The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-07-29
LOCKADE
RUNNERS
How One of Them Was
Caught in Civil
War.

MACON, NO. June 28.-"The thing
| that operated most in the detection of
| blockade runners was the long streak OF
marked Major S. G.. Brock of Denver,
| Colo. This smoke on the ocean is a
peculiar thing to landsnan. For sew
enty-five or eighty miles in clear wealth
er you can see it just above the horizon.
| Sometimes these streaks are four or five
pory cloud. Mans ingenuity seems to
have been able to eliminate every other
| tellta1e feature of navigation but this.
I'm December, 1868, was the bearer
| of dispatches from Gen. Foster at Nor
| ris Island, S. c., to New York, on the
cruiser Fulton. Blockade-runners had
| been making desperate efforts to get
into Wilmington and many had sue
| ceeded. The fires in the Federal gun
| boats and cruisers doing sentinel duty
were never banked. The prizes were
many and the boarding crews were lib
orally compensated for every capture.
1.-The Fulton had been Cunard liner
before the war. She was one of the
fastest in the Government service.
She was rated at sixteen knots an hour,
and could exceed that by several knots
under forced draught.
Il retired to my cabin at 10 p. m.
AT 3 in the morning I was awakened by
an unusual vibration of the vessel, and
before 1 was thoroughly awake L knew
something was going on. I guessed the
crew We're preparing for action.
when L got on deck L saw in the
moonlight the long. black streak from
steamers tunnels. An officer informed
me that she was the Banshee, queen of
the blockade runners, heavily loaded
with a cargo for the Southern Confed-
10 in the evening, and he wasn't sure
whether the Fulton was making any
gain or not.
1.-THE Banshee was an English craft,
built for just such an emergency as
had come to her that night. She was
long, narrow and with sharp bow.
There were three masts, very TALL in
cIining to the stern. All sail had been
crowded on them to help out the en-
gines.
81 went below and took a look at the
grimy men in the growing bowels OF
our ship. The stokeroom force had
been doubled. Swapping fellows work
ed naked at the furnaces. In the engine
room it seemed that everything that
carried steam was popping off. The
chief engineer and all his assistants
had been routed out of bed and put on
duty. The vessel trembled like thing |
alive. No spot on which you could place
your feet seemed solid.
'.Near the wheel stood the captain |
and officers with their glasses, intentiy
scanning the long bar of smoke, which
seemed to get larger as daylight came |
brighter.
."Tbe day opened clear and beautiful
There was no rough sea to help the enc
nv: no danger of sandbars or reefs on
the great oceans quarter-stretch. 1t
was mighty trial of high class ma
cbinery and human endurance-steel'
blood and sinew. The conditions were
idaa1 for such a race. Passengers and
crew crowded at the rails and gave
varied opinions as to the outcome of the
chase.
"An hour by the sun, and the gun
crews were ordered to their stations.
We knew by this that the race was go
ing against the Banshee, and the exc
cutive officers were getting the Fulton
ready for action. We could now clearly
see the long, low hull, and if everything
ON the Fulton held together for half
an hour longer the Long Tom on her
how could speak in a way to command
attention.
.aThe first shot, fired at a range OF five
miles. went fairly across the enemy's
how. She ignored the signal to heave
to, and Kept steadily on her course -
ward Wilmington. Another shot was
fred at closer range, but still the block
ade runner spouted clouds of smoke
and went ahead. The Fulton drew close
enough to wing her if she wanted to
and planted a shot between the first
and second masts to let the enemy
know what would happen if surrender
was further withheld. Then the Ban
shaa ran ND a white flag and came to.
Her colors were British.