Newspaper Page Text
2
THE RAM ATLANTA.
A COMPLETE HISTORY OF THE
FAMOUS VESSEL-
Including an Account of the Steam
ship “Fingal,” Which was
Changed into the Atlanta.
THE BATTLE BETWEEN THE MON
ITORS AND THE RAM, AND
THE RESULT.
A Scrap of Local History—Scenes and
Incidents Which Many Savannah,
ians will Recall.
From Capt. Jan. 1). Bulloch' * “Secret Service
of the Confederate State* in Europe."
For several days after leaving Holy
head we had tine weather, and were well
satisfied in most respects with the ship.
She was staunch, comfortable, and well
fitted in all particulars, but in the anxie
ty to get as much in her as possible, she
had been loaded too deep, and I found
that we could not get a higher speed than
nine knots, which was rather disappoint
ing, in view of a possible chase between
Bermuda and the coast. About the 19th
of October we caught a gale from the
southwest veering to north and north
east. The sea was so heavy that we were
compelled to ease the engines, and in a
measure lay-to under fore and aft sails.
While the gale was still blowing, the
steward informed me that the fresh water
seemed to be very low in the big iron
tank which held the main supply. Upon
examination it was found that we had
only one or at most two days’ supply left.
It seems that after filling up the water
tank at Greenock,, the ship continued to
load for some days, and the crew, as well
as a large number of stevedores employed
in stowing the cargo, were permitted to
use and w aste the water at will. When
ready for sea, it did not occur to the cap
tain to sound the tanks and fill them up.
I do not wish to injure the captain by men
tioning his name. He probably acted ac
cording to his lights, which were dull. He
was very inefficient, and was of no use to
us except as a medium of communication
w'ith customs and other officials. The
“Fingal” had no separate condensing ap
paratus, but, fortunately, the gale was
moderating, and the wind was hauling to
the north and east, and so we bore up for
Praya, a bay and village on the northeast
side of the island of Terceira, where we
found good water, fruit, vegetables, fresh
meat, etc.
This necessary deviation from our direct
voyage, and the consequent delay, were
not in the end w ithout a compensating ad
vantage. The bay afforded good anchor
age, and the whole neighborhood was so
quiet and retired, so isolated from Europe,
that I could not fail to note its fitness for
a place of rendezvous at which to collect
our cruisers with their tenders. Subse
quently the “Alabama” was brought to
this very spot and armed without hind
rance. Perhaps if it had not been for the
captain’s forgetfulness in the matter of
the “Fingal’s” water supply, we might
have gone to some less favorable place
with the “Alabama” and failed in our
purpose. The efforts of life in all under
takings are made up of alternate failure
and success, and all that can be hoped for
is a favorable balance sheet at the end.
The “Fingal” proceeded on her voyage
/com Terceira and arrived at Bermuda on
siie 2d Os November, Here we had the
pleasure to find the Confederate States
ship “Nashville,” Captain 11, B. Pegrahi,
from whom we learned much about the
state of affairs in the beleaguered Con
federacy. The “Nash ville” was a paddle
steamer, built for the coasting trade be
tween New York and Charleston. It has
been already mentioned that she was
bought by the Navy Department, and her
appearance abroad was probably intended
as a mere demonstration to prove the in
efficiency of the blockade, and to make an
exhibit of the Confederate flag upon the
high seas and in Europe, because she was
weakly armed and dependent upon her
engines alone for motion. Nevertheless
she captured and burned the American
ship “Harvey Birch” in the English Chan
nel. There had been an original purpose
to send the Confederate Commissioners,
Messrs. Mason and Slidell, to Europe in
the “Nashville,” but this intention was
abandoned, and those gentlemen, with
their suites, ran the blockade in a small
steamer from Charleston and proceeded
to Havana. Captain Pegram handed me
a dispatch from the Hon. S. R. Mallory,
Secretary of the Navy, acknowledging my
reports sent per steamship “Bermuda” in
August. He approved my contracts for
the “Florida” and “Alabama,” and for
naval ordnance stores, and also the propo
sition I had suggested of buying a steamer
and returning in her to the Confederate
States with supplies and for consultation.
He furthermore informed me that he had
sentout by the “Nashville” several pilots,
and that Captain Pegram would let me have
any one or more of them I might require,
’f". John Makin, a pilot for Savannahand
the inlets to t ' ie southward, was trans
ferred to the “Fingai.
