The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1870-04-07
Al OLD BLOCKADE RUNNER,

=
the Cincinnati Commercial writes
"Captain Fem Peck. IS as old and sae-
ccsstul blockade runner and converses
freely upon bis exploits during the war.
He is sixty-fSu years old, hale and hearty,
although touched with p4:afysis, and be-
lieves that he VIII live to see many Young
men buried. He was opposed 70 seces-
sion, but when South Carolina vent %,
he fell iuto the lire with the rest az his
fellow citizens of Charleston, and, turning
his nautical know ledge 70 acco int, became
a blockade runner.
'FWhenefer l found how things wsrs
gong, said he, to three or fou. OF the
Cincintafikns seated in h7s cabin, sippins
otard and vrs'eFt this morning. as the City
Point spread over the sparkling crest of
the Atlantic, ''i made up. my nsimsi.
bid ssy folks goodbye, and told them
was going 10 Kentucky and Tennessee to
Say cattle, (and the jolly oT9 SAT- laughed
az the conceit,l but was going farther.
I tGoA aa. old earpet-sack, some old
clothes, four podnds Of plug tobacco and
bottle of whiskey, and headed foTit,onf4,
vile, where | spent sns night. My next
stopping place was at Niagara Falls.
where peoples baggage was examined bv
the regenuo officers.
"What have you there OH g!nttd5s
raan p asked snnart Fellow, with a gold
band on his cap.
ga few old clothes, some tobacco. and
.. s0ttFe Of whlskc5," : are47erd. event
7ou Nave eo1Ye?
''So, thank you; 1ot now" Says he.
''Pass along"
You better believe feel relieved, ssr
you see had stcrEng ezcharTe for $780,
coo sewed Up il collar of All old coat
N =a3 carpet-sack, and I'd have felt cheap
going back to Charleston without it.
Welhy Z went to England That was
IN duRer 1861, and returned in Decen1-
Ber following, with a ship load of arms
and munitions of waq which were safely
landed in Charleston.
GLOW much monsy Gtd you make, Gaps
tain %
"Tegy sS 2 made s1. .eoc' III so,d On
that trip paid $4,000 tias Z oqee:a. N
Charleston made my family comfortable,
and took 6 few thousand back to England
for safe keepfng. Had $3.50, 900 IN
Confederate bonds when the war closed,
and Aayave it yet"
do you ever expect to realize angtlri.g
fofa them p
'e2so, sir $500 = this1. : Eaa so-ae
notion Of papering r.ly sitting rooa1 with
thera' last year. BSo, sir; all the Haoaey
I made cuf ct fhe war just paid that deat.
kept my family in eoncfort. and left me
$1,000 in gold on deposit in England"
"How long did you run the blockade p
"All through the war;
''Were you never caught ?" 5-,.s
''No sir, never, but came near being
captured by the Rhode Island, off Nassau
/ was in cemmand OF the Margaret and
Jessie, with a cargo of cotton for England
The Rhode Island spied her and made
right for US. They fred two hundred
and odd shnts'; several struck us, bct only
o=a Gone afty darIage~ 1t tore four foot
hole in our boiler, and rrsn the vessel
INTO the SHOALS at Nassau. The crew
escaped; wrecEers came deEsn and saved
the vessel and claimed salvage" +"
..~Did you run the same ve3seb all
through tie war 90
'eNoy..sir; :. commander ee7sra:L4he
Bermuda, the Cecile, the Kate, the Mars
garet and Jessf', and tbs Leopard, after
ward called the Stonewail Jackaon, Bhe-
Cecile, Kate and Stonewall were lbrt the
rest came out all right. made thirteen
trips in all, and never WAC caught Eook.
yom are takin' notes." ~:
''"Oh no, no wouldn't teli' il tc' al.9-
body for the world. OIly no u
tEAll, right, gentlemen, let uss t8&s aus
otiier drop ofyshaa brandy" -
"Where did you run principally. Cap
tain 7''
's"WeIF ST; son,et tinaeg to Charleston
but mostly into Wilmingtoa.''
'tF9ere you not afraid of the torqedoeG
N the Charleston .liarbor -
"No, g:r,. z had chart olgtiie harbor,
tfepRred ky fiie Confederate engineers ahd
torpedo corps, showing where the things
were eunla. and. ef5nply steered clear of
them. The main ship channel never was
obstructed during the war, aad. any ship
could have GONE ip,, but It seems they
were afraid. y
swell, some of them. didi come IN, in
spite Of the torpedoes." <%e
Eyes, sir, the Irof1sides passed r;ght
over torpedo made out of thirty-foot
boiler, charged'with 1000 pounds of pow
der, and sunk only mile from Fort Sum
ter, but it seems as though Providence
ordered it otherwise. The thihE@ df6' Ebt
explode as the vessel tcuched they then
tried the galvanic battery on tie siinre;
for the torpedo corps were. ashore e.<
pecting to see her blown into tile air. but
the battery would not explode it either.
[ always believed that the fellow who fas-
| tened the wires fixed them SO they would
not work.. and great many ctliers were
Of my opinion"