The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1905-03-25
HE i SOLD HIS COAL
sGoTcHMAN "HELD tU?"A UNITED.
s# III STATES GOVERNMENT.
war Vessel in Pursuit Of the confed-'
crate Cruiser Alabama Filled Its
5unkers with Fuel at a Cost to Un..
Gle Sam of $50, 900. -

a'One OF the peculiar businesses that
grew up as result of the civil war
was the establishment of private coal
lng stations in all sorts of out of the
way Places remarked E. Mckee,
late of the United States navy. "You
see, the government could not tell on
what part of the earth's surface it's
war vessels might have to cruise in
tnelr chase for privateers and other
craft menacing it's operations, and, of
course, could not make arrangements
Tor coal. AS a consequence the cap
talns were authorized to secure the
best bargains they could at such ports
as they might touch when a supply
was needed. Thrifty ones in the most
unfrequented waters prepared for a
possible visit from United States
war steamer with low coal bunkers,
and when, the fish entered their net
they charged up for the time they
had to wait. They were not patriots,
bu: were on earth strictly for the root
of. all evil.
II was a marine on the Vanderbilt
during her 25,000-mile chase after the
confederate cruiser Alabama. We left
the port of New York in 1862. We
took Capt. John A. Winslow to Fayal,
in: the West Indies, where he took CON-
mand 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 clew. While in the South At
lantic we heard. from what appeared
to be most authentic source that
the Alabama was at the Cape of Good
Hope. AS we approached St. Helena
Napoleon's island, the coal bunkers
got low, and we stopped there, and
opened negotiations with Scotchman
for new supply. He serenely de-
manded $50 ton in gold. without
going to the trouble Of removing his
pine while stating his outrageous
terms: The exchange was S2S5, max:
ing the total price Uncle Sam was
asked to pay $50 ton, and we were
using 400 tons day running at mod
crate speed.
AFTER run of ten hours the ships
officers held consultation. The al
most impossibility of reaching the
cape without coal was only too clear,
and If a storm should come up the
ship would be absolutely helpless. It
was a hard thing to do, but there
didn't seem to be any alterna ative. The
ship was reversed and put back to St.
Helena. 'Scotchy' was occJ pying the
identical position we had left him in
on his black gold mine. This time he
was trifle more interested, because
he knew we were going to)trade with
him. He gave us his philosophy in
this way: He had been sitting on that
coal pile for eighteen mon lbs, waiting
for ship to come that lad to have
it. He observed from tie height of
the Vanderbilt above th{ water that
she came in light, and thf her officers
would not dare risk q tstorm while
she stood up so high. q Qlr return did
not surprise him bit,I and he soon
got his men to work AMI loaded 1000
tons in the hold, for which the federal
government paid $Soloo He said
somebody had to pay for his tobacco
and his patience, and Fe happened to
be the victims. Hd admired the
united States and sometimes felt
ympathetic-but sy1 1pathy wouldn't
buy whisky and things like money
would kansas Cit Journal.