We were detained several at Ber
muda, The United States Consul sue- r
i Octeil the ultimate Object of the “Fin
gal’s” voyage, and be did hl* best to put
obstacles in the way of our getting coal
and other supplies, and employed men to
tamper with the crew and alarm them,
and persuade them to leave the ship.
However, the local merchants and the
people generally were very friendly, and
we got at last all that was w anted, and
sailed for the coast on the afternoon of the
7th of November.
Up to the time of our departure from
Bermuda not a w ord had been said to a
member of the crew, nor even to the cap
tain, about the purpose to run the block
ade, and the ship was cleared out from St.
George’s for Nassau. We had, however,
-several very active, intelligent men for
ward, among them one named Freeman
tle, who followed me back to Europe and
made the cruise in the “Alabama” as cap
tain’s coxswain. During the passage
from England I had kept an eye to the
men, and Low had been much with them
as an officer of the ship, and we felt pretty
sure that “Jack” had his suspicions. That
they should have resisted the persuasions
and warnings of the United States Consul
at St. George’s was therefore a gratifying
evidence of their willingness to take part
in a little exciting adventure.
It was especially important to know
whether the “engineer department” could
be relied upon, and I had often gone into
the engine-room to have a talk with the
chief. His name was McNair, a silent,
steady, reliable Scot, immovable and im
passive as the Grampian Hills when it
was proper to stand fast, prompt, quick,
and energetic when it was necessary to
act. He was one of that thoughtful class
of men who seem to be always thinking
that something unexpected may happen,
and to be preparing for the difficulty.
From the very first I felt sure of McNair,
<tnd never parted from him until the
“Alabama” was off on her cruise. In fit
ting out that ship he was of great service,
and he had charge of her engines until she
was joined at Terceira by Captain Semines
and his regular staff of officers.
The day after leaving Bermuda it was
necessary to put the ship's head in the
direction of the actual port of destination,
and of course the men at the wheel, and
in fact all on board, would soon perceive
that we were not steering the course for
Nassau. It would not have been fair to
conceal the object of the voyage from the
men until a critical moment’and it would
also have been imprudent to go on to the
coast without knowing their minds, be
cause they had not agreed to undertake
any such risk.
I determined, therefore, t 6 settle the
matter there and then, and sent for all
hands to come aft to the bridge. 1 toid
them very briefly “that they had shipped
in a British port, to make a voyage in a
British ship to one or more British islands
and back again to England; that I had no
right to take them anywhere else without
their consent, and 1 did not mean to use
either force or undue pressure to make
them do anything not set out in the ship
ping articles, but 1 thought they must
have suspected that there was some other
purpose in the voyage than a cruise to
Bermuda and the Bahamas, and the time
had arrived when it was both safe and
proper for me to tell them the real port of
destination, w hich was Savannah, and of
course this meant a breach of blockade,
with the risk of capture and some rough
treatment as prisoners-of-war.” I added,
“If you are not willing to go on, say so
now, and I will take the ship to Nassau
and get other men who will go; but if you
are ready and willing to risk the venture,
remember that it is a fresh engagement
and a final one, from which there must be
no backing out.”
I had thought over what to say, and
Was prepared with a few' exhilarating and
persuasive phrases; but I caught Free
mantle’s eye and saw that several of the
men were whispering together. It flashed
across my mind at once that no further
talk was necessary, and I put the ques
tion plainly, “Will you go?” to which
there was a prompt and unanimous con
sent. I thanked them, but said there w r as
still something to explain, which I did to
the following effect:
“The United States have been compelled
to buy up steamers from the merchant
service for blockaders. Many of them are |
neither so strong nor so efficient in any
way as this shin, and they are not heavily I
armed. If we should fall in with any
blockaders off Savannah at all, they are
likely to be of that class, and Colonel An
derson and I, who represent the Confed
erate Government, and the gentlemen
passengers, who are Southern men, do not
feel disposed to give up this valuable and
important cargo to a ship not strong
enough to render resistance useless, or to
open boats that may attempt to board us.
So long as the “Fingal” is under the Brit
ish flag we have no right to fire a shot, but
I have a bill of sale in my pocket, and can
take delivery from the captain on behalf
of the Confederate Navy Department at
any moment. This I propose to do if there
should appear to be any likelihood of a
collision with a blockader, and I want to
know if you are willing, under such cir- ■
cumstances, to help in defending the
ship?”
