The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1886-12-07
Picking CD n Tornado.

l was among others detailed from the
Federal ;camcr Monongahcla to search
the Rcd River between the Tcnsar aud
the Mississippi, for the torpedocs which
mad beer planted by the C~onfcdcratcs
before our fleet appeared in those water.
These torpedocs were of all makes,
Shapes md sizes, from II pork barrel half
iul OF powder, to be fired by electricity
from the shore, to glass delnijohn h i'd
ing ten pc lnds and to be exploded by
contact. Some were on the surface,
some just under it, and some on the bot.
tom. We went out in gangs of four in
row-boats to hunt for these TERRIERS, each
boat being provided with grapne!s, nets,
b~oat-hooks and whatever else WIS needed
Tor fishing up the monsters. We had to
60 slow and c icrcise q eat caution, for
tn: channel was %tortuous an no one
could guess at what ont we would
come across a torpedo. While the woods
were shclled two or three times a day by
our gunboats, the Confederate swamp.
cats were by 10 means driven out. They
had every chance to scclctc themselves
along the banks, and we realized tn It if
we came upon al clio trio torpedo
which could be exploded from the shore
we ran every risk Of being blown sky
high.
We had been at work three or four
days and had fishcd up seven or eight
uGly-looking fellows, when we got into a
part Of the channel which ran within
fifty feet of the right hand bank. Just
at this time a C .lored man who had been
lying out in the swamps for several weeks
waiting for his deliverancc informed us
that he had OBJ ,crved men planting some
thing in this bend about two weeks b.
fore. He thought there were wires
leading from it to the swamp, but we
secuted about for Il couple of hours with
out being able to find that such was the
case. The bunk was a dense Jungle in
which a thousand men could have con-
ccaled themselves and the gunboats
could not she'll it from the position they
had taken.
1t Was about an hour after dinner that
we m ,ved up and began graphing in
the bend. The boat in which I was
stationed turned her bow d wn stream,
threw over her grapncls, and two men
used the oars to give her Roadway. We
had not pulled tiftv feet when the irons
took hold, and | drew the boat back to
the spot by means of the ropc. Then.
standing on the seat in the stern, I lifted
the obstruction, and it came slowly
up: 1t had just appeared at the surface
81 ttlcicnt for me to make out that it was
n boilcr-iron torpedo when there came an
awful explosion. At the same instant
our boat was lifted high in the air and
broken to pieces, and | scarcely com !
pretended what had occurred until I
found myself in the water about 200
Fect below the point of explosion. MY
lair, whiskcrs and eyebrows were badly
and my clothing was on fire as I
came down after the flight. While I had
the other three men were killed !
outright and horribly mangled, and the
great wave crelted swampcd The boat
yorkinga few hundred feet below us and
one Of her crew.
While swimming for the cap lied boat
man stood on the bank of the river and
lred four shots at me from a revolver, and
With the fifth he killed the colored man
Tho had given us information. The
'ictim stood on the bank, about midway
the two boats. and was shot
the head. The torpcd, was no
exploded by electricity, and the
IAN who fired the shots was the operator
no exploded it.-Detro;t Fee Press.