The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1898-11-15
he YET INSISTS
De Coligny Declares His
Tale is a Correct One.
Offers Argument in Support Of
Conoluslveiy DIsproven
Editor Hawaiian Gazette.

Editor Hawaiian Gazette.
Dear Sir:--I was prevented Dy III
ness yesterday TO answer your note
OF same date. ! had nearly decided TO
let the case take care OF itslf. but
| believe owe you consideration for
your kndisss to me and this letter
will close, for me, at least, this polemlc
al once and for good.
The Alabama was here at the date
you stated In your last issue. Was
she under her own name and did she
show her Confederate ensign? ! do
not remember. ! will give you two
cases In which she did not:
! am not quite sure of the date. but
believe II was March or April 1864,
AT Cape de Verde. The Alabama en-
tered the harbOr flying the Belgian flag
and under the name OF LeBrabant, and
cOaled on that account She assumed
the character OF a merchantmen com
ing from Buenos Ayres.
] believe also in August or Septem-
Der, 1868, she entered the haTDOr of
| Funchal, Madeira island, flying the
| Danish flag and also coaled, pretend
/ ing also TO be a merchantman. The
| true character OF the Alabama did al
ways prevent her TO enter certain har-
bors with bands Of music or flags fly
ing. The crew as well as her officers,
appeared more like yachtsmen than
-war's-men, except In few cir
cumstances. When IL was difficult TO
procure coal, Capt. Semmes would
quietly go ashore and generally got
what he wanted
Regarding the official log book Of the
Alabama, II has never been published,
as II lies AT the bottom OF the British
channel Ii was customary with Capt.
Semmes never to enter In the log
book the name of the places where he
did coal, for obvious reasons; and for
the same reasons. certain cruises OF the
Alabama were never written in said
log book.
With kindest regards, am. dear
sir, yours very truly.
w. G. DE COLONY.
Che author of the above letter
brought letters of introduction to per-
sons in this city from DR.. Gorham d.
Gilman, for many years our Con-
sui in Boston. Otherwise his ac-
count Of the visit OF the Alabama 10
this point in 1862 would not have APP
peared in this paper.
The Alabama never visited this port
The history of her voyages written by
her own officers, and ace essable to,any-
one here, settles the matter. The fact
that scores Of persons resident here al
the time OF the alleged visit never
heard OF 1t is equally conclusive The
statement made by the author OF the
above letter that the Alabama cap
tuI'ed a wGaler at Easter Island, and
visited that island Is not mentioned by
any one OF those who have described
her voyages. Even II her log book
went TO the bottom of the British
Channel her officers easily recalled the
name of every man on board who held
a commission.
The author of this singular story
and OF the foregoing letter must be
the victim OF the "hoodoo," or some
other similar hypnotic scheme His
observation that certain cruises of the
Alabama were never written in the
log book does not explain why Capt.
Semmes, himself and Lieut.. Sinclair
should voluntarily tell the story Of her
voyages, and deliberately leave out a
cruise OF $4,000 miles in the Pacific.
There may have been at the time OF
her cruises, a motive for suppressing
any account OF them. But with the
close of the war that motive no longer
existed. The "hoodoo" theory alone
can explain the mental hallucination
which has spun ont this warn The
EditorD