Eagle River Democrat. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1893-1896, 1895-11-04

were Watchful to guard against sur
prise, for they feared lest their foes
should try to destroy the ram before
she got a chance to come down and at
tack them again in the Sound. She lay
under the guns of fort, with a regi-
ment of troops ready at moments no
tice to turn out and defend her. Her
own guns were kept always clear for
action, and she was protected by a
great boom of logs thrown out rounda-
bout, of which last defense the FEEDER
ais knew nothing. Gushing went up
stream with the utmost caution, and
by good luck passed, unnoticed, Con-
federate lookout below the ram.
About midnight he made his assault.
Steaming quietly through the black
water, and feeling his way cautiously
toward where he knew the town to be,
he finally made out the loom of the Al
bemarle through the night, and at once
drove at her. He was almost upon her
before The was discovered; then the
crew and the soldiers on the wharf
opened fire, and at the same moment he
was brought to by the boom, the exist
ence of which he had not known. The
rife-balls were singing about him as he
stood erect guiding his launch, and he
heard the hustle of the men aboard the
ram, and the noise of the great guns
as they were got ready Backing off,
he again went all steam ahead, and ac
tually surged over the slippery logs of
the boom.
Meanwhile, on the deck Of the Abe
marie the sailors We're running to quar-
ters, and the soldiers were sWarming
down to aid in her defense And the
droning bullets came always thicker
through the dark night. Gushing still
stood upright in his little craft, guiding
and controlling her by voice and sig
nal, while in his hands he kept the
ropes which led to the torpedo. AS the
boat slid forward over the boom, he
brought the torpedo full against the
somber side of the huge ram, and in
stantly exploded it, almost at the same
time that the pivot-gun of the ram,
loaded with grape, was fired at him,
uOC ten ydrQS OH.
At once the ram settled, the launch
sinking at the same moment, while
Gushing and his men swan for their
lives. Most of them sank or were cap
tured; but Gushing reached midstream-
Fl caring something splashing in the
darkness, he swan toward it, and found
that it was one Of his crew. He went to
his rescue, and they kept together for
some time, but the sailors strength
gave out, and ne finally sank In the
pitch darkness Gushing could form no
idea where he was; and wheny chilled
through and too exhausted to rise to
his feet, he finally reached shore, short
" before dawn, he found that he had
sWum back, and landed but a few hun
dred feet below the sunl1en ranl. All
that day he remained within easy MUS
ket-shot of where his foes were swarm
inc about the fort and the great drown
ed ironclad- He hardly dared move,
and until the afternoon he lay without
food and without protection from the
heat or insects Then he managed to
slip unobserveI into dense swamp,
and began to make his way toward
the fleet. Toward evening he came ont
on a small stream near a camp of Con
federate soldiers. They had moored
to the bank small skiff, and with
equal stealth and daring he managed to
steal this, and began to paddle down
stream. Hour after hour he padded
on through the fading light, and then
through the darkness. At last, utterly
worn out, he found the squadron, and
was picked upt1St. Nicholas.
They Were whipped"