Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1868-10-20
NASHVILLE. TENNESSEE, TUESDAY,

.ocomnl;shea than, leaving two OF the
number in the pilot house, two in the en-
r;ne.roon. and one in the cabin, as g
Suard-the latter over one of the crew
Who hand insulted the leader-the yelled
nariv suddenly sprang aboard the Hesper.
fit,Ie or nothing was said, and the board
ers who evidently had an eye 10 business,
nlseed the crew under surveillance and
rom n, the work in hand. The gun
boxes were broken open with axes and
hatchets, and tbs guns taken out and bro
ken before being consigned to the element.
A large quantity of anlSlition in the hold,
marked q sundries," was also thrown over
hoard The boxes we're showed overheard
after them. and many of them were seen
nv messengers on the Maydower, floating
With The curfent. Ia half an honr the
tssk was accomplished, and the party
onietlv returned 10 the tag, leaving the
Hesner adrifs and in possession OF all her
crew who remained, Captain Houston and
his brother having made rapid strides for
The woods az soon as the Neltie was seen
bearing doTn upon their craft.
The mysterious raiders once more
aboard Cantain Ford was required 10 turn
the host northWard, and proceed until
further orders. At midnight she reached
a point in Presidenes island chute, eight
miles below the city. Here, by order of
the yelled commander, she was run
aground. No sooner had this been done
than some one, until that moment In
visible, on the island, was hailed. A
minute afterWsrd skiff put out from the
sshore, and was rowed alongside. Whether
the person in il was white or black could
not be ascsrtained, as he, too, was masked.
Six of the raiders got into the skif and
were taken ashore, and the skiff continued
making trips until three A. M, when the
last six we're safely carried over. Bat be-
fore any one left, strict orders were gwen
Captain Ford 10 remain in the chute until
daylight. He did so, the tug not changing
position until seven A. NJ. yesterday morn
inp. She then returned to the city, bring
ing the first and only intelligence oil What
had occurred.
CAPTAIN Ford informs us that soon alter
the Hesper was boarded several shots were
fired, but whether by the crew or the
raiders he did not ascertain. Some one
ordered the firing to cease, and nothing
more was heard. No one aboard the Hes
per was injured or in any way mistreated;
Several bottles and TASKS of the "huld'
were seen circulating among the raiders,
but no one was under its influence. 1hey
could not have been more quiet and order
Iy If they had been en- route to 1uneTal'
Where they went after being rowed over 70
Presidents Island we have not been able
to discover Doubtless they dug hole In
the ground, crawled in, drew the hole
after them and slid down to China, to assist
old Foo Chung in the tea business.
While the demolition was progressing
small squads ofhorsemen appeared on either
shore, and horses hoofs could be heard at
intervals throughout the night from the
point where the tug lay aground.
The Hesper, after picking up her fugl-
tive Captain and his brother, turned up
stream, and arrived at the city wharf yes
terdav afternoon. The facts of the board
ing being known, her appearance attracted
considerable attention, and the officers and
crew were greeted with numerous questions,
mainly of humorous character. Some 81
| the uuestioners wanted to know what had
become of "them arms :" and the Captain
was afforded several opportunities to give
/ a list of the names of the new "stevedores
who had 50 rapidly discharged his cargo;
Captain Houston and the crew ansW ereG
some of the questions good naturedly, and
were evidently in a good humor. Then
| faces wore a self-satisfied air, unlike that o.
men supposed to be the victims Of an out
rage. The boat was placedin charge of thu
Metropolitan police, who allowed no one
to 90 aboard, and Captain Houston rushed
after some Of the Radical leaders to assis
in "working up" the affair to the larges
possible dimensions as political capita
| against the Ku-Klux.