New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1886-10-13
PICKING UP A TORPEDO.
Thrown 2e9 Feet by an Explosion u the Red
River Of the South.

! was among others, detailed from
the federal steamer Monongahela, says
rs. E. R., ]" to search the Red River be-
tween the Tensas and the Mississippi,
for the torpedoes whi:h had been
planted by the confederates before
our feet appeared in those waters.
These torpedoes were of all makes,
shapes and sizes, from a pork barrel
hall full OF powder, to be fired by cleo
tricity from the shore, to aglass demi-
john holding ten pounds, and to be
exploded by contact. Some were on
the surface, some just under it, and
some just on the bottom. We went
In gangs of four rowboats to hunt for
these TERRIERS, each boat being pro-
vided with grapnels, nets, boathooks,
and whatever else were needed for
fishing up the monsters. We had togo
slow and exercise great caution, 10
the channel was tortuous and no one
could guess at what point we would
come across torpedo. While the
woods were shelled two or three times
aday by our gunboats, the Confederate
swampcats were by mo means driven
out. They had every chance to Sc
crete themselves along the banks, and
we realized that if we came upon an
electric torpedo which could be ex-
ploded from the shore We ran every
risk of being blown sky-high.
We had been at work three or four
days, and had fished up seven or eight
ugly looking fellows, when we got into
q part OF the channel which ran with
in fifty feet OF the ,r&ht hand bank.
Just at this time colored man, who
had been lying out in the swamps for
several weeks waiting for his deliver
anoe, informed US that he had OBJ
served men planting something in this
bend about two weeks before. He
thought there were wires leading from
it to the swamp, but we secuted about
for q couple OF hours without being
able to find that such was the case
The bank was dense jungle. in which
thousand men could have concealed
themselves, and the gun-boats could
not shell it from the position they had
taken
1t was about an hour after dinner
that we moved up and began graphing
in the bend. The boat in which / was
stationed turned her bow down
stream, threw over her erapnels, and
two men used the oars to give her
Roadway. We had not pulled fifty
feet wheh the irons took hold, and
drew the boat back to the spot by
means of the rope. Then, standing
on Tho GOO + II, Tho o%oro ltd ~ AZ -
obstruction, and it came slowly up.
1t had just appeared at the surface
sufficient for me to make out that it
was a boiler-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 comprehended what had &C.
cured until I found myself in the water
atleast 200 feet below the point Of
explosion. My hair, Mhiskers and
eyebrows were badly singed, and my
clothing was on fire as i came down
after the flight. While had escaped,
the other three men were killed out
right and horribly mangled, and the
great wave treated swamped the boat
working a. few hundred feet below us
and dro Waed one of her crew.
While sMfamming for this ,capsized
boat man stood on the bank of the
river and fred four shots at me from
q revolver, and with the fifth he killed
the colored man who had given rs
information. The, victim stood 0n
the bank, about midway between the
two boats, and was shot through the
head. The torpedo was no doubt
exploded by electricity, and the man
who fired the shots was the operator
who exploded it.