They answered “Yes,” to a man. These
preliminaries being satisfactorily settled,
all hands were set briskly to work to arm :
the ship. We mounted the two 4%-inch
rifled guns in the forward gangway ports,
and the two steel boat-guns on the quar
terdeck. We got up a sufficient number
of rifles and revolvers, with a good sup
ply of ammunition, and converted the
“ladies’ saloon” into an armory, shell
room and magazine.
The cases containing the made-up cart
ridges for the guns were stowed out of
easy reach, so we hoisted out of the hold
a few barrels of powder and a bale of flan
nel, and made ten or fifteen cartridges
for each gun. Colonel Anderson had pass
ed a good many years of his early life in
the United States’ navy, and although he
had been long out of the service, his “right
hand had not forgot its cunning.” He and
I cut out the cylinders, the other passen
gers helped at the sewing, and the “Fin
gal” was on the next day ready to beat oft
a boat attack, or even to exchange shots
with an impromptu blockader on a dark
night, and thus perhaps prevent her clos
ing. Freemantle and two or three others
of the crew were old naval men, and took
the leading positions at the guns. We had
two or three drills, and found that we
could handle the “battery” satisfacto
rily.
I had a talk with McNair after settling
everything with the men. Although he
did not say so, I felt sure from his manner
that he had been expecting the informa
tion, because he received it quite as a
matter of course, and told me that he had
been putting aside a few tons of the nicest
and cleanest coal, and if I could give him
time just before getting on the coast to
haul fires in one boiler at a time, and run
the scrapers through the flues, he thought
he might drive the ship, deep as she was,
at the rate of eleven knots for a spurt of a
few hours. These preparations seemed
to put all bands in good spirits; indeed,
the men were quite jolly over the pros
pect.
On the 11th McNair got the chance to
clean his flues. It was my purpose to
make the land at the entrance to Warsaw
Sound, through which Makin said he
could take the ship by inland creeks into
the Savannah river, and the course was
shaped so that at noon on the 11th we
should be on the parallel of Warsaw.
From that position we steered in on a due I
west course, and timed the speed to make
the land about 3 a. m., or at any rate be
fore daylight.
The moon set early, but the flight Was
clear, and there was* an unusuallv gqqcf
horizon line, SeVeral suitable star’s pass
ed tiro meridian between dark and 1 a. m., I
and Polaris was of course available, so we
were able to get the latitude every half
hour, and thus to check the course. At
about la. m. on the 12th we got along
shore soundings inside the Gulf Stream.
Up to this time it had been uncomfortably
clear, with a light southeast breeze, but it
now fell calm, and we could see a dark
line to the westward. Makin said it was
the mist over the marshes, and the land
breeze would soon bring it off to us. In
half an hour or so we felt a cool, damp air
in our faces, then a few big drops of mois
ture, and we ran straight into as nice a
fog as any reasonable blockade-runner
could have wanted. There was not a light
anywhere about the ship except in the
binnacle, and that was carefully covered,
so that the man at the wheel could barely
look at the compass with one eye, and the
engine room hatches were well-hooded.
Not a word was spoken, and there was
not a sound but the throb of the engines
and the slight “shir-r-r” made by the
friction of the ship through the water,
and these seemed muffled by the dank,
vaporous air.
When we got into six fathoms the en
gines were eased to dead slow, and we ran
cautiously in by the lead, straight for the
land, the object being to get in-shore of
any blockaders that might be off the inlet.
We supposed the ship to be drawing fif
teen or sixteen feet, and we stood on into
three and a quarter fathoms, when we
turned her head off to the light easterly
swell, and stopped the engines. The fog
was as thick as, and about the color of,
mulligatawny soup, and the water along
side looked of a darkish brown. From the
bridge it was just possible to make out the
men standing on the forecastle and poop.
We could not have been in a better posi
tion for a dash at daylight.
'While w 3 were thus lying-iu hml
ing, every faculty alert to catch the
slightest sound, and every eye searching
the fog for the first glimpse of land, or of
an approaching ship, there burst upon our
ears a shrill, prolonged, quavering shriek.
The suddenness of the sound, coming upon
our eagerly expectant senses, and proba
bly much heightened in volume and force
by contrast with the stillness, was start
ling. I am afraid to venture upon a su
perlative, but I may safely say it was un
earthly. None of us could conceive what
it was, but all thought that it was as loud
and as piercing as a steam-whistle, and
that it must have been heard by any
blockader within five miles of us. In a
moment the sound was repeated, but we
were prepared, and it was this time ac
companied by a flapping and rustling
noise from a “hencoop” in the gangway.
