The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-08-28
NY c. @. LESLIE.


c. c. Leslie. formerly a Ash dealer
Df Charleston. met with many adven-
lures while running the blockade dur
Ing the War Between the States In
the Sunday News of July "a he do
Ecribed the chase of the steamer Phan-
tom. and in the present article he tells
OF how the U. S. S. Connecticut cap
tured him at last.
The Phantom having done her worst
and received her deserts. or. II you
viii, having done her best and earned
her rest, was duly mourned and re-
iuctantly left. a hopeless mass OF junk.
on the beach at Topsail Inlet. Her
,rew must now turn their attention to
other means of adventure and liveli-
hood.
After taking my-clas, look at her
Ind bidding her farewell, since worse
Jhe now could not be. / began, with 9TH
ers OF the crew, the tramp to Whining
ton. some twenty Ave or thirty miles
distant After spending some time in
Wilmington. / came up to Charleston
md spent n while with my loved one.
Being recalled to Wilmington by Capt.
Porter. returned to And he had taken
charge of the Eugene.
The Eugenfe was a fine boat. that
seemed destined to make record as
a runner. She was built with view
10 getting in and out among the block
lding feet with all possible secrecy
rs far as any commotion on the part
nf her mechanism was concerned. She
was side-wheeler. with patent pad
flies Cor dips as they were cailed,)
which entered and left the water al
most noiselessly. This quality was
further reinforced By loaded strips OF
canvas attached In such a manner as
- yhn Eyr
AMOUNT Of splash made by these pat
mt paddles One might stand by her
wheel house and scarcely hear any
noise at all from the revolutions OF
her side wheels in the water.
In due time she was cleared. care
being taken TO see that all the crew
were on the ships papers,. This pre-
caution was usually employed to head
off the movements of runaway slaves
and other sorts of stowaways. Stow
aways were not always persons who
were not able to pay their passage
over. but were often means of con-
siderable profit to some member o.
other OF the crew They were ,uss
as often a source of anxiety and an
novance to responsible persons. for
not only miEht there be a runaway
slave, brought on with the knowl-
edge OF somebody who might have
peen employed about the ship, but
here was always the possibility of
,py secreting himself in this way.
-onsealhAtly the slightest suspicious
movement was followed UP by the off,
GERS. who were unusually quick to
-smell rat and after a ship was
we'll under way her hold would be
thoroughly fumigated on account of
,ats--and rats"
All precautions OF this sort having
been taken, and the necessary prelim-
lnaries gone through. the Eugene left
Wilmington about noon, for SmIthyille,
preparatory to taking the bar, az
usual, under cover of the dark. We
made the bar about 9 o'clock. We were
IS shipshape as could be. with the
captain on the bridge, quartermaster.
with lead in hand In rigging, and
pilot near by, the first and second Of
foers at the bow. and the crew sta
toned along the deck about ten feet
apart from each other, in order to pass
the word to the man at the wheel
without the necessity OF shouting we
went through the bar as hoiselessly
as possible Shaping our course by
the soundings, we were by II O'clock
In six or eight fathoms of water. The
pilot, now satisfied that we were safe
over the bar, and also outside the line
of the Federal fleet. turned her oyer
to the commander, whereupon we took
up our regular course at good pace
for st. Georges. Bermuda,
All things went welliuntil noon og the
second day out. when the port cylinder
4 gave way. This was one of pair
OF oscillating cylinders. and the trou-
BILE was Of such a nature that nothing
could be done but uncouple the con,
Meeting rod from shaft and piston.
and proceed as best we could with
one cylinder.
1t is hardly. necessary to say that
our experience with the Connecticut
had left rather respectable impress
sion Of that craft In our mind. Like
the time up and down the course be-
kweeen Wilmington and Bermuda. This
abiquity of the Connecticut, always a
source of anxiety to bloclsade-runners
\ on this course, was doubly and trebly
disconcerting to us, with our memory
{ Of her meanness to the Phantom, and
our present plight being unable at
out best to make more than five knots
an hour. 1t was not considered wise,
therefore, to be anywhere IN the
neighborhood of her haunts. Our
course was consequently changed TO
Eassau.
on the evening of the fourth day we
were rendered anxious by the sight of
d steamer, Everything would look to
some of US, at least, like the Connects
cut, She was likely to turn up any
where. But, as luck would have It, We
also sighted land. This turned out to
be the island known as the Hole IN
the Wall, or the Sailors Snug Harbor.
We put In here, and, as matter or
precautlon, remained twenty-four
hours. Here we took up the Nassau
pilot, and with one nights sail we
Were In tho harbor Of Nassau.
1T was our hope that in Nassau we
might have been able to have repaired
hour cylinder, but falling this, after
S&tQY of a WaelS 1uea ska mad our.