Memoirs of Service Afloat, During the War Between the States Part 9

During the day, the steam-tug towed down from the town, for me, a couple of lighters, containing about one hundred tons of coal, five thousand gallons of water, and some fresh provisions for the crew. It was necessary that we should prepare for sea, with some dispatch, as there was a line of telegraph, from Cienfuegos to Havana, where there were always a number of the enemy's s.h.i.+ps of war stationed. As a matter of course, the U. S.

Consul at Cienfuegos had telegraphed to his brother Consul, in Havana, the arrival of the _Sumter_, in the first ten minutes after she had let go her anchor; and as another matter of course, there must already be several fast steamers on their way, to capture this piratical craft, which had thus so unceremoniously broken in upon the quiet of the Cuban waters, and the Yankee sugar, and rum trade. I had recourse to the chart, and having ascertained at what hour these steamers would be enabled to arrive, I fixed my own departure, a few hours ahead, so as to give them the satisfaction of finding that the bird, which they were in pursuit of, had flown. My excellent first lieutenant came up to time, and the s.h.i.+p was reported ready for sea before sunset, or in a little more than twenty-four hours, after our arrival.

To avoid the coal dust, which is one of the pests of a steamer, and the confusion, and noise which necessarily accompany the exceedingly poetic operation of coaling, I landed, as the sun was approaching the western horizon, in company with my junior lieutenant and sailing-master, for a stroll, and to obtain sights for testing my chronometers, as well. Having disposed of the business part of the operation first, in obedience to the old maxim; that is to say, having made our observations upon the sun, for time, we wandered about, for an hour, and more, amid the rich tropical vegetation of this queen of islands, now pa.s.sing under the flowering acacia, and now under the deep-foliaged orange-tree, which charmed two senses at once--that of smell, by the fragrance of its young flowers, and that of sight, by the golden hue of its luscious and tempting fruit. We had landed abreast of our s.h.i.+p, and a few steps sufficed to put us in the midst of a dense wilderness, of floral beauty, with nothing to commune with but nature. What a contrast there was between this peaceful, and lovely scene, and the life we had led for the last week! We almost loathed to go back to the dingy walls, and close quarters of our little craft, where everything told us of war, and admonished us that a life of toil, vexation, and danger lay before us, and that we must bid a long farewell to rural scenes, and rural pleasures. As we still wandered, absorbed in such speculations as these, unconscious of the flight of time, the sound of the evening gun came booming on the ear, to recall us to our senses, and retracing our steps, we hurriedly re-embarked. That evening's stroll lingered long in my memory, and was often recalled, amid the whistling, and surging of the gale, and the tumbling, and discomforts of the s.h.i.+p.

I had been looking anxiously, for the last few hours, for the arrival of our prize brigantine, the _Cuba_, but she failed to make her appearance, and I was forced to abandon the hope of getting back my prize crew from her. I left with my prize agent, the following letter of instructions for the mids.h.i.+pman in command of the _Cuba_.

CONFEDERATE STATES STEAMER SUMTER, CIENFUEGOS, July 7, 1861.

SIR:--Upon your arrival at this place, you will put the master, mate, and crew of the _Cuba_ on _parole_, not to serve against the Confederate States, during the present war, unless exchanged, and release them. You will then deliver the brigantine to the Governor, for safe custody, until the orders of the Captain-General can be known in regard to her. I regret much that you are not able to arrive in time, to rejoin the s.h.i.+p, and you must exercise your judgment, as to the mode in which you shall regain your country. You will, no doubt, be able to raise sufficient funds for transporting yourself, and the four seamen who are with you, to some point in the Confederate States, upon a bill of exchange, which you are hereby authorized to draw, upon the Secretary of the Navy. Upon your arrival within our territory, you will report yourself to that officer. Your baggage has been sent you by the pilot.

_Mids.h.i.+pman_ A. G. HUDGINS.

I did not meet Mr. Hudgins, afterward, until as a rear admiral, I was ordered to the command of the James River fleet, in the winter of 1864. He was then attached to one of my s.h.i.+ps, as a lieutenant. On the retreat from Richmond, I made him a captain of light artillery, and he was paroled with me, at Greensboro', North Carolina, in May 1865. How he has settled with my friend, the Spanish pilot, who agreed with _me_ that the prizes which I captured, off Cienfuegos, were _five_ miles from the land, and with the Northern claimants, and the Captain-General of Cuba, that they were less than _three_ miles from it, about his baggage, I have never learned.