“It is the cock that came on board at Ber
muda,” said some one. Several men ran
to the spot. Freemantle thrust his arm
into the coop, drew out an unhappy fowl,
and wrung oft' its head with a vicious
swing. But it was the wrong one, and
chanticleer crowed again defiantly. “Try
again,” came up in an audible whisper
from under the bridge; but Freemantle’s
second effort was more disastrous than the
first. He not only failed to seize the ob
noxious screamer, but he set the whole
hennery in commotion, and the “Mujan”
cock, from a safe corner, crowed and
croaked, and fairly chuckled over the fuss
of feathers, the cackling, and the dis
tracting strife he had aroused. At last
the offending bird was caught. He died
game, and made a fierce struggle for life;
but Freemantle managed to catqh him
with a firm grip by the fleck, and fetching
a full arm-swing, as if heaving a twelve
pound lead, the body fell with a heavy
thud upon the deck, and we were again
favored with a profound stillness,
By this time daylight began to break.
Makin said the fog would settle and gather
over the low marshes towards sunrise, and
gradually roll off seaward before the light
land-wind. 1 went aloft to look out for the
first sight of the “inlet.” Makin was
right. In less than half an hour I could
see the bushy tops of the tall pine trees,
then their straight slender trunks, then
the brushwood, and finally the pale yel
low streak of sand which formed the fore
shore.
I reported this to Makin, who could not
see it all from the deck, and he asked me
to come down and consult. I assured him
we were right abreast of Warsaw Inlet,
and of this he was satisfied, but he said
the buoys would all be up, and the low
lying fog would probably cover the distant
leading marks, and we might'go wrong in
the intricate channels. He thought it
would be some time before the fog would
clear off to seaward, but as it was settling
over the land and we would soon have a
tolerably clear view in-shore, he proposed
making a dash for Savannah, about seven
teen miles to the north and east, where he
felt sure we could get in, buoys or no
buoys.
In a few moments the engines were do
ing their best, and the ship’s head was
laid Tor the outer bar of the Savannah
river. McNair fulfilled his promise, for
the “Fingal” was making a good eleven
knots. Meanwhile the fog continued to
settle and roll off the land, and the low
sandy beach, with the tall pines in the
background, and a gentle surf just cream
ing its outer edge, was soon in full view
from the deck. We skirted the shore in
the least water the ship’s draft permitted,
and w ere much favored. The land breeze
dropped, and about half a mile off shore
the fog bung heaviiy, a great grey mass,
almost black at the water’s edge. It served
as a veil between us and any blockaders
that might be enveloped in it.
We bowled along at a steady pace, and
before long the beach and the line of pines
trended abruptly away to the westward;
we caught sight of the high brick walls of
Fort Pulaski, and were off the estuary of
the Savannah. In another quarter of an
hour Makin had his marks on: “Star
board,” “Steady at northwest by north,” !
and the “Fingal” was over the bar and j
THE SUNDAY MORNING NEWS: SAVANNAH, NOVEMBER 11, 1883.
ploughing up channel, “a big bone in her !
mouth,” the favoring fog still to the east
ward, and the sheltering fort on the port
trow. Before getting In range we fired a
gun and hoisted the Confederate flag at
the fore, which was answered from the
fort. The parapet of the main works and
the glacis of the outer were lined with
men, and as we drew near we saw the
caps waving, although we could not hear
their cheers.
The entrance to the Savannah river is
through a broad estuary, but though the
expanse of water is wide, the ship chan
nel is narrow and comparatively shoal.
Nearly opposite Fort Pulaski two large
wooden sailing ships had been sunk right
in the fairway; but Makin thought with
our draft we could probably squeeze by on
either side, and he ported the helm topass
off shore of them, but just abreast of the
outer ship we brought up in an oyster
bank.
The tide was ebb, but the bottom was
soft oozy inud, and as the ship could take
no harm, we determined to let her lie as
she was until we could find how it was
possible to get round the obstructions.
Colonel Anderson was a Savannah man,
and he went on shore immediately to learn
the news and to telegraph our arrival up
to town.
