Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1907-03-16

that day he was a pitiful looking OBJ
ject- His smoke stack was gone and
his boat was half full of water. He
and his crew were suffering from the
chill of the atmosphere. / received
them and gave. them my quarters and
set my men to pump out the water
and get the boat ready for any require
ment- We soon had it in good order
and Cushing, his crew recruited, set
out the next morning for the fleet of
Edenton
"a few days after that, having ac-
complished what 1 had been detailed
to do as to the soundings, we got I'M
der way and started for the fleet. On
arriving there we found that Gushing
had arrived ahead of us, and as 1 be-
longed to the Otsego, 1 reported
aboard that boat. 1 found great enthu-
siasm among my old shipmates be-
cause of an order that had been is
sued calling for volunteers to join
Cushing in his picket boat for the pur-
pose of destroying the rebel ram Abe
marie. 1 did not grow enthusiastic
over joining that expedition. 1 had
been engaged in many of a similar
kind and it seemed to me and was re-
marked by others that 1 was always
one of the first to be detailed on such
adventures. However, l volunteered
to join.
about three days afterward Lieut..
Cushing's picket boat came alongside
the Otsego to receive his volunteers.
As we stepped down the gangway
some of our friends and shipmates
made remark that was not encour-
aging 1t was There goes them boys
in their coffin Capt. Arnold made a
few remarks, cheering us on our way
to death, or glory and promotion but
he rather insinuated that he never ex-
pected to see any of us again.
1T was Oct. "a when the Otsego
took the picket boat with her volun-
teerS in tow to the mouth of the
Roanoke river. We had also the
launch of the United States steamer
Shamrock in tow. The Otsego cast us
adrift at the mouth of the river and
returned to the fleet off Edenton.
There we were on our journey up the
river to achieve either death or glory
and promotion When we got about
seven miles up the river, at the bend
below Plymouth, we were fired into
by picketS stationed in the pilot house
of the sunken Southfie1d, which had
been sent to the bottom by the con-
federate ram that we were hunting.
Approaching the situation and finding
that our object had been frustrated,
we returned to the fleet where we re-
manned three days getting ready for
another attempt. On the evening of
the 9th we again headed our course
for the mouth of the Roanoke. We
entered about ten o'clock at night
dark and dreary, wet and stormy it
10 oil
the dark side Of the river under the
shadow Of the bamboo swamps and
soon found that we had passed the
Southf1eld unobserved.
''All eyes were now searching for
the monster of the sound, the confed-
crate ram Albemarle. We found our
selves on the opposite side of the river
from Plymouth and observed a black
lump on the opposite shore, and con-
cluded it to be the object of our
search. 1t was, however, only a large
pile of coal that the confederates had
stored there to supply their vessels,
including the ironclad. Disappointed,
we backed off, still scanning the
Plymouth shore. Steaming up stream
another half mile we sighted another
black object, and, on approaching it,
we found that we had made no mis-
take this time. There, indeed, lay the
continuance that had wrought death
and destruction among our vessels.
when we got within hailing dis
lance the lookout on the ram hailed
us as follows: Boat ahoyI Boat
ahoy, Boat ahoy, What boat comes
there?" Cushing's reply as he stood
by the halyards of the torpedo boom
was: Well soon let you know what
boat comes here At the same time
he gave orders to the engineer to put
on full speed. Just then a vol1ey of
musketry whistled all around us.
Our boat was now leaping through
the water, fire belching out of her
smokestack, when we struck a boom
of logs with which the ram had been
entirely surrounded. The confederates
on the ram then threw open their gun
ports and fired their heavy broadsides
at US, but while they were doing this
our boat went head down and stern
up, the boom raising on our launch
and catching on our propeller. So did
the torpedo boom go down under the
ram. Cushing gave the torpedo ham,
mer a quick pull, when there came an
awful explosion 1t filled our boat
with water, and Cushing cried out:
Boys, save yourselves; our work is
donei'
I'VE SWAN ashore, and for three
days wandered in the swamps, picking
our way down the river. / was picked