Everything being in readiness for sea, on board the _Sumter_, and the officers having all returned from their visits to the town, at eleven P.

M., we got under way, and as the bell struck the midnight hour, we steamed out of the harbor, the lamps from the light-house throwing a bright glare upon our deck, as we pa.s.sed under its shadow, close enough to "have tossed a biscuit" to the keeper; so bold is the entrance of the little river. The sea was nearly calm, and the usual land breeze was gently breathing, rather than blowing. Having given the course to the officer of the deck, I was glad to go below, and turn in, after the excitement, and confusion of the last forty-eight hours. When some seven or eight miles from the land, we lost the land breeze, and were struck by the sea breeze, nearly ahead, with some force. We steamed on, all the next day, without any incident to break in upon the monotony, except a short chase which we gave to a brigantine, which proved, upon our coming up with her, to be Spanish.

Between nine, and ten o'clock in the evening, we pa.s.sed the small islands of the _Caymans_, which we found to be laid down in the charts we were using, some fifteen or sixteen miles too far to the westward. As there is a current setting in the vicinity of these islands, and as the islands themselves are so low, as to be seen with difficulty, in a dark night,--and the night on which we were pa.s.sing them was dark,--I make this observation, to put navigators on their guard.

The morning of the ninth of July dawned clear, and beautifully, but as the sun gained power, the trade-wind increased, until it blew half a gale, raising considerable sea, and impeding the progress of the s.h.i.+p. Indeed, so little speed did we make, that the island of Jamaica, which we had descried with the first streaks of dawn, remained in sight all day; its blue mountains softened but not obliterated by the distance as the evening set in. The sea was as blue as the mountains, and the waves seemed almost as large, to our eyes, as the little steamer plunged into, and struggled with them, in her vain attempt to make headway. All the force of her engine was incapable of driving her at a greater speed than five knots.

The next day, and the day after were equally unpropitious. Indeed the weather went from bad, to worse, for now the sky became densely overcast, with black, and angry-looking clouds, and the wind began to whistle through the rigging, with all the symptoms of a gale. We were approaching the hurricane season, and there was no telling at what moment, one of those terrible cyclones of the Caribbean Sea might sweep over us. To add to the gloominess of the prospect, we were comparatively out of the track of commerce, and had seen no sail, since we had overhauled the Spanish brigantine.

As explained to the reader, in one of the opening chapters, it was my intention to proceed from Cuba, to Barbadoes, there recoal, and thence make the best of my way to Cape St. Roque, in Brazil, where I expected to reap a rich harvest from the enemy's commerce. I was now obliged to abandon, or at least to modify this design. It would not be possible for me to reach Barbadoes, with my present supply of coal, in the teeth of such trade-winds, as I had been encountering for the last few days. I therefore determined to bend down toward the Spanish Main; converting the present head-wind, into a fair wind, for at least a part of the way, and hoping to find the weather more propitious, on that coast. It was now the thirteenth of July, and as we had sailed from Cienfuegos, on the seventh, we had consumed six out of our eight days' supply of fuel. Steaming was no longer to be thought of, and we must make some port under sail. The Dutch island of Curacoa lay under our lee, and we accordingly made sail for that island. The engineer was ordered to let his fires go down, and uncouple his propeller that it might not r.e.t.a.r.d the speed of the s.h.i.+p, and the sailors were sent aloft to loose the topsails.

This was the first time that we were to make use of our sails, unaided by steam, and the old sailors of the s.h.i.+p, who had not bestridden a yard for some months, leaped aloft, with a will, to obey the welcome order. The race of sailors has not yet entirely died out, though the steams.h.i.+p is fast making sad havoc with it. There is the same difference between the old-time sailor, who has been bred in the sailing-s.h.i.+p, and the modern sailor of the steams.h.i.+p, that there is between the well-trained fox-hound, who chases Reynard all day, and the cur that dodges a rabbit about, for half an hour or so. The sailing-s.h.i.+p has a romance, and a poetry about her, which is thoroughly killed by steam. The sailor of the former loves, for its own sake, the howling of the gale, and there is no music so sweet to his ear, as the shouting of orders through the trumpet of the officer of the deck, when he is poised upon the topsail-yard, of the rolling and tumbling s.h.i.+p, hauling out the "weather ear-ring." It is the _ranz de vache_, which recalls the memory of his boyhood, and youth, when under the tutelage of some foster-father of an old salt, he was taking his first lessons in seamans.h.i.+p.