Colonel Olmstead, the commandant of
the fort, sent a boat off to the ship as soon
as he perceived that we were aground, to
inform us that a few days previously a
large United States fleet, under Admiral
Dupont, had attacked and driven the Con
federate troops out of the batteries pro
tecting Port Royal, and that place had
been occupied by a strong land force. We
were further informed that the Federal
fleet was still at Port Royal, and that as
there was interior water communication
with the Savannah river, the enemy might
send over small vessels or boats to’ cut us
out; but the boarding officer was directed
to say that a good look-out would be kept
on the ship, and a sufficient nutnber ot
men to defend her would be sent off if any
such attempt should be made.
The distance from Port Royal, however,
was much too far for us to be seen, and no
danger was looked for from that quarter.
The blockading vessels had probably been
drawn off to assist in the operations at
Port Royal. At any rate, we saw’ nothing
of them,’although later in the day several
appeared off the outer bar. We had thus
been able to effect a “breach of blockade”
with no graver incident than the scrim
mage with the Bermudan cock, and the
men appeared to be a little disappointed
at the pacific and commonplace termina
tion of the adventure.
At about 1 p. in. three river steamboats,
being the main portion of Flag-officer Tatt
nall’s so-called fleet, came down to look
after us. Lieutenant-Commanding John
ston sent us a hawser from his ship, the
"Savannah,” and dragged us out of the
mud. After some milling and hauling
they got the “Fingal” above the obstruc
tions and escorted her up to the city,
abreast ot which we anchored at about’4
p. m. November 12, 1801. The same after
noon I telegraphed my arrival to the Sec
retary of the Navy, and next day received
orders to go on to Richmond as soon as ar
rangements for the discharge of the arras,
etc., could be made. On the 14th Flag
officer Tattnall detailed an officer to attend
to the business of the ship, and I started
in company with Colonel Anderson, who
was also going to Richmond to report to
the War Department.
* * * * *** •»*
After frequent delays en route the train
reached Richmond, and I lost no time in
reporting at the Navy
It would be both uninteresting and use
less to record in detail the consultations
with the Secretary of the Navy. I reported
fully upon the state of affairs abroad, and
the object of my return to the Confederate
States was explained. The wants of the
Department and the naval policy of the
government—how to supply the one and
to carry out the other—were the chief con
siderations, and they were amply discuss
ed. Finally it was decided as a first step
that the “Fingal” should be filled up with
cotton, on account of the Navy Depart
ment, and that I should return to Europe
with her to carry out the further purposes
of the government; and while the ship was
loading, my original instructions and
powers would be revised, and the mode of
furnishing funds would be arranged with
the Treasury Department.
Messrs. John Fraser & Co., of Charles
ton, were instructed to buy in the interior
and forward to Savannah the quantity of
cotton necessary to fill up the “Fingal,”
and the naval paymaster at that station
was ordered to supply the coals required
for the outward voyage. I got back to
Savannah about November 23d. The sit
uation of affairs was interesting, and I
think it will afford a better picture of
passing events it I give the official corre
spondence which was carried on from that
place, than if I continue the account in
the narrative style.
Savannah, November 25.1831.
Sir—l have the honor to report that the
steamship “Fingal” has been discharged, and
now lies in the Savannah river ready to re
ceive freight. Paymaster Kelly has ’written
to Columbus to have the necessary quantity of
coal sent down at once, and expects it to be
here to-morrow or next day. I cannot refrain
from urging the necessity 'of getting the ship
off without delay. Yesterday five of the ene
my's gunboats stood cautiously in, and after
throwing a number of shell upon and over
Tybee Island, a force was landed without op
position.
This morning the Federal flag is flying from
the iitT.thOU’ o - and tlie y wi . l] doubtless soon
have a battery Updfl. tnv 9j> jbe island,
The only egressleft for the “Fingal’’ is through
Warsaw Inlet, and it can scarcely be supposed
that the enemy will permit it to remain open
many days. * * * * The small quantity of
naval stores and cotton required for the “Fin
gal” could be got on board in a couple of days
if they were brought here on the spot.
I am, etc.,
[Signed] James D. Bulloch.
Hou. S. R. Mallory, Secretary of the Navy.
