The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-06-27
RUNNING THE BLOCKADE

Chicago Record: The most famous
of all the blockade runners England
sent to give aid and comfort to the
seeded states during the war of the
rebellion was that British naval Of
ficer who afterward came to be known
as Hobart Pasha. But almost as wide
~ known and certainly the most dis
tinguished of all the civilians engaged
in the unlawful traffic was Thomas z.
Taylor. bstter known as Tom His
experiences have been embodied in
book form recently and are as inter
estirgly exciting as Tom Sawyer's
Black Avenger of the Spanish Main"
The excitement was OF several kinds,
any one of them being sufficient TO
make the heart beat a little more live
ly than most kinds of excitement. In
the first place the procedure was with
| out sanction of law. Imprisonment
without right of appeal was certain to
follow capture; and war prisons, even
IN the north. were far from alluring.
The cargo, often exceeding $500 600 in
value, was certain of ConfiscatiCn, and,
as part of it, there was usually a
private venture not belonging TO tie
employing firm. The steamer, worth
many thousands of dollars, would of
course share the fate of the cargo
The blcckading fleet was numerous az
the time Taylor entered upon his work
and as the Americans have always
been notably accurate in their sea fir
ing and were eager to put a stop to
the supplies which every successful
running" brought to the enemy, and
30 take them themselves as prizes,
there was always the chance Of losing
your own life or the lies of sor2e of
your fellows.
MIR. Taylor is a good story teller and
his accounts of his first and last trips
are fascinating. On the first of his
voyages, made in the Banshee, he tells
of finding himself in the middle of the
Yankee feet thus:
AS We creDt in not a sound was
heard but that of the regular beat of
the paddle-boats still dangerously
loud in spite of our snan's pace. Sud
denly Burroughs (the engineer) gripped
my arm.
There's one of them, Mr. Taylor
he whispered. on the starboard bow |
In vain 1 strained my eyes to where |
he pointed; not a thing could 1 see;
but presently 1 heard Steele (the skip |
PERI say beneath mis- breath:
All right, Burroughs, 1 see her |
And 'Starboard a little steadyr was |
the order passed aft.
a moment later I could make out |
long low black object on our star !
board side, lying perfectly ftill. Would |
she see us? That was the question;
but no. though we passed within 100 |
Yards of her we were not discovered
and l breathed again. Not very long /
after we had dropped her Burroughs
whispered:
Steamer on the port bow
And another cruiser was made out
close to us.
Hard a-Dort," said Steele, and
round she swung, bringing our friend
I
crept quietly on, when all at once a
third cruiser shaped herself out of the
gloom right ahead and steaming slowly
across our bows.
Stop her. said Steele in a moment.
and as we Law like dead our enemy
went on and disappeared in the dark
ness. It was clear there was a false
somewnere''-but they sue
cesfully evaded their would-be captors
and were safe under the guns of Fort
Fisher by the time the sun was up.
After Wilmington had fallen into
federal hands Mr.. Tavlor transferred
his activities. which had been given
scope between the North Carolina city
and Nassau, in the Bermudas. TO the
route between Galveston and Havana
They found themselves in a ''norther"
off the former port. in full sight of their
adversaries and. unable to get into the
main channel. !
so" Mr.. Taylor writes. 1--we had to
make for a sort of swash channel along
the beach. which, however, was nothing .
but a cul-de-sac. and to get from it !
into the main channel shoal water and
heavy breakers had to be passed. Bot !
there was now no other choice open to
us. Z
BY this time the fleet had opened
fire upon Us and shells were bursting
merrily around as we took the fire of
y there was a narrow shOal between us.
which kept them from coming nearer
than half mile; lucky also for us they
we're in rough water on the windward
side of the shoal and could not lay their
guns with precision. And to this we
owed our escape. as, although our fun
lels were riccled with shell splinters {
We received no damage and had only .
me man wounded. But the worst was
yet to come; we saw the white water !
already ahead and we knew our only {
:hance was to bump through it, being
we'll aware that If she stuck fast we
should lose the ship and all our lives, {
or no boat. even If it could have been
aunched, would have lived in such {
turf.
"A moment after we touched and
lung, and l thought it was all over
when a big wave came rolling along
md lifted our stern and the ship bodily
With a crack which could be heard a I
quarter of a mile off and which we .
bought meant that her back was
,roken.
she once more went ahead: the
worst was over and after two or three
minor BUMPS we were in the deep
hannel. The wharves were crowded
With neopie. VINO. gazing to seaward,
lad watched our exploit with much
interest and who cheered us heartily .
pOn its success.
Tom Taylor found himself a part
Ter in the firm. Of Liverpool merchants
rhere he had been a clerk at the close
f the war ana is enjoying the fortune
7hose foundations were laid in the I.
Hood OF both sides.