The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-08-07
PROFIT OF WAR TIME.
BLOCKADE RUNNING 4 BIG MONEY
MAKING BUSINESS IN 1862.

BLUM Sea Dogs Who Put HumOr in
Their Risky CalIinGs.
From the Chicago Inter-Ocean.
The Cuban blockade has had good deal
of interest for wealthy sheep ranchman
in the Ojai valley, in Southern California.
Ele is Frank A Gilett. During the civil
war he was one of the successful block
ade runners, and earned fortune in the
business He was about 80 years Old at
the time, and, having been a sailor for
ten years before the war he got a place
as mate on a craft which ran the blockade
of Mobile bay three times. Then he got
command of a vessel built purposely in
England for running the blockade. He
was a blockade runner in 1862 and 1863
There never was so great a naval block
ade as that of the Southern ports by the
Federals during the civil war; said Capt
Gillett the other day. when the war
broke out in April, 1861 Uncle Sans few
ships were scattered all over the world.
During the first two years of the war the
naval resources of the North were taxed
10 the utmost to maintain blockade along
about 5000 miles of seacoast Such naval
patrol has never been duplicated. Uncle
sam had TO use craft of all kinds and con-
dltons to do the work The two largest
squadrons We're those about the mouth of
Chesapeake bay and in the Gulf of Mexico.
Al one time there were about 100 boats
engaged exclusively in running the union
blockade on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts.
First and last there were about $50 boats
engaged in blockade running. 1 have seen
twenty craft in the harbor of Nassau at
one time loading up with English goods
Tor the Southern ports. BY 1864 the Fed
and the Gordon had been so strengthened
that blockade running became extra haz-
ardous. Several of the best boats had
been sunk by Federal guns, and a dozen
OF the most skillful blockade runners had
been captured.
The enormous profits of successful
blockade running melted men to take the
risks. The excitement was like nothing
else L have ever known on the sea. We
used to take chances that shudder now
TO relate. A shot fired from the blockade
runner in self-defense was according to
the maritime laws, cause for treating the
blockade runner as a pirate. Several men
were hanged in the Gulf in 1861 because
they had acted like pirates while trying
to run the blockade from Charleston 10
Mobile. For run from Nassau to Will
mington or Charleston and back a total
distance of about 1,100 miles, a captain
usually'got H,000, or 5000; the pilot, 500,
Ihere was always abundant material
from which to select a crew, and the Eng
llsh men-of-War in the Bahamas and Ber-
mudas had difficulty in restraining their
sailors from deserving and joining i'm
blockade running. So much money was
made in the Contraband business that
some blockade running vessels paid for
themselves in one round trip That is,
big profit was made on the calicoes, wool
ems, hardware leather, and general mer-
chandise carried into the Confederacy. but
a still greater profit was made on the
cotton and sugar molasses that were taken
out Calicoes that cost about 10 cents a
| yard then in England brought 80 and more
cents in Charleston. Cotton was bought
! in the South for % cents a pound in gold
and sold like hot cakes at $160 a pound
once carried a cargo of cotton that
cost $4,000 at Wilmington and sold for
! 100000 In Nassau Here is a copy of a
bill of purchase at Charleston by a com
pany engaged in running Uncle Sans
! blockades in 1863. 1t shows the prices of
merchandise we carried in those days:
Oct. 15.-For box * containing
400 doz. Coates spool cotton at
$3.50 per doz ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 100000
| For II rolls sole leather, II. E.,
wig, 3,2O4 lbs, at $9.25 per b.. q, $500
For rolls sole leather, H. W)
| G., weight, 57514 lbs, at 1926 per
Id ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. 5,323 81
| For cases foolscap paper, II.
(W) c., 50 reams each-200
reams at $72 ........................1 IA, 10000
! For l case yellow envelopes Oh.
F. No 46, 100 NJ. envelopes at
$40 ........ OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES. 100000
| For 3 cases steel pens H. (WD c.,
No. 405-407, 500 gross each-1500
gross al $3.50 NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.. 12.75000
! For gross, in case, IS handles,
at $35 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. 5000
For 40 doz. spades (W) at $50 per
doz. .......... Observation-Disclosures. 7,aOOO
Total ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. .$lS ,9D5f
Occasionally there was some humor in
running the blockade In 1868, when the
Confederates were hard up for salt, Capt.
| Mcmillan of Charleston purchased at
| Nassau a large center-board schooner,
| and loaded her with salt clearing her
! from Nassau to Baltimore. He kept two
| logs-a false log and a true log; his false
| log showed that he was between Cape
| Henry, when he was really off Charleston.
| He dropped both his anchors overheard,
| damaged his sails and appeared very
| much surprised when he sighted the Fed
| eral fleet off Charleston. He appealed to
| the Federal admiral for assistance. The
| admiral being a kind-hearted man, sup
| piled him with anchors and sent a sail
| maker and crew aboard 20 repair his sails.
| Capt Mcmillan spent two days with the
| Federal fleet. When he went aboard the
flagship he babe the admiral good-by and
| thanked him for his kindness. The adj
mral offered him a towboat to tow him
| to the windward. This was what the cap
| tain didn't want, but he couldn't refuse 1t,
! so he was towed a short distance. When
he got rid of the tug he hosted his cen
ter-board and began drifting back into
! the fleet AS soon as he drifted as far as
he thought safe, he dropped his center
| board and ran the blockade After load
ing up with cotton he attempted to run
the blockade out but was captured. The
/ admiral said
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