The railways were so fully occupied
with the transport of troops and material
of war for Virginia and other frontier
points, that the local traffic was almost
wholly stopped, and the cotton and coals
for the “Fingal” were brought forward in
the merest driblets. On the 4th of Decem
ber I received the following letter of in
structions :
Confederate States of America,)
Navy Department,
Richmond, Va., November 30,1861, >
Sir—You will take command of the “Fin
gal,” receive on board so much cotton and
rosin, to be delivered to you under the orders
of the Secretary of the Treasury, as your judg
ment may approve, together with'your coal,
and proceed to such port in Great Britain as
you may deem expedient, delivering your car
go as you may be requested by the Secretary
of the Treasury. You will select two coast
pilots to aid in bringing the “Fingal” safely
back. On your arrival in Great Britain you
will transfer the command of the “Fingal” to
Lieutenant G. T. Sinclair, whom you will re
ceive on board at Savannah.
[Then follows information in regard to
funds and instructions as to the articles
most needed, which I was to buy, if not
already included in the outstanding con
tracts,’and ship back to a Confederate port
ju the “Fingal.”]
So soon as either of the vessels under con
tract in England shall be completed and deliv
ered, you will adopt such measures as you may
deem best to arm and equip her as a vessel of
war, without infringing the laws of Great
Britain, or giving to that government just
cause of offense; aud having obtained a crew
and all things necessary for au extended cruise,
you will leave England in command, and pro
ceed against the enemy in whatever quarter
of the ocean circumstances may then indicate
as affording the best chances of success. Lieu
tenant-Commanding Pegram (of the “Nash
ville”) is instructed to detail such officers from
his vessel as you may require, and you are
authorized to coufeT acting appointments
upon such others as you may deem necessary.
The Department, the sp«eu find qualities of
your vessel being unknown, is unwilling, so
far in advance, to assign any particular lo
cality for your operations, but desires to im
press upon you the importance of rendering
your vessel as formidable, and your cruise as
destructive, as practicable, leaving to you en
tire freedom of action. Should your judgment
at any time hesitate in seeking'the solution of
any doubt on this point, it may be aided by the
reflection that you are to do the enemy's com
merce the greatest injury in the shortest time.
A speedy recognition of our government bv
the great European powers is anticipated,
and I have no reason to doubt that if you shall
seek their ports you will receive the consid
eration and treatment due from neutrals to an
officer of a belligerent power with which they
desire to establish close commercial relations.
The strictest regard for the rights of neutrals
cannot be too sedulously observed; nor should
an opportunity be lost of cultivating friendly
relations with their naval and merchant ser
vices, and of placing the true character of the
contest in which we are engaged in its proper
light. You will avail yourself of every oppor
tunity of communicating with your govern
ment, using, w hen you may deem it expedi
ent, a cipher for this purpose. The Depart
ment relies with confidence upon the patriot
ism, ability and conduct of yourself, officers
and men, and with my earnest wishes for the
prosperity of your cruise, and your trium
phant return to your country, I am, etc.,
[Signed] S. 11. Mallory,
Secretary of the Navy.
Captain James D. Bulloch, Savannah, Ga.
In a subsequent letter the Secretary of
the Navy directed me to arm the “Fin
gal” for the outward voyage, and I re
plied to the main points as follows:
Savannah, December 5,1861.
Sir—l have the honor to acknowledge, etc.
' * * The greatest obstacle will be met at
the very outset in the difficulty of arming and
equipping a cruiser in a neutral port; for even
if Great Britain should have acknowledged
the independence of the Confederate States,
unless she has become a party to the war, her
obligations under the International Code
would force her to prohibit the equipment of
an armed ship under a belligerent flag in her
port#. You are better informed as to such I
contingencies than I can be. and I only allude
to the subject to show that I am fully prepared
to submit to the disappointment of hot at once
getting upon that element which is free to any
flag when properly defended.
Such portions of vour instructions as are
specific .-hall be carried out as strictly to the
letter as possible, and in the exercise of the
large discretion granted me I will endeavor
to act with as much caution and prudence as
will be consistent with promptness and vigor.
I particularly note your remarks in reference
to neutrals, and will bear constantly in mind
your suggestions upon this and other points.
There has been much delav in getting the eot
ton forward, but I think the “FingaP’ will be
ready for sea on Saturday night. * * * I
have not deemed it necessary to arm the
“Fingal” for the return voyage", as it is im
portant to preserve her original character as
an English ship. This course will insure her
less trouble and annoyance in getting another
cargo on board. If, on our arrival in England,
the Confederate Government has been ac
knowledged, the flag can be changed. * * *
I am, etc., - James D. Bulloch.
Hon. S. R. Mallory, Secretary of the Navy.
