The National tribune., 1892-06-16


--sSg gan. The writer has
-SE---=z H. watched the manuvers
esHxsS--~@ and movements Of off,
@vazEl8F@@c and men on board
of the vessels for hours
at time. What dull, nonotonous appearing
time they seemed to have had, reminding me OF
the do. nothingness of some of our foreign minis
ters, as described in tho writings Of Mark
Twain.
How Farragut and his feet ever passed be-
tween those two forts and into the bay, was
and always will be beyond my comprehension,
because the entire bay was network of tor
pedoes that were planted with the greatest
care, guarding against all emergencies; the
ultimate end to be the destruction of the feet,
in the twinkling of an eye, that undertook to
capture the City of Mobile.
ADMIRAL BUCHANAN,
of the Confederate Navy, and his gunboats or
rams, were of secondary consideration, the
main dependence being on the torpedoes which,
at the proper time, wero expected to automati
cally act as though the Internal regions were
turned loose upon the enemy.
Every day the supply y-boat from Mobile went
to Fort Morgan, and so careful were the off,
GERS of the same that her track wake in the
bay to and from the city was marked plainly
by stakes aud buoys, and moro than once /
have seen deadly pallor overspread the
when she veered to the right or left and too
near the line of the deadly torpedo.
From Fort Morgan the blockade runner from
Havana, Cuba, was first sighted, and from
long observation the lookout" could accu-
rately determine which vessel was coming in.
kilograms were sent TO Mobile, the news
rapidly spreading, and there was almost as
much rejoicing as though the Confedera.es had
gained sonie victory upon the field of battle.
Then, what scrambling and negotiating. and
reports, good. bad, or Indifferent that were put
into circulation as to the value Of the cargo Of
the blockade-ruuner that had safely made the
trip. More than once "Black Friday" was
anticipated in the hurly-burly, excitable
trading of those stocks. And how consoling
those arrivals were to the Confederates, be-
cause it went, they considered, to prove that
the enterprise Of the South was equal to that
of the North, aud that blockading did not
blockade, as well as prohibition does not pro-
hibit.
IT WAS A GREAT OCCASION
when blockade sale took place. It was pre-
viously literally advertised both In interior
aud local papers. Purchasers, as well as stock
holders, came from all sections to attend the
sale. The auctoneer would do his utmost,
indulging in flights of oratory and rhetoric,
and frequent quotations from Shakspere and
other poets and would thus succeed in work.
particularly impressing upon them that the
more they paid for the merchandise, the
greater it would energize the enterprising
merchants to land goods in Southern ports, and
as soon as it was demonstrated that the block
aders did not blockade, the sooner their inde-
pendence would be acknowledged by foreign
powers, and the war would end by the estab-
lishment of the Southern Confederacy. The
aim of the auctioneer was to combine profit
with patriotism-one of said profession, who be-
lieved in blowing his own horn to great
extent, expatiatiDg On what he had done for
himself, how he was self-made man, etc. An
old gentleman present, from the interior, who
had celebrated the occasion by imbibing Of the
imported liquors, grew tired of hearing the
tautology of the Safeguarding auctioneer,
and in hiccupping way said to him, particu-
larly emphasizing the word "you:" "You de-
serve great credit for what you have done for
yourself for | can assure you and the ladies
and gentlemen present, that God Almighty has
done but little for you. - i'll 90 on with
the SALE"
minister of the Gospel present undertook
to reprimand the noisy old individual for
USING PRoFANE LANGUAGE
in the presence of ladies and gentlemen, say
ing that he was o minister, and he deemed 10
his duty to do so
"You are a minister" quoth the rough
diamond. "Do you think" he continued,
"that you understand your business?"
al hope So" the minister replied.
"Can you repeat the Lords Prayer?"
"Yes," was the minister's reply-and he did.
"Now," continued the old gentleman, "can
you repeat it backwards"
The minister couldn't but the old gentle.
man did. clearly and distinctly, notwithstand-
ing his frequent indulgence in imported stuff
in liquid form.
pop pbaIp Ssufa M,pf tha
great commission merchant, and the invoices
of merchandise or anything Of his purchasing
connected with his name was considered nil
supra in every particular. I've heard of Yam
kee tricks, but there was one in connection
with blockade-running, which in MY opinion
was entitled to the loaf Blockade vessels
brought papers from all parts of the world, and
among other things described were fine blooded
stock, horses, and cattle, as well as poultry.
Two enterprsing Southerners in some way
secured two things; first, good many dozen
turkey-eggs, and, second, several of Rsphel
Parez Santa Maria's blank invoices and filed
them out for SO many pairs of blooded Durham
eggs at $3.50 per pair in gold. With those
eggs and the invoices they started through the
country, and disposed of every pair of these
turkey.eggs at $40 per pair they arguing that
as the risk was great and if the vessel had
been captured all would have been lost, and
they would receive therefor four for one in
coin, which they dld !; ana many were the
old pieces of gold and silver from "picayunes"
up that were unearthed from old stockings and
secure hiding places, and paid for these myth
cal blooded poultry eggs.
THERE WAS AN ENaLIsHMAN,
a large, burly, muttonchop- -whiskered gen.
tleman, who took a great interest in cotton and
cotton growing, who was Mortified to see it
thrown around and handled in such rough
and wasteful way. Going up the Alabama
River by steamer from Mobile TO Montgomery
he reiterated again and again that if he but
had the cotton in "Hengland that was
wasted between those two points it would
make him millionaire. He was very anxious
to see cotton growing (but little was grown in
the South during the war;. Mentioning
his desire to an old colored uncle, who
was up to snuff, and Offering him
a pecuniary reward for his services the
old colored uncle agreed to furnish, fresh from
u cotton field, the desired cotton in its growing
state, and actually went to the country for !
that purpose, but finding none convenient, |
loaded himself up with mullen stalks and duly |
delivered the same to the aforesaid English |
gentleman at the Battle House. the prominent |
hotel of the City. The latter hung them con- |
spicuously in his room. and exhibited and COM |
mented on them to his friends The boys |
caught on and passed the joke around, and |
that Englishman, after sojourning in that City |
for months, clinging tenaciously to his mullen
stalks finally left with them mazda fnt0 |