Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1877-04-21
AN OLD SAILORS YARN.

"Speakin' of them old blockade run
min times,n said Boy Bill the other day,
as he and the Old Sailor stretched their
LEGS under the mahogany, al mind one
celebrated wage | made out of Will
min,ton, or leastwise av'yage when We
had some celebrated chaps along OF us
as passengers, which was Blanton Dun
can, Jake Thompson and Mr.. Clay, three
chaps as were sent out by the Govern
merit TO try for to patch up n peace with
the Yankees, and heard tell they went
afterward 10 Canady for to do it, but
nothin' mnch come of it, and, any how,
they come nigh losin' the number of
their messes whilst they was along OF US,
to nv sartin knowledge.
"You see, sir, it were in the steamer
Thistle, along Of Captain Hara, OF which
/ were second mate. She were old tub
of a craft as had formerly been a passen-
ger boat 'twixt Liverpool and Ireland,
and the only good thing about her were
she were fast, there were no doubt OF
that; but the less gales of wind you had
in her the safer you was, cause she
were ike the old woman's baby, too
old to suck
swell, we starts down the river, chock
full of cotton below, and with deck
load of il as well, and the fust thing We
know'd she were ATTIRE among the cot
ton on deck, and we had to chuck over
board bale or two afore We got 1t out.
We was goin' out of the eastern passage
and we anchored close under Fort Fisher
list afore dark. The tides was a 'takin'
on, and we concluded we'd wait till
the next night afore we tried to 60 out,
so As we could have more water on the
bar.
"Next day Colonel Lamb, the COM
mandant of the fort, come of aboard OF
us, and, larnln' who our passengers was,
: he invited 'em for to come ashore, and
they done it, goin' with 'em in charge
of the boat. I'd seen some formidable
-arthworks in my time, but never seen
one to equal this, and we made up our
minds that il couldn't be took from the
sea nohow. The Colonel showed us
some little Whitworth guns which was
ON carriages so as he could run 'em
along the shore wherever there were
chance to get shot at a blockader, and
he said he could land a shot aboard OF
,em four or FIVE miles away, and that he
made 'em keep to a respectful distance.
The socers in the fort was the most half
starved. ski.layalee-lookin' lot l ever
seen. and they hadn't no clothes on to
sneak of: barefcoted and ragged they
was. and the most of 'em was boys al
that Well. arter wanderin' round till
we was tired. we went off aboard agin,
and we found that big ironclad which
had been baiIt in Wilmin'ton had come
down and anchored near us, and that
She were goin' out to have a shy at the
blockaders that night, and soon after
there were two ether gIlnboats come
down and anchored and there come
boar from one of 'em to ask would WI
give 'em some white paint for TO PAIN
the roof Of the ;ronclad, and of course
we Civ 'em all we had, and Civ 'em al
so some other things, but ii wernt more
than A hour afterwards, afore the com
masdin' officer sends word to us that We
mustn't try for 10 90 out that night, ane
that ii we ;nterfered with his move
ments he'd sink us. There were graft
tude for YOU, AFTER we'd Civ him all oul
paint.
"Weu. one If our distinguished pas
sensers, he thought he could do some
thin for Us, and took him in our boat
and we went aboard of the ironclad
The Admiral, who were a old Unites
States officer, were very gentlemanly