Owing to the continued difficulty of in
land transportation and the delav in get
ting the cotton for the “Fingal” to the
shipping port, she was not loaded until
December 20, and the following copies of
the correspondence will best explain the
attempts to get her to sea, as well as the
condition of affairs at Savannah:
Steamship “Fingal,” off Thunderbolt)
Battery, >
Near Savannah, December 24, 1861. )
Sir —On Saturday morning the barometer
an<l the general appearance of the sky indi
cating a favorable state of weather, 1 made
preparations for sea, and on Sunday morning
early dropped the ship down to a bight in Wil
mington Island, w'here she can lie concealed
from the enemy’s ships at Warsaw as well as
at Tybee. This bight is about one mile above
a seven-gun battery on Skidaway Island, from
which point there is a clear view of the open
ing to Warsaw Sound. Immediately after an
choring the captain of this battery informed
me that three blockading vessels were off the
bar, and that one of them had chased his boat
in on the afternoon before. Still, as all ap
pearances indicateaa dark and squally night,
it was determined to get under weigh on the
first quarter of the flood, so as to get down to
the bar before the moon rose. At early dark
a fog set in over the marshes, concealing the
■leading marks, and the pilots were unwilling
to move the ship. This circumstance, suffi
ciently annoying at first, probably saved us
from capture, as it appears that the enemy
were keeping an especial look-out that night.
No vessel could have seen to cross the bar
before half-past 7 o’clock, yet at 8 a.m. one of
their small vessels appeared in full sight of
the battery below' us, and actually steamed up
to within half a mile of its guns, turned, and
steamed down channel again without receiv
ing a shot. lam informed that the approach
of this vessel was not reported to the com
mander of the battery until she was in the act
of turning.
Ignorant of the incident above mentioned, I
sent an experienced pilot in an eight-oared
boat with good sails, kindly furnished by
Lieutenant-Commanding Kennard, of the
Confederate States steamer “Samson,” to ex
amine the bar and the coast north and south
of the point of Warsaw Island, and to report
as quickly as possible, so that if all was clear
we might go to sea on the afternoon tide. In
the meantime two additional gun-vessels had
joined the first, and the three coming rapidly
up channel with the young flood, cut off our
boat, compelling her, as it is now thought, to
go into one of the creeks running through the
Romerly Marsh, from which, I trust, she has
been able by this time to reach Green Island.
The enemy’s three vessels took up an anchor
age just opposite the main passage through
Romerly Marsh, thus effectually closing all
communication with Savannah from the sea,
through any inlet. As the enemy could easily
have discovered the position of this ship by
landing upon Wilmington Island, and could
have cut her out with boats at night, I took
advantage of last night’s flood to bring her up
to this place, where there is anothe; - bacisry.
For some time before last Saturday the enemy
had not entered Warsa w Sound, their vessel's
simply cruising up and down the coast in very
regular order. This movement, therefore,
would seem especially intended to prevent the
escape of this ship, and would indicate treach
ery somewhere, It may, however, only be the
development of a general plan of attack upon
Savannah, which place I consider far from be
ing safe. The batteries are weak in guns and
gunners, and whatever the gallantry of the
men may be, which is undoubted, they could
not withstand a vigorous attack from the ships
which could be brought over Warsaw bar.
I w ill remain in a position to take advantage
of any change in the enemy’s plans, and will
lose no opportunity of getting to sea.
I am, etc.,
[Signed] James D. Bulloch,
Hon. S. R. Mallory, Secretary of the Navy.
Savannah, December 26, 1861.
Sir —On the 24th inst. I addressed you from
the anchorage at Thunderbolt, reporting my
failure to get the “Fingal” to sea, and inform
ing you that the enemy had effectually sealed
up all the approaches to Savannah from War
saw Inlet and the other channels leading from
the southward. The position of the “Fingal”
below the battery at Thunderbolt was not
safe, as the enemy might at any time cut her
out with boats. 1 therefore, by the advice of
Flag-officer Tattnall, sent her back to the city
on tne afternoon of the 24th, and went down
to Warsaw Island myself in search of the boat
I informed von had been cut off by the sudden
approach of the enemy’s gunboats on the day
before. I returned to Savannah last night,
and have the satisfaction to report that the
men (with Mr. Low and two midshipmen who
were of the party) were found and brought
safely to Skidaway, and are now here, with
the exception of two of the crew of the “Sam
son,” -who, I regret to say, deserted, and it is
feared got on board the blockading vessels.
