Columbia Democrat and Bloomsburg general advertiser. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1850-1866, 1864-05-07

iyI 'ue look'out ol tue loTe top RalldHt
yard sang out; "S.a.i.l ho ~
"Wherc away :" shouted the captain
"Squarc down ahead, slr,' replied the
look. out ga Spanish steamer, close to,
sir"
Before the look.ou had finished ,h,
latter part Of his information, the captain
and myself stood together on the forecas.
tie with our glasses eveed on the stran.
ger. There she was--about four miles off
directly in our course; a respectable sized
man Of war steamer, laying hove to wait
ing for US to run down and just as we
had got the range of her, the gorgeour bat
tie ensign of her most Christian majesty
Isabella l., blew out at her peak and a
moment afterwards, one of the weather
guns was discharged, telling US very plain.
ly, that she was prepared for us.
"That's her - said Captain Benner, as
he leaped down from the heel of the bow
spirit, "the very customer that am after
My affianccd wife, Mr.. Raymond Donna
Theresa, the sister of yonder boy, is On
board that steamer-sto.en from her home
last night, by the wretch who comm ands
your vessel, Don Fustin Rufuo. The
william thinks to convey her 10 Barcelona,
where helpless. and without friends as she
needs must be, he would drag her to the
altar, and force her to detestcd marriage
with himself
But you will stand by me, ard so help
mo God, I'll rescue her from the fend,
though were obliged to tear his vile heart
from his worthless body. Take in sail
sir, as soon as possible while with a
bal dozen of the crew, clear away aud
shoot the long gun"
BY the time that we hal got the briga-
tiuc under short working canvass, we had
neared the steamer so much that we were
within point blank rage of gun, like tho
one we carried amdships and our lit
tie clipper was hove to, dead to wndward
OF the steamer, and just comfortably ou! of
reach of her medium eightecns.
"Comc here, Raymond" said the cap
tain, who with his coat and his hat of,
was working away at the big gun, like a
stevedore, ~ wish you would sing this
piece have heard that you are a capi-
tai shot, and | want you to wing that fel.
low. l can shoot gun to a charm, but |
am not the best marksman in thc world -
Now, If you can knock one of thas fellow s
| wheels off, We shall have him completely
at our mercy, and he'll soon haul down
the red and yellow bunting. You sigh!
the gun and III stand by with the lanyard
of the lock, 10 fire the moment that you
give the word. ="
l funk off my pea jacket, and COM
menced sighting the gun, but it was very
much like shooting a swallow on the wing
with rihe-she would not stand still long
enough for me to g't sight. At last, l
got chance, and sung out; on the instant,
our thirty-two spoke her good morning"
to the Spaniard in thunder tones, and the
recoil sent me a wandering until brought
up again the weather rail, where | made a
grab and held 90, waiting Tor the smoke
to clear away, so that l could see what /
had done.
Directly tho steamer becaue VISIBLE we
soou discovered that ! hadn't hit her
wheel but I had hit something else. My
shot had hit her funnel, and carved il
away smooth and clean, about four feet
from the deck,
"rhunder and lightning, what a shot T.
said Captain Benuer. "By heaven, Ray
mond !! 1 don't believe you could hit ten
acre wood lot set upon edge
II could hit one ofthe trees through, il
it was as big as that fellows smoke-plpe
What say-shall try him again, sir p
"Yes, Yes bear hand, and-hut no
hold on-there comes his colors down
What does it mean There goes his sig
nails of distress too BE alive, here, ev.
erybody We must run down and fnd out
what the trouble is"
In fifteen minutes, we were alongside of
the steamer, which VIC found to be on fire,
and sinking radidly.
I had got better bargain of my shot,
after all, than the captain had given me
credit for. The thirty'two, unbeknown to
me, had been double shotted, and while
one of the shot cut off the funnel as We
have already seen the other passed through
the steamers hull, as she rose on sea,
and capsized her furnace, had set her on
fire, and then went out throsgh the lee
side below the water line.
We had barely time to rescue the Span
ish crew, before the steamer went down (;
and we Immediately hauled our wind fol
Tortosa.
Captain Benner was 30 we'll pleased
with the recovery of his Theroas, and the
destruction of the steamcr, that he treated
the Spanish captain, Don Fuslin Rudno il
not altogether as b would brother Ger.
tainly much better than he deserved.
About six months after this little affair
happened, the young commander Of the
Modesto was married to the beautiful