Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1898-07-16

ri foutd tine Jane in port loaded up ana
ready for run. We started at once for
Wilmington. l was considerably disap-
pointed to find the Jane unable to make
much more than eight knots an hour. l
saw at once that any chase by blockad-
ing ship meant sure capture, and that sue
cess depended wholly upon not being dis
covered. We slipped into Wilmington
without mishap. On about the first run
out had to play foxy. 1t was the custom
Of all blockade runners about TO -1n out
to steam down the Cape Fear river to just
inside OF Fort Caswell and then await
night for dash through the lines All
during the day the Federal vessels could
see us mt anchor inside and have known
as many as 30 vessels to be at the South
port anchorage ut one time, ell waiting
for favorable chance to make a dash.
Slack high water was the time usually
chosen or. better still, just on the last of
the food tide, which gave enc a little more
chance of getting free i'm the event of run
ming aground.
lon their first run out the night was
dark and overcast | IN itcd the Jane out
over the bar and stood to the southwark
and eastward The vessel had not cleared
the bar more than n couple of miles when
right after me under full Roadway made
out in chase blockading steamer How
long he had seen me do not know Pos
sibly he made me out rs passed the bar
and perhaps purposely allowed me suffi-
cient free run to enable him to get be-
tween me and the bar channel As saw
him rapidly overhauling me l gave the
Jane the helm hard a-starboard, throwing
her head broad off the beach. The Fed
cral ship saw my move, and, of course, as
Stunning that l proposed to make break
straight out to sea, steered to port him
self But instead of righting my holm
when the James head was well offshorc
allowed the little vessel to wheel right
around.
1.-The Jane flew about like q top, and
Just as we were almost overlapping cur
pursucr he opened on us with his forward
guns. The cannon balls shrieked over
our heads. and two howled over our decks
Before the smoke of his first discharge
had cleared had passed him on his star
| board beam and was going full speed to
his rear. The smoke of his guns must
have blinded all on board, for he kept at
| full Roadway on his original course, still
| firing gun after gun supposedly at me.
| The eyes of all his people must have been
| directed right ahead No one could have
| looked abcam or over the quarter, for if
| one had must certainly have been seen
| making all possible speed in the opposite
| direction to the bar.
1.-The Jane was lost on her eighth run
from Nassau to Wilmington. 1t was on
the night of Feb 3. 1864 when the United
| States blockading steamer Montgomery,
doing duty off Wilmington, captured me.
l was just passing by Eockwood's Folly
inlet when ran across the Montgomery
| To the southwark of that old inlet shoal
then made out well to the eastward
approached this shoal, the wind being
| fresh at the time and the night fairly
dark, from the southwark and eastward
kept close into the breakers and up to the
time of reaching the castcrnmost point Of
the shoal had not seen Il single blockadinG
ship. But just as rounded the breakers
| saw right ahead of me, lying back of The
breakers, the outlines of blockatier
put the James helm hard over and ran
down over the course came up Having
| run well to- the southwark, shcerctl Out
to sea with the intention of making
| sweep around tc the Gorthward and ther
running for the inlet on a southerly course
No sooner had shccred off the shoal
than found that the warship WAS closely
following me. As ran out OF the dark
ness of the shore he opened up gun afte
gun on the Jane Fully six shots hat
struck us when discovered THAI the littl,
Jane was done for. She was being over
hauled rapidly and as the Montgomery
which she proved to be, was between M
and the inlet there was no earthly PROS
pect OF getting by consequently stoppc,
the James engines. The Montgomcr,
came bowling along with so much head
way on that she ran right by me- Ha,
the James head been inshorc then instea,
of to SEWARD believe now could hav
reached the inlet before the Montgonier
could have turned. AS it was, it was al
over with the Jane, and in very short tim
Fucon, the Montgomery's commander
had us as prisoners on his deck. wa
sent noith shortly and for is monshs wa
confined in Fort Warren, Boston harSor