It used to be beautiful to witness the rivalry of these children of the deep, when the pitiless hurricane was scourging their beloved s.h.i.+p, and threatening her with destruction. The greater the danger, the more eager the contest for the post of honor. Was there a sail to be secured, which appeared about to be torn into ribbons, by the gale, and the loose gear of which threatened to whip the sailor from the yard; or was there a topmast to be climbed, which was bending like a willow wand under the fury of the blast, threatening to part at every moment, and throw the climber into the raging, and seething caldron of waters beneath, from which it would be impossible to rescue him, Jack, n.o.ble Jack was ever ready for the service.

I have seen an old naval captain, who had been some years retired from the sea, almost melt into tears, as he listened to the musical "heaving of the lead" by an old sailor, in the "chains" of a pa.s.sing s.h.i.+p of war.

But steam, practical, commonplace, hard-working steam, has well-nigh changed all this, and cut away the webbing from the foot of the old-time sailor. Seamans.h.i.+p, evolutions, invention, skill, and ready resource in times of difficulty, and danger, have nearly all gone out of fas.h.i.+on, and instead of reefing the topsails, and club-hauling, and box-hauling the s.h.i.+p, some order is now sent to the engineer, about regulating his fires, and paying attention to his steam-gauges. Alas! alas! there will be no more Nelsons, and Collingwoods, and no more such venerable "bulwarks upon the deep," as the _Victory_, and the _Royal Sovereign_. In future wars upon the ocean, all combatants will be on the dead level of impenetrable iron walls, with regard to dash, and courage, and with regard to seamans.h.i.+p, and evolutions, all the knowledge that will be required of them, will be to know how to steer a nondescript box toward their enemy.

Our first night under canvas, I find thus described, in my journal: "Heavy sea all night, and s.h.i.+p rolling, and tumbling about, though doing pretty well. The propeller revolves freely, and we are making about five knots."

The next day was Sunday, and the weather was somewhat ameliorated. The wind continued nearly as fresh as before, but as we were now running a point free, this was no objection, and the black, angry clouds had disappeared, leaving a bright, and cheerful sky. A sail was seen on the distant horizon, but it was too rough to chase. This was our usual muster-day, but the decks were wet, and uncomfortable, and I permitted my crew to rest, they having scarcely yet recovered from the fatigue of the last few days.

There is, perhaps, no part of the world where the weather is so uniformly fine, as on the Spanish Main. The cyclones never bend in that direction, and even the ordinary gales are unknown. We were already beginning to feel the influence of this meteorological change; for on Monday, the 15th of July, the weather was thus described in my journal: "Weather moderating, and the sea going down, though still rough. Nothing seen. In the afternoon, pleasant, with a moderate breeze, and the clouds a.s.suming their usual soft, fleecy, trade-wind appearance." The next day was still clear, though the wind had freshened, and the s.h.i.+p was making good speed.

At nine A. M. we made the land, on the starboard bow, which proved to be the island of Oruba, to leeward, a few miles, of Curacoa. For some hours past, we had been within the influence of the equatorial current, which sets westward, along this coast, with considerable velocity, and it had carried us a little out of our course, though we had made some allowance for it. We hauled up, a point, or two, and at eleven A. M. we made the island of Curacoa, on the port bow. We doubled the north-west end of the island, at about four P. M. and hauling up on the south side of it we soon brought the wind ahead, when it became necessary to put the s.h.i.+p under steam again, and to furl the sails.

The afternoon proved beautifully bright, and clear; the sea was of a deep indigo-blue, and we were all charmed, even with this barren little island, as we steamed along its bold, and blackened sh.o.r.es, of limestone rock, alongside of which the heaviest s.h.i.+p might have run, and throwing out her bow and stern lines, made herself fast with impunity, so perpendicularly deep were the waters. Our average distance from the land, as we steamed along, was not greater than a quarter of a mile. There were a few stunted trees, only, to be seen, in the little ravines, and some wild shrubbery, and sickly looking gra.s.s, struggling for existence on the hills' sides. A few goats were browsing about here, and there, and the only evidence of commerce, or thrift, that we saw, were some piles of salt, that had been raked up from the lagoons, ready for s.h.i.+pment. And yet the Dutch live, and thrive here, and have built up quite a pretty little town--that of St.

