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

him. cause we might attract the atfen-
ton of the feet, and so Spite his game,
and If we went out arter him he
might mistake us for blockader and
fire into us. Well, our old man, he said
he would run the risk of that, and the
CAPTAIN of one of the small gunboats
agreed to keep Just ahead of us so as to
warn us to turn back If so be as the IRON
clad stuck on the bar.
"Early that evening the ironclad
started, and soon after we went on and
got safe over the bar and launched
skiff and put out our pilot. About ten
minutes after he left us We seen flash
on our starboard bow, and Immediately
arter the whole face of creation were
lighted up and we heard the thunder OF
the guns of the fleet as they replied to
the attack of the ironclad. That wer'nt
no place for US, and we starboarded and
.un up the beach as fast as we could
s,eam. Luckily the flashes of their guns
md their signal-lights and rockets de
aned the position of the men-of-war, and
after runnin' till we thought we was
clear, we parted and stood out to sea.
We was little too soon, hows ever, for
one of 'em seen us, and fired at us, and
we had to starboard agin and run for it.
Then we makes one right ahead, and
had to port agin and run off with her
AFTER us, but at last, arter about three
quarters of an hour about as excitin' as
one would wish for, We left 'em all be-
hind and went on about our business.
1--WE was like young bears, though,
all our troubles was to come We
didn' t care much for this inner line of
blockaders, cause we had got to runnin'
through 'em by night easy enough, but
il were the off-shore cruisers that trou-
bled us: them that we run foul of in the
DAYTIME. This v'yage I'm tellin' you
on. when the mornin' come, here were
a gun-boat right ahead of us. We part
ed and went off to the west'ard, bringin'
him onto our port-quarter, and he CIV
chase. In about quarter of hour we
raised another one, right ahead, and
asin KEEP off to the su'thard till we brung
him onto the port beam, and this altera-
ton of course brought the fust one onto
the starboard quarter. We run this way
about a half hour, and had begun to
drop the second one sighted, when We
raised third one, jist for'ard of the
starboard beam, and now it only needed
that we should make one ahead to in
sure our capture. Besides this, as you
will see, sir, if you have followed me, we
had turned completely round, and it was
only question of time when we should
Git in agin with the fleet we had run
through the night afore. Our chance Of
escape was but slim. and all depended
on whether we could outrtin the one onto
our port beam enough to sail round him
and Git our head off shore agin.
We KEEP TAXI the bearin's of the
one on the port hand, and
as we dropped him half pint, we
would haul up half pint, still keepin'
| him right abeam. Meantime, number
three that we had fust made for'ard of
the starboard beam, had been steamin'
light for us, and at s O'Clock he found
4, hisself within distance, and begin to fire
at us. The fust shot went over us, the
rext fell astern, but it was evident that
we was in range, and might expect to be
hit unless we got this troublesome GUS
toner out of range We starboarded a
pint more, bringing the second craft for
| lard of the beam and our nearest neigh
Dor one pint abaft the starboard beam,
and then come the question, Must we
sacrifice any of our cotton?' You've
never run the blockade, sir, and you
can't think what it were to throw cotton
overheard them times. 1t were like
drawin' out your eye teeth. Every bale
was worth ESQ; but it were better to lose
some than TO sacrifice all; the shots was
a fallin' all around us, and we must git
out of range or we was gone, and so the
old man Civ the order to throw over
board cotton.
"sCut 'em open my lads says the
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