The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1884-04-05

men, well OlLcereQ Dy men VINO knew
their business. We had good weather,
| and calculated to make land inside the
blockade under cover of night, between
one and three o'clock in the morning.
However, as luck would have it, an ac-
cident at seattle giving away of some
of our machinery detained us several
hours, and brought us to land in open
| daylight about six O. clock in the morn
| ing. By this time we were in plain
sight of the blockade squadron, but as
yet we were unobserved.
''The entrance to the harbor was filled
with gun-boats. 1t was near the close
OF the war, and the blockade at other
points on the coast having been raised,
all the Federal cruisers were concen-
trated at Galveston. The situation was
perilous one, and there was but one
thing left to be done. If we could evade
the enemy until nightfall, and then mass
the squadron and enter the harbor I'M
observed we would be all right. Call
ing the men all to the bridge | gave
| them their orders, and the ship was
soon heading toward land. We stood
well to the eastward close under shore
with the intention ofsecreting ourselves
until night. We were yet some distance
out and hauling In rapidly. when about
eight o'clock l discovered cruiser
bearing down on us. All hope Of MAX
| ing land was then abandoned, and the
only chance to escape was to put to
sea. Having full confidencein my men.
and knowing the speed of my ship, l
did not fear the result.
calling to the engineer through the
pipe discovered that after making a
twelve hours run off shore and back
again would not have coal enough to
carry me back to Havana, as there was
none to be had at Galveston. l was in
a quandary; but no time was to be lost
Give her full head, / shouted 10 The
engineer, and casting my glass across
the harbor l saw the Federal cruiser
preparing for action. There was only
one alternative, and in forlorn hope l
took the desperate chance of running
the squadron and breaking the block
ade. 1t was then about noon. head
ed the ship for Galveston and passed
over the outer bar into the swash or
beach channel, hauling in south by west,
in the very teeth of the guns on the
gun boat Seminole, which had already
opened fire. At this pc MT tie chase be-
gan, and for an hour we ran under a
heavy fire from the guns of three of the
squadron, which were bearing down on
us all the time.
"'Push her hard!' shouted again to
the engineer. All right, sir, came the
reply; and the huge, black volumes of
smoke that poured out of our tunnels
and lay in clouds on the water; the
throbbing of the engine in the hold; the
straining of the wheels as they flew
around, blowing the water and leaving
a track of boiling. foaming sea far
astern, told that he was doing his duty.
1t was an exciting time, but every man
was at his post, and not word was
spoken. The shell whizzed over us, and
| splashed and drenched our decks as
they fell close under our sides. Two
solid shot passed through our tunnels
as stood on the bridge, and the frag-
ments of she'll shattered our bow
above water, but otherw ae we were
unhurt. / could watch the movements
of the men on the cruisers through my
glass, as stood on the bridge, between
the flashes of the guns and the clearing
away of the smoke.
ave were even now about half q
mile distant from each other, and about
half mile from the shore. All right
below| l inquired again through the
pipe. al right, sir, was the answer,
and the ship rushed through the water
as the shot fell thick and fast; but the
chase was about up. The bay was be-
tween us and the gun-boats, and the
distance grew greater as the channel
widened. In ten minutes more we
were out of their reach, and running
the ship under Pelican Point, we were
under cover of our own guns, sheltered
| from the enemy's.
"We were now safe. The open bay
was before us, with the white sandhills
beyond. The fleet was lying below
about two miles, and the fort and
wharves along the city were lined with
thousands of the spectators who had
witnessed the chase, and who received
us with open a ms"
at was nip-and-tuck rare, Cap
tain,a remarked the reporter. "How
did you feel with tie shells bursting
about you?"
"Well, about as I do now," was the
reply, as the complacent Captain stood
with his hands in his pockets, quietly
smoking his cigar. True, there were
about two hundred pounds of powder
under the bridge where stood, but it's
all in lifetime. There's no use get
ting excited. We lay in port about
eighteen days. he resumed, "d;scharg-
ing our cargo and reloading with cot
ton, when we again put to sea. and
passed the squadron without being mo-
Tested or interfered with. Every thing
went smooth until about sixty miles off
Cuba, when we broke our crank-pin,
and SO disabled were picked up by the
Federal cruiser Metacomet. commanded
by Captain Jewett, and taken to Fhila-
delphia. was tried there in the Fed
eral Courts, and the Susanna was con-
demned as a Government pri e..
The Seminole, which figured in the
above affair, was employed by the
United States Government during the
war in cruising along the Southern At
lantic and Gulf coasts in scar b Of the
many enterprising blockaders with
which the coast and W est Indies waters
were infested. She captured and as
sisted in the capture OF a number Of
! vessels, IN which several o. our citizens