Anne's, to which we were bound. The explanation of which is, that the island lies contiguous to the Venezuelan coast, and is a free port, for the introduction of European, and American goods, in which a considerable trade is carried on, with the main land.

We arrived off the town, with its imposing battlements frowning on either side of the harbor, about dusk, and immediately hoisted a jack, and fired a gun, for a pilot. In the course of half an hour, or so, this indispensable individual appeared, but it was too late, he said, for us to attempt the entrance, that night. He would come off, the first thing in the morning, and take us in. With this a.s.surance we rested satisfied, and lay off, and on, during the night, under easy steam. But we were not to gain entrance to this quaint little Dutch town, so easily, as had been supposed. We were to have here a foretaste of the trouble, that the Federal Consuls were to give us in the future. We have already commented on the love of office of the American people. There is no hole, or corner of the earth, into which a s.h.i.+p can enter, and where there is a dollar to be made, that has not its American Consul, small or large. The smallest of salaries are eagerly accepted, and, as a consequence, the smallest of men are sometimes sent to fill these places. But the smaller the place, the bigger were the c.o.c.ked hats and epaulettes the officials wore, and the more brim-full were they of patriotism.

At the time of which I am writing, they called one Wm. H. Seward, master, and they had taken Billy's measure to a fraction. They knew his tastes, and pandered to them, accordingly. His circular letters had admonished them, that, in their intercourse with foreign nations, they must speak of our great civil war, as a mere _rebellion_, that would be suppressed, in from sixty, to ninety days; insist that we were not ent.i.tled to belligerent rights, and call our cruisers, "corsairs," or "pirates."

Accordingly, soon after the pilot had landed, from the _Sumter_, carrying with him to the sh.o.r.e, the intelligence that she was a Confederate States cruiser, the Federal Consul made his appearance at the Government-House, and claimed that the "pirate" should not be permitted to enter the harbor; informing his Excellency, the Governor, that Mr. Seward would be irate, if such a thing were permitted, and that he might expect to have the stone, and mortar of his two forts knocked about his ears, in double quick, by the s.h.i.+ps of war of the Great Republic.

This bold, and defiant tone, of the doughty little Consul, seemed to stagger his Excellency; it would not be so pleasant to have St. Anne's demolished, merely because a steamer with a flag that n.o.body had seen before, wanted some coal; and so, the next morning, bright and early, he sent the pilot off, to say to me, that "the Governor could not permit the _Sumter_ to enter, having received recent orders from Holland to that effect." Here was a pretty kettle of fis.h.!.+ The _Sumter_ had only one day's fuel left, and it was some distance from Curacoa, to any other place, where coal was to be had. I immediately sent for Lieutenant Chapman, and directed him to prepare himself for a visit to the sh.o.r.e; and calling my clerk, caused him to write, after my dictation, the following despatch to his Excellency:--

CONFEDERATE STATES STEAMER SUMTER, OFF ST. ANNE'S, CURAcOA, July 17, 1861.

HIS EXCELLENCY GOVERNOR CROL:--

I was surprised to receive, by the pilot, this morning, a message from your Excellency, to the effect that this s.h.i.+p would not be permitted to enter the harbor, unless she was in distress, as your Excellency had received orders from his Government not to admit vessels of war of the Confederate States of America, to the hospitality of the ports, under your Excellency's command. I most respectfully suggest that there must be some mistake here; and I have sent to you the bearer, Lieutenant Chapman, of the Confederate States Navy, for the purpose of an explanation. Your Excellency must be under some misapprehension as to the character of this vessel. She is a s.h.i.+p of war, duly commissioned by the government of the Confederate States, which States have been recognized, as belligerents, in the present war, by all the leading Powers of Europe, viz:--Great Britain, France, Spain, &c., as your Excellency must be aware.

It is true, that these Powers have prohibited both belligerents, alike, from bringing prizes into their several jurisdictions; but no one of them has made a distinction, either between the respective prizes, or the cruisers, themselves, of the two belligerents--the cruisers of both governments, unaccompanied by prizes, being admitted to the hospitalities of the ports of all these great Powers, on terms of perfect equality. In the face of these facts, am I to understand from your Excellency, that Holland has adopted a different rule, and that she not only excludes the prizes, but the s.h.i.+ps of war, themselves, of the Confederate States? And this, at the same time, that she admits the cruisers of the United States; thus departing from her neutrality, in this war, ignoring the Confederate States, as belligerents, and aiding and abetting their enemy? If this be the position which Holland has a.s.sumed, in this contest, I pray your Excellency to be kind enough to say as much to me in writing.

