcm,nly, th
the dozen who laid down together that nr
llr- could not be found on the continent Y
IAN passed comfortable night and al dawn start
~ Tor Cumberland, where was landed at A.
=" We doubt not, our sentemnnly friends
MS, the Now York Tri5une-H s. OLcorr and
md w. CARPENrER-coul tell some pretty spi
pe- tales of their army experiences in bivouacki
the and the like, that would DO highly entertaini
vt to the readers of that journal, and which wou
amusc and instruct. Do it, scn.s