The sun. (Wilmington, Del.) 1897-19??, 1898-05-15

: larly knownas Hobart Pasha. He wa.
t the third son of the Earl of Bucking.
hamshire. and had entered the British
navy In 1886, serving against the slaverl
n IN BRAZILIAN Waters and in the Baltic
= during the Crimean war.
FOR want OF something better to en-
gage his attention and love of adventure
he now engaged as blockade runner
sailing under the name of Captain
!, Roberts.
His first vessel was fine double.
screw steamer OF 400 tons, 250-horse
power $50 feet long and 90 feet beam.
his crew OF thlrty-four men were all
English and received high pay. The
hull of his vessel, the On, was
painted a dull gray; anthracite, or smoke
less coal, was burned, and, in order that
no noise might be made steam was
blown off under water.
Among other precautions taken was
the following: 1t was ordered that
there should be no male birds among the
fowls taken on board for provisions, in
order that untimely growing might not
at some critical moment betrpy the
craft.
On the first trip out from England,
Hobart Pasha, taking the advice of a
Southern lady, whom he made inquiries
Of before starting took on board, among
other merchandise, 1000 pairs Of
women's corsets, lucky venture on
which he realized !, 100 per cent profit,
when, after 50 ne exciting adventures,
he had landed them safely in Whining
ton.
His main cargo consisted OF heavy
boxes, labeled machinery" and was
paid for by the Confederate government
in cotton
His closest call came at II o'clock on
the morning OF his arrival, when he
suddenly found a Federal steamer along
side the Dbl. How the enemy had
got there without his knowledge was a
mystery. However, there the vessel
was; and soon stentorian voice called
ont: 'lleave to in that steamer, or I'll
sink YOU"
1t seemed as if all was over, but
Hobart determined to try ruse before
giving his craft up. So ne answered,
AYE, aye, sir; we are stopped" The
cruiser was about eighty yards away.
Orders could be heard given, and soon
the boats were lowered and the crews
laughed and cheered as they came on for
their supposed prize. just as they
reached the side of the D--n, however,
the captain whispered down the tube
into the engine room: Full speed
aheadn' and she shot away into the
darkness and escaped.
On her return trip, as soon as the
Oh left Wilmington harbor, she was
chased again, but made her escape.
When daylight broke she was again dis
covered, this time by large paddle
wheel cruiser, which chased her all day
and must eventually have caught her
had it not been for the friendly Gulf
Stream, into which Hobart Pasha
plunged his craft, changing her course so
to run with the current, while the cruiser,
changing her course before entering the
stream, could not makeas good Roadway
and was soon distanced.
Eventually Hobart reached Nassau,
where he remained until the dark nights
came on again, when he started out upon
a second run to Wilmington. Luck
again favored him. and, although he
made four tips in all in the D-n, in
Guiding one unsuccessful attempt to get
into Savannah, he was never caught, but
returned to England and turned the YES
sci over to her second officer.
Under the latter she was captured on
her very next trip, but not before passing
through an exciting adventure in which
her new commander greatly distin-
guished himself. Being chased by
cruiser large full-rigged corvette, and
nnarIv nyart Z, kan ~ OF if hraaua hn
turned his vessel around, head to the
wind, and deliberately steamed past his
pnrsuer at a distance of less than fifty
yards. The latter, being under great
Roadway, went nearl va quarter OF a mile
before she could turn, ard so lost her in
tended prize
The next morning another Federal
government vessel came upon the D--n
nnawalps and captured her. The captain
of the cruiser remarked as he came on
board: ''Wel, Captain Roberts, 50 we
have caught you at last" Great was his
surprise and disappointment on hearing
that the captain he so particularly wanted
had returned to England by the last mail
steamer
Hobart Pasha, six or eight months
later. resumed blockade-runnng and got
safely to Wilmington once more with his
new fast paddle wheel vessel and her
cargo.
He also got away safely again to Ber-
muda, but there some of his men caught
the yellow fever, and, on running to
Halifax, he himself was for time pros
trated with the dread disease. This
caused him to give up his enterprise, and
the fall of Fort Fisher occurring shortly
after, the last Southern port was gone,
and blockade-running was at an end.
His knowledge gained during the
American war served him well aiterward,
when, on entering the service of Turkey,
he effectunlly checked the Greek blo"k-
about the island of Crete.
For this he was raised to the rank OF
pasha and made an admiral of the Otto
man fleet.
1t may be added that the United
States government captured or destroyed
] ,54 blockaderunners during the war,
and the gross proceeds OF property cap
uured in them amounted to S23. 600 600.
The vessels themselves were worth about
81 200, 900, making the total $4,000 900.
Between November, 1861, and March,
1864, eighty-four steamers were engaged
in running the blockade from Nassau,
and of these thirty. seven were captured,