When this epistle was ready, Chapman shoved off for the sh.o.r.e, and a long conference ensued. The Governor called around him, as I afterward learned, all the dignitaries of the island, civil and military, and a grand council of State was held. These Dutchmen have a ponderous way of doing things, and I have no doubt, the gravity of this council was equal to that held in New Amsterdam in colonial days, as described by the renowned historian Diederick Knickerbocker, at which Woutter Van Twiller, the doubter, was present. Judging by the time that Chapman was waiting for his answer, during which he had nothing to do but sip the most delightful mint juleps--for these islanders seemed to have robbed old Virginia of some of her famous mint patches--in company with an admiring crowd of friends, the councillors must have "smoked and talked, and smoked again;" pondered with true Dutch gravity, all the arguments, _pro_ and _con_, that were offered, and weighed my despatch, along with the "recent order from Holland," in a torsion balance, to see which was heaviest.

After the lapse of an hour, or two, becoming impatient, I told my first lieutenant, that as our men had not been practised at the guns, for some time, I thought it would be as well to let them burst a few of our eight-inch sh.e.l.ls, at a target. Accordingly the drum beat to quarters, a great stir was made about the deck, as the guns were cast loose, and pretty soon, whiz! went a sh.e.l.l, across the windows of the council-chamber, which overlooked the sea; the sh.e.l.l bursting like a clap of rather sharp, ragged thunder, a little beyond, in close proximity, to the target. Sundry heads were seen immediately to pop out of the windows of the chamber, and then to be withdrawn very suddenly, as though the owners of them feared that another sh.e.l.l was coming, and that my gunners might make some mistake in their aim. By the time we had fired three or four sh.e.l.ls, all of which bursted with beautiful precision, Chapman's boat was seen returning, and thinking that our men had had exercise enough, we ran out and secured the guns.

My lieutenant came on board, smiling, and looking pleasantly, as men will do, when they are bearers of good news, and said that the Governor had given us permission to enter. We were lying close in with the entrance, and in a few minutes more, the _Sumter_ was gliding gracefully past the houses, on either side of her, as she ran up the little ca.n.a.l, or river, that split the town in two. The quays were crowded with a motley gathering of the townspeople, men, women, and children, to see us pa.s.s, and sailors waved their hats to us, from the s.h.i.+pping in the port. Running through the town into a land-locked basin, in its rear, the _Sumter_ let go her anchor, hoisted out her boats, and spread her awnings,--and we were once more in port.

CHAPTER XV.

THE SUMTER AT CURAcOA--HER SURROUNDINGS--PREPARATIONS FOR SEA, AND DEPARTURE--THE CAPTURE OF OTHER PRIZES--PUERTO CABELLO, AND WHAT OCCURRED THERE.

The _Sumter_ had scarcely swung to her anchors, in the small land-locked harbor described, before she was surrounded by a fleet of b.u.m-boats, laden with a profusion of tropical fruits, and filled with men, and women, indifferently--the women rather preponderating. These b.u.m-boat women are an inst.i.tution in Curacoa; the profession descends from mother to daughter and time seems to operate no change among them. It had been nearly a generation since I was last at Curacoa. I was then a gay, rollicking young mids.h.i.+pman, in the "old" Navy, and it seemed as though I were looking upon the same faces, and listening to the same confusion of voices as before.

The individual women had pa.s.sed away, of course, but the b.u.m-boat women remained. They wore the same parti-colored handkerchiefs wound gracefully around their heads, the same gingham or muslin dresses, and exposed similar, if not the same, bare arms, and unstockinged legs. They were admitted freely on board, with their stocks in trade, and pretty soon Jack was on capital terms with them, converting his small change into fragrant bananas, and blood-red oranges, and replenis.h.i.+ng his tobacco-pouch for the next cruise. As Jack is a gallant fellow, a little flirtation was going on too with the purchasing, and I was occasionally highly amused at these joint efforts at trade and love-making. No one but a b.u.m-boat woman is ever a sailor's _blanchiseuse, et par consequence_ a number of well-filled clothes'-bags soon made their appearance, on deck, from the different apartments of the s.h.i.+p, and were pa.s.sed into the boats alongside.

These people all speak excellent English, though with a drawl, which is not unmusical, when the speaker is a sprightly young woman. Jack has a great fondness for pets, and no wonder, poor fellow, debarred, as he is, from all family ties, and with no place he can call his home, but his s.h.i.+p; and pretty soon my good-natured first lieutenant had been seduced into giving him leave to bring sundry monkeys, and parrots on board, the former of which were now gambolling about the rigging, and the latter waking the echoes of the harbor with their squalling. Such was the crowd upon our decks, and so serious was the interruption to business, that we were soon obliged to lay restrictions upon the b.u.m-boat fleet, by prohibiting it from coming alongside, except at meal-hours, which we always designated by hoisting a red pennant, at the mizzen. It was curious to watch the movements of the fleet, as these hours approached. Some twenty or thirty boats would be lying upon their oars, a few yards from the s.h.i.+p, each with from two to half a dozen inmates, eagerly watching the old quartermaster, whose duty it was to hoist the pennant; the women chattering, and the parrots squalling, whilst the oarsmen were poising their oars, that they might get the first stroke over their compet.i.tors in the race. At length, away goes the flag! and then what a rus.h.i.+ng and clattering, and bespattering until the boats are alongside.

In an hour after our anchor had been let go, the business of the s.h.i.+p, for the next few days, had all been arranged. The first lieutenant had visited a neighboring s.h.i.+p-yard, and contracted for a new foretop-mast, to supply the place of the old one which had been sprung; the paymaster had contracted for a supply of coal, and fresh provisions, daily, for the crew, and for having the s.h.i.+p watered; the latter no unimportant matter, in this rainless region, and I had sent an officer to call on the Governor, _with my card_, being too unwell to make the visit, in person.

Upon visiting the sh.o.r.e the next day, I found that we were in a _quasi_ enemy's territory, for besides the Federal Consul before spoken of, a Boston man had intrenched himself in the best hotel in the place, as proprietor, and was doing a thriving business, far away from "war's alarms," and a New Yorker had the monopoly of taking all the phizes of the staid old Dutchmen--"John Smith, of New York, Photographer," hanging high above the artist's windows, on a sign-board that evidently had not been painted by a Curacoan. Mr. Smith had already taken an excellent photograph of the _Sumter_, which he naively enough told me, was intended for the New York ill.u.s.trated papers. If I had had ever so much objection, to having the likeness of my s.h.i.+p hung up in such a "rogues' gallery," I had no means of preventing it. Besides, it could do us but little damage, in the way of identification, as we had the art of disguising the _Sumter_ so that we would not know her, ourselves, at half a dozen miles distance.

I was surprised, one morning, during our stay here, whilst I was lounging, listlessly, in my cabin, making a vain attempt to read, under the infliction of the caulkers overhead, who were striking their caulking-irons with a vigor, and rapidity, that made the tympanum of my ears ring again, at the announcement that Don somebody or other, the private secretary of President Castro, desired to see me. The caulkers were sent away, and his Excellency's private secretary brought below.

President Castro was one of those unfortunate South American chiefs, who had been beaten in a battle of ragam.u.f.fins, and compelled to fly his country. He was President of Venezuela, and had been deprived of his office, before the expiration of his term, by some military aspirant, who had seated himself in the presidential chair, instead, and was now in exile in Curacoa, with four of the members of his cabinet. The object of the visit of his secretary was to propose to me to reinstate the exiled President, in his lost position, by engaging in a military expedition, with him, to the mainland.

Here was a chance, now, for an ambitious man! I might become the Warwick of Venezuela, and put the crown on another's head, if I might not wear it myself. I might hoist my admiral's flag, on board the _Sumter_, and take charge of all the piraguas, and canoes, that composed the Venezuelan navy, whilst my colleague mustered those men in buckram, so graphically described by Sir John Falstaff, and made an onslaught upon his despoiler.

But unfortunately for friend Castro, I was like one of those damsels who had already plighted her faith to another, before the new wooer appeared--I was not in the market. I listened courteously, however, to what the secretary had to say; told him, that I felt flattered by the offer of his chief, but that I was unable to accept it. "I cannot," I continued, "consistently with my obligations to my own country, engage in any of the revolutionary movements of other countries." "But," said he, "Senor Castro is the _de jure_ President of Venezuela, and you would be upholding the right in a.s.sisting him;--can you not, at least, land us, with some arms and ammunition, on the main land?" I replied that, "as a Confederate States officer, I could not look into _de jure_ claims. These questions were for the Venezuelans, themselves, to decide. The only government I could know in Venezuela was the _de facto_ government, for the time being, and _that_, by his own showing, was in the hands of his antagonists." Here the conversation closed, and my visitor, who had the bearing and speech of a cultivated gentleman, departed. The jottings of my diary for the next few days, will perhaps now inform the reader, of our movements, better than any other form of narrative.

_July 19th._--Wind unusually bl.u.s.tering this morning, with partial obscuration of the heavens. The engineers are busy, overhauling and repairing damages to their engine and boilers; the gunner is at work, polis.h.i.+ng up his battery and ventilating his magazine, and the sailors are busy renewing ratlines and tarring down their rigging. An English bark entered the harbor to-day from Liverpool.

_July 20th._--Painting and refitting s.h.i.+p; got off the new fore-topmast from the sh.o.r.e. It is a good pine stick, evidently from our Southern States, and has been well fas.h.i.+oned. The monthly packet from the island of St. Thomas arrived, to-day, bringing newspapers from the enemy's country as late as the 26th of June. We get nothing new from these papers, except that the Northern bee-hive is all agog, with the marching and countermarching of troops.

_July 21st._--Fresh trade-winds, with flying clouds--atmosphere highly charged with moisture, but no rain. This being Sunday, we mustered and inspected the crew. The washer-women have decidedly improved the appearance of the young officers, the glistening of white s.h.i.+rt-bosoms and collars having been somewhat unusual on board of the _Sumter_, of late.

The crew look improved too, by their change of diet, and the use of antis...o...b..tics, which have been supplied to them, at the request of the surgeon; though some of them, having been on sh.o.r.e, "on liberty," have brought off a blackened eye. No matter--the more frequently Jack settles his accounts, on sh.o.r.e, the fewer he will have to settle on board s.h.i.+p, in breach of discipline. We read, at the muster, to-day, the finding and sentence of the first court-martial, that has sat on board the _Sumter_, since she reached the high seas.

_July 22d._--Warped alongside a wharf, in the edge of the town, and commenced receiving coal on board. Refitting, and repainting s.h.i.+p. In the afternoon, I took a lonely stroll through the town, mainly in the suburbs.

It is a quaint, picturesque old place, with some few modern houses, but the general air is that of dilapidation, and a decay of trade. The lower cla.s.ses are simple, and primitive in their habits, and but little suffices to supply their wants. The St. Thomas packet sailed, to-day, and, as a consequence, the Federal cruisers, in and about that island, will have intelligence of our whereabouts, in four or five days. To mislead them, I have told the pilot, and several gentlemen from the sh.o.r.e, _in great confidence_, that I am going back to cruise on the coast of Cuba. The packet will of course take that intelligence to St. Thomas.

_July 23d._--Still coaling, refitting and painting. Weather more cloudy, and wind not so constantly fresh, within the last few days. Having taken sights for our chronometers, on the morning after our arrival, and again to-day, I have been enabled to verify their rates. They are running very well. The chronometer of the _Golden Rocket_ proves to be a good instrument. We fix the longitude of Curacoa to be 68 58' 30", west of Greenwich.

_July 24th._--Sky occasionally obscured, with a moderate trade-wind. Our men have all returned from their visits to the sh.o.r.e, except one, a simple lad named Orr, who, as I learn, has been seduced away, by a Yankee skipper, in port, aided by the Boston hotel-keeper, and our particular friend, the consul. As these persons have tampered with my whole crew, I am gratified to know, that there has been but one traitor found among them.

We had now been a week in Curacoa, during which time, besides recruiting, and refres.h.i.+ng my crew, I had made all the necessary preparations for another cruise. The s.h.i.+p had been thoroughly overhauled, inside and out, and her coal-bunkers were full of good English coal. It only remained for us to put to sea. Accordingly, at twelve o'clock precisely, on the day last above mentioned, as had been previously appointed, the _Sumter_, bidding farewell to her new-made friends, moved gracefully out of the harbor--this time, amid the waving of handkerchiefs, in female hands, as well as of hats in the hands of the males; the quay being lined, as before, to see us depart. The photographer took a last shot at the s.h.i.+p, as she glided past his sanctum, and we looked with some little interest to the future numbers of that "Journal of Civilization," vulgarly yclept "Harper's Weekly," for the interesting portrait; which came along in due time, accompanied by a lengthy description, veracious, of course, of the "Pirate."