The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-06-06


New York Sun. - -. VI. .te--Qs !.
/, Our battleship Mississippi returned
safely to New Orleans after her mem
orable procession to Natchez, none
the worse for a journey that gave
great happiness to thousand of people
by the way. 1t appears that Captain
Fremont is skilled in the use of stern
anchors and other devices for turn
ing a big ship around In a compare
lively narrow channel. The rest was
easy Everybody knows that at this
stage Of the river there Is an album
dance of water as high as Natchez
and indeed much higher, and no one
aver supposed there would be any diff
ficulty, except in turning a 400-feot
ship aroundb In g. 600-foot channel.
with the current running about three
and a half miles an hour That dif-i
ficulty has been thoroughly conquered
and the ship is now as safe as she
would be in mid-ocean. -.
1t is another thing and very. diff
ferent thing to say that never before
was such time made over that part
of the Mississippi river. Quite a
number OF the old sea dogs who COM
manded or offlcered warships on the
Mississippi river during 1882, 1868,
1854 and 1865, especially those who
served with the various squadrons,
stationed between Bayou Sara and
New Orleans during the spring of, 1865
will wag their gray heads over this
proposition and proceed to the story
of the Confederate vessel w. H. Webb,
which one May night ran out of Red
river, just below Natchez, and made
dash for the open sea by way Of
New Orleans, something more than
200 miles away. That was forty-four
years ago, before the days OF the con-
struction bureau and turbines and
wonderful ships with records on paper
and all the rest OF it. This tug boat.
however, had been turned out OF the
yards of w. H. Webb, Of New York
one of the greatest shipbuilders of
his day. She was of comparatively
light draught of splendid model and
extraordinary power, and she had been
converted to the uses of the Confed-
eraey by a former United States naval
officer named Reed, a man of genius
and desperation. 1t was this boat
that on May night, we think in 1855,
slipped out of Red river and started
down the Mississippi on her crazy
voyage, Differed and equipped to per-
lection and manned by a crew as
ruthless as ever signed to Raleigh,
Hawkins, Kidd or LATTE. 1t was long
after midnight when the Webb crept
out of Red river and headed for New
Orleans. Armed vessels OF the United
states Dtocked her way at every turn.
The river was high, her draught was
light, and away she sped through
the darkness like a ghost. The sur
vivors of that mad flight were wont
to tell that they passed New Orleans
in less than nine hours. shot
through her steam pipe ended all a
few miles below the city, she was run
ashore and the personnel escaped into
the swamps. Surviving members Of
the crew and the officers Of the Fed
eral ships who still live will tell you
that the dash for liberty of the w. H
Webb was one of the most astounding
exhibitions OF speed within their ex-
perience.
OF course, the circumstances are
widely different. Captain Fremont,
commanding a modern battleship, I'M
der no urgency for haste, but under
every obligation of caution and de-
liberation, took the Mississippi down
at the rate of fourteen knots an hour:
but will any one with memory that
covers forty-five years declare that
the performance Is unequalled In the
history of the river?
It will not do to exclude the Webb
from estimates of speed upon the Mis-
sissppi.