Yesterday morning, while I was on Warsaw
Island, a large paddle-wheel steamer joined
the three vessels already anchored below
Skidaway, and late in the afternoon a screw
steamer, barque rigged and pierced for eight
guns, came in. There are thus five ships-of-war
at the entrance to the Romerly Marsh, a force
too powerful for the simple blockade of the
“Fingal,” and this assembling of the enemy’s
fleet can only be regarded as preliminary'to
an attack in force upon the city. It is impos
sible to conjecture what chance may occur to
open a passage for the “Fingal.” * * * If
the “Fingal” is irretrievably locked up for the
war, 1 presume you would desire me to get to
England by some other means, etc.
J flip, etc.,
[Signed] JAMES D. BULLOCH,
lion. S. R. Mallory.
From the date of the foregoing letter I
continued to report the condition of affairs
at Savannah, and the position of the ene
mv’s ships at the main entrance to the
river, as well as in Warsaw Sound, and
received various letters from the Depart
ment, increasing the orders for purchase
of supplies in England, and enlarging the
general scope of my duties there, and es
pecially instructing me to “examine into
the subject of constructing iron and steel
clad vessels in England and France.”
On tne 3d of January] 1862, 1 reported
as follows •
Since my last letter there has been no change
in the position of the blockading vessels off
Tybee, but the enemy seems to have changed
tlie design indicated by the first appearance of
his squadron near Skidaway battery. On the
30th ultimo three old sailing ships, probably
part of the much talked of “Stone Fleet,”
were brought in and anchored at the entrance
to the Romerly Marsh, and have since been
stripped to their lower masts. If these vessels
are sunk in their present position, the inland
communication would of course be closed be
tween Savannah and the more southern ports
of Georgia; but should the enemy, content
with this interruption of local trade, remove
the men-of-war for other operations, the
“Fingal” might yet be got to sea through the
regular ship channel leading bet ween Warsaw
Island and little Tybee. Up to the present
moment no opportunity has offered to pass
the blockading ships. Byway of Warsaw
they occupy the entire channel with five
ships, sometimes seven; and at the anchorage
near Tybee there have never been less than
four ships, frequently as many as eleven.
January 13th I again reported:
I regret to say that this letter must be of the
same tenor as the last. The enemy are fully
informed of the “Fingal’s” position and the
intention to get her out if possible, etc. In
less there be some changes in the political re
lations of the United States with the courts of
Europe, 1 consider the port of Savannah as
completely closed to commerce for an indefi
nite time; consequently my detention here
with any hope of getting the “Fingal” to sea
is not only unnecessary, but will occasion
much delav and confusion in the settlement
of the business for which I was originally sent
to Europe. I therefore respectfully suggest
that you order me to proceed at once to Eng
land for the purpose of completing that busi
ness. aqd of Still further carrying out your in
structions of November 30, 1861.
In continuation I pointed out the effect
of the delay, and the probable impossi
bility of completing or even fairly setting
on foot the various duties with which I was
charged, in time to go to sea in the fl ‘‘st ship,
which would probably be ready by the date
of my arrival in England, and suggested
that I should be transferred to the second
ship, which would be finished three to four
months later. In reply, my orders were
modified in the above particular, and the
Secretarv of the Navy directed me to turn
over the’ “Fingal” to Lieutenant G. T.
Sinclair, and to proceed to England by
any feasible route.
Mr. John Low, upon my recommenda
tion, was appointed a master in the Con
federate navy, and wasloidered to accom
pany me to Europe. Two midshipmen,
E. M. Anderson and Eugene Maffitt, were
ordered to join me, and also Mr. Clarence
R. Yonge, an assistant in the paymaster’s
office at Savannah, the last named to act
as clerk, and then to be appointed acting
paymaster in one of the cruising ships.
Mr. Yonge afterwards left the “Ala
bama” when at Jamaica, somewhat un
expectedly, and as he took service on his
return to England under the United States
Consul at Liverpool, and afterwards took
the prominent part of chief witness in the
“Alexandra Case” (which will be dwelt
upon in a subsequent chapter), his con
duct much criticised at the time.
The official correspondence quoted above
has not been included in the body of this
narrative merely to illustrate the move
ments ot the “Fingal,” but chiefly to de
monstrate the views of the government in
respect to the proposed naval operations
abroad, and to make a fair representation
of the enemy’s operations and the condi
tion of affairs at Savannah in December—
January, 1861-62. My duties at that time
compelled me to be much and often fit
both entrances to the Savannah river,
and