The San Francisco call., 1898-03-27

\ Alfred Baker, a quiet, retiring
 man of about 50 years, still 1.-the
 and active. but with nothing in
 his manner or appearance to in dicate that he had participated in the stirring scenes of one of the most eXcit- ing episodes of the Civil War. He was member of the crew of the notorious Alabama while she was actively en- gagged in her work of destroying Ameri- can commerce.
 T am a native of England" he began in relating his thrilling experiences, having been born in Dorsetshire, but the early part of my life was passed on the Isle of Wight, where I naturally acquired a liking for a seafaring life. l had been on several vessels, in one capacity and another, and in Oct, Der. 1862, shipped as steward on ,:le three masted schooner Crenshaw, bound from New York to Glasgow with a cargo of wheat.
 Before we left New York we had heard some reports of the dreaded Ala bama, which began her work in August of that year, and had already taken several vessels when we started. But we had no fear of her, supposing that our course was far out of her track, and gave no more than a passing thought to the possibility of capture.
 We had been out four days, and were well into the Gulf Stream. when one morning we sighted a steamer. She sighted Us about the same time, and changed her course so as to intercept us. We supposed she wanted to speak to us for some purpose, but when about two miles of she fired a gun for us to heave to, and at the same time ran the stars and bars up. This was the course always followed by the Alabama, as l afterward learned. When she sighted Q vessel she would first hoist the flag of the nation to which she supposed the vessel belonged; then, when she got within distance, she would fire a gun and at the same time run up her own flag.
 We hove to, of course, as that was the only thing to do; but even then did not know that it was the Alabama until a boat came alongside. After exanin- Ing our papers and finding we were an American vessel, the officer declared the CrenShaW a prize to the Confed- crate States cruiser Alabama. We only had a small crew, and we were quickly bundled over the side. while the Ala oama men set fire to the schooner, and she was soon destroyed.
 When We got on board the Alabama we found that there were twenty five or thirty other prisoners there, who were kept in irons, but allowed to re- main on deck. Indeed, there was no room below, and the prisoners had to sleep in the boats. on the deck, under old sails or wherever they could find a place.
 Except for being kept in irons, to prevent any attempt on their part to take the vessel, the prisoners were well treated Being a steward, l was not ironed and it was my duty to look af- ter the provisions of the Crenshaws crew. We were well fed, being given the same provisions as the Alabama s men. and supplies of all kinds were abundant In fact, they always were. as we had the pick of the supplies of every vessel that was captured. We found that the crew of the Alabama were nearly all Englishmen.
 'The privateer did not go any nearer New York than the point where the Crenshaw was captured. They found on our vessel some late newspapers, which told of the supposed where abouts of the Alabama and said that several men-Of-war had been sent in pursuit of her. So Semmes turned his vessel south toward the West Indies
 Tn a day or two we captured another ship, which turned out to be half English as it was called, that is an American bottom and an English cargo. Semmes could not touch it, but nut it under a bond and then trans ferred all his prisoners to it to be taken to shore.
 '.They had noticed that I was ex- perienced in my work as steward. and before sending the prisoners to the other ship I was asked to remain and act as steward for the Alabama. They offered me S30 a month. and as feared that if I left and shipped again it would be only to be captured a sec ond time by the Alabama or some other cruiser, 1 decided to stay.
 we went on south, passing through