Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1904-07-30
WHEN COAL WAS VERY COSTLY.
Government Was Compelled to Pay $50 a
Ton in the Civil War.

One of the peculiar businesses thar
grew up as II result OF the Civil war was
the establishment OF private coaling sta
IONS IN all sorts of out of the way
places. remarked f. Mckee. latp of the
United States navy. You see. The GOV
eminent could not tell on what part
oi the earths surface its war vessels
might nave 10 cruise i'll their chase for
lFlVafeerS and other craft menacing its
operations. and. of course, could not
make arrangements for coal As con
sequence the captains were authorized
I" secure the best bargains they could ut
Sllcll ports rs they might touch when 4
supply was needed. Thrifty ones in the
most untrequentcd waters prepared for
It possible visit from nited States
war steamer With low coal bunllerS, and
when the fish entered their net they
charged up for the time they had to
wait. They were not patriots. but We're
on earth strictly for the root of all evil
WAS marine on the Vanderbilt
during her $4,000 mile chase after
me confederate cruiser Alabama
We left the port of New York
IN lSG2. We took Capt. John \. Wins
low to Fayal, III the West Indies, where
he took command of the KearSarge, the
vessel that eventually rounded up the
prey At that time the ocean was dotted
with the ships of Uncle Sam in quest
OF the greatest and most formidable of
the enemy's cruisers.
AT nearly every port we stopped We
would get more or less misleading in
formation. and would hopefully follow
every clue. While in the South Atlantic
we heard from what appeared to he n
most authentic source that the Alabama
was nj the Cape of Good Hope As we
approached st. Helena, Napoleon's is
land. the coal bunkers got low, and we
S'onp"d there, and opened negotiations
with Scotchman for n new supply. He
serenely demanded $50 ton in gold.
without going to the trouble of removing
MS pipe while stating his outrageous
! terms. The exchange was $3.50, max
ing the total price Uncle Sam was asked
10 pay $50 a ton, and we were using
+'~ tons day running mt moderate
speed.
After a run Of ten hours the ships
officers held Il consultation. The almost
iuposSihlity Of reaching the cape with
out coal was only too clear, and if a
Storm should come mp the ship would be
absolutely helpless 1t was Il hard thing
to do, but there didn't seem 10 be any
alternative. The ship was reversed and
put back tn st. Helena. 'Scotchy' was
occupying the identical position we had
left him I'M on his black gold mine. This
!
cause he knew we We're going 10 trade
with him. He gave Ms his philosophy
this way; He had been sitting on thar
coal pile for eighteen months. waiting for
a shin to come that had To have it. He
observed from the height of the Wander
/ lille above The water that she came in
/ light, aud that her officers would not
! dare risk a storm while she stood up so
high. Our return didn't surprise MIN u
/ bit and he Sdon got his men to work
and loaded 1000 tons in the hold. for
I which the federal government paid $50
GOO lie said somebody had to pay for
lhiS tobacco aud his patience. and we hap
pened To he the victims. lie admired the
United States and sometimes felt sympa-
thetic-hut sympathy Wouldn't buy wills
Ky and things like none. would. While
chasing pirate we were virtually held
mp by one on England's famous isle. -
Macon tMol correspondence of the Kan.
SaS t'itV .Iourual