Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1873-01-13

Woulo Dc kOou Unt 10 repair ~ hn'
; TO facilitate his work let the steam dow
? TO nine or ten pounds 10 the squar
I inch. Thus things were going unit
!. about nine O clock in the forenoon, whel
our sharp.eyed lookout at the foremas
head yelled out, Sail hol" Wher
away" 1.-Two points of the por
, bow" What do you make her outY
Steamer, sir, standing 70 the east
ward Our head was 10 the westward
hence the stranger was coming from
. Wilmington. This short dialogue hat
hardly ended and the slice bars anC
coal shoyels scarcely commenced max
ing music in the fire room before al
other steamer was discovered. and still
another which seemed 10 be sailing
abreast, and several miles asunder. The
first craft occupied the center, and was
probably mile or two in advance. She
was side.wheel ex.blockade runner,
British built, and therefore we would
have no easy thing TO get away from
him, especially with steam down. This
was the Lillian. She came up above
the horizon very rapidly. her wheels
flying around, leaving q long line, OF
foam astern. The second vessel a
large American built screw steamer,
called the Montgomery, was the left Of
the line; the third was never near enough
TO us TO give trouble, so we will not notice
her. Our first impulse was to head TO
the eastward and 90 as fast as possible,
but our best speed was not much; steam
was down and it seemed impossible to
get il up, for we used il as fast as made.
The Lillian was coming up with us
hand-over.fst, and the other two were
fairly in sight. After the first thirty
minutes | judged that we were holding
our own, but inasmuch as we had not
coal enough to warrant long run off
shore, favored change, Of course,
with the purpose Of Bleaching the vessel
as last resort Before doing this it
was necessary to ascertain our position
from the sight taken just about the
time we saw the enemy. l undertook
the job Of working up the observation,
and at about the same time the Lillian
got in range and opened on us. In every
operation Of adding, multiplying or d.
viding, found the coming shell an ele-
ment in the calculation. Two and seven 4
made ten oftener on that occasion than
on any other l can call to mind.
mistook the secant Of the latitude for
the co-secant of the polar distance, aud
got the sines and co.sines all tangled /
was working Summers method, which
requires vast amount of figuring, and
/ thought should never get through |
However, did get through, and marked |
the position on the chart. drew straight |
line. to the nearest shore, got the course |
from the nearest compass and emerged |
with my data. To steer this course |
would bring us in range of the Mont |
gomery, as we would turn short on our
heel aud steer toward North Carolina
instead of the Bay. of Biscay.
Around we came and around also came
our pursuers. The Montgomery steered |
to intercept US and get in range. The
Lillian was right astern of US, also in
range, but her practice was Indifferent,
whilst that of her consort was tirstrate.
We urged and coaxed engineers and fire.
men, but still the steam would not come.
We sent men into the bunkers, picked |
the coal of the best size and passed it out
iu deck buckets. We changed fremen
every half hour, and still it did no good.
Our men looked axiously and nervously
over the sides at the chasing vessels. thew
wers demoralized-I felt so myself UD
to this time we had no oolors set and had
Kent the guns coyered--were plaving the
part Of runaway blockade runner. We
determined to try conclusions with shot
and she'll. The colors were bent ON and
run nm in ball ready to shake ont and
the drummer ordered 10 heat IN ouarters
A. the first sound Of the rat.ta.tat stons
Vare broken and onr ensign blew ont
rom the masthead. The man hurried
70 the guns ana cleared for action. and
IN few seconds we smoke to our mr.
,ners In kniahtly tones--tbe cringing
hind became an armed warrior. The
Acct was marvellous. the man worked
lin a will At whatever thew were set at
'ha anr,noars No Iorgar fnpnd d;aicrItv
Ian tba;r 6ran,an, tbo shIn bersaif
~ nes,,od ~ he In q hettar bpmor Rsns
,f wsste and warns ware saturated with
,r,ant;ne and tbrown into tba fnrnocas
~ r,5an VIC NO longey nod waste No
'aJIoJ t,rna,t;ne ;n,6 tba fras Th;s
ii - r,raat c,,,r ,nroc,;ca d;J tLa bns;e
~. r. 10, &c rs;s;nn Staan, IT, !
Us; ,nr;naar n cbsrca NOS naoU 81 inJr
,,ant ani seeing that we were NOT los;ns
r -ronnd ba lent bottI,nS mn tbo steox
nj GD raising he nressSre From t5..
~ ~ j I oas,la Ioot down ~ a. ano;ne
'arU loons and SOC 500 tbe steon, ganSe r wy ss,s
10 b irS;oa S tor s orawI r~v INV 70 savsntoar spJ
~ : sa,r H. nyeen aEs;etly sbnt ~ tba
.1 i;t,ia, erora. sorstn ,oon
% ,e.t 20 a;gbtaan ana s,;iI ba Closed
Ien' Ln oS;ene She Ssos M 1ott;nS % bot
10 ~ ~ Laar :, ard La s'S,ha.
~ ~ II ,nt Lo, ya ,-aniS notha I .
Ans na"t1.S' S co. % s5y ,anS,h of t;ns NV ,Se
Ia Ia bUzv;ng abo5f Nc 0,r ona ma,
'asyJ oJ nonnSas Ia ".alass on 90