The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1864-04-30
The Rebel Steamer FlOrlda-What she
Did at TenerIfe.

loln OI 1iafcu, says.
"On the morning of the 18th. what
should greet our astonished visions but
a Rebel flag of fabulous dimensions.
floating at the peak of a steamer an /
chored about a thousand yards distant
from us, directly between US and the
town of Funchal At about A. NJ, we
/ ascertained her to be the Florida. She
arrived on the evening of the 9th, at
1890 P NJ, after passage of eighteen
days from Breast
On the 18th of February, the COM
mander of the Florida, (Lieut. c. NJ
Morris, late of the L. S. Navy,) made a
call upon the Governor of the Island.
a short time afterwards, our acting
consul, Mr.. Robert Bayman, called upon
the Governor, and entered a protest in
the name of his Government against
the Florida coaling. The Governor
promised him tour COnsul) she should
have no supplies there of any kind
How far he kept his promise the follow
ing will show The Rebel called again
upon the Governor, and told him that
coal, at least 40 tons of it, was a neces- /
sary supply, as his ship was light and
needed it for ballast The Governor
told him he (the rebel) came in with .
out it; however, if ballast was absO-
lutely indispensable to him, that he was
at liberty to take as many stones from
the beach as he liked.
Our consul informed the Governor /
that the pirate was just as seaworthy |
without coal as with it; seeing she had /
nearly as much sail, in proportion, as
the st. Louis, and that she had a pro-
peller well for tricing up her fan, it was
proof conclusive that on ordinary oc-
casions she did not intend to use it, and /.
that coal was not a necessary supply /
for such a vessel, any more that shot,
shell, guns or powder, as it was nothing
more than furnishing her means Of Of I
fence and Defence and without coal we
would be equalized
l. The Governor ordered the rebel /.
out of the port, but the rebel comman-
der told him he would not go until he /
received a few tons of coal the Cover
nor then told him, as he had not a suifi- /
cient force on the Island to enforce his /
order, he would authorize the com F.
mander Of the St Louis to enforce them .
for him, Che never gave any such order; .
if he had we should have carried it out /
to the letter. The rebelsreply could .
not learn. The outside pressure upon .
the Governor was too great, and he gave /
her permission to take enough to take /
her to the nearest port, provided it did /.
not exceed twenty tons.
/ think the scales where it was weigh /
ed must have been well creased as /
the twenty tons loaded six large light |.
ers." The Consul then protested against /.
this, telling him that it was against the .
instructions he received from his gov
eminent, (these Instructions were de /
livered by an officer from the ship to
the Governor of Madeira, on the 22nd |.
February, and sent in care of Comman-
der Preble, by the Portuguese Minister
of State, the Duke Loo Loo) and that
he might as well give him one hundred
and twenty tons since nothing was
easier for Mr. Blandy "a coal mer-
chant and Rebel sympathizer living
here) to give the pirate an order toany
Of his vessels which he might meet at
sea. For my part l cannot see why he |
could not 90 around the world in spite /
Of any such hindrance as this-fOr if he /
can get enough in every port he goes to
to carry him TO the next, what moro /
does he want Immediately after we
ascertained her true character, Ton the /
morning Of the 2Sth, we hove in on |.
our cable to forty-fiye fathoms, that /
being as little scope as we could ride by, |
as our anchor lay in thirty three |
fathoms, we also loaded the small arms. I
This was all we could do under the cir
cumstances. 1t appears that several re- |
ports reached the pirates while at an
Choir off Funchal, that we were going /.
to take her where she was. After she /
received her supposed twenty tons Of /
coal, she made preparations for sea, and /
so did we, but the very time that she |
left Funchal, on the night Of the 18th, /
s. 30 p. NJ, it was a calm, and we could /
do nothing.
Our awkward and useless position in /
this instance, will again afford a striking /.
illustration to the Navy Department Of
the value Of sailing vessels in such .
cases
On the morning Of March l, a light /.
breeze sprung up, and, az we learned /.
that the pirate had shaped his course I
for this port, { Santa Cruz, J we got I.
under way. After six days beating we I.
arrived at this place, and upon our ar
rival we learned that the pirate had .
been here, coaled, and went to sea the (
day previous to cur arrival, 10Th March +
1t is reported that she has gone to the .
East Indies ! find she has not been .
altered at Brest, as reported, for now
she answers her former description eX-
actIv. / examined her very closely. [
She slows her hammocks, as the Kear
sage and other boats Of her class, but .
here the resemblance ends. She has a
sharp-pointed head, long, low bOwspTit
and jib-boon, long lowermasts, short
topmasts and tOp-gallantmasts, and .
long mastheads, all Of which are very
slender; is barlrigged, two tunnels, one
forward Of the other both forward OF
the mainmast. Her masts have more
rake than any Of our gunbOats ! have
seen. She has wire rigging. Herarma-
ment consists of six 32-pounder guns OF
II cwt, in broadside, and two lO0pOun-
der Blakeley rifles as pivots, and, &C
cording to report, III men on board,
of which deserted at FunchaL They
report the crew as English, Irish, Span
ish, French and Portuguese, and
only one American. The officers
are all Southern men but one, who is an
Euglishman acting as an engineer.
During our stay at Funchal no less
than three blockade runners came in
and coaled; the following are the names,
viz: the Greyhound, North Heath, and
the Julia They have every appearance f
of being very fast, and we'll adapted for
the purpose for which they are design
ed. They are painted lead color.
We are now expecting a Portuguese
brig (Iortense) from Calais every day
with munitions of war for the rebel
steamer Rappahannock
SUNSET COx-Here is an anecdOte that
illustrates Little Cox, Of Ohio TO the
life
During the famous Speakership con-
test, IN the winter Of 1890 which
ended in the election Of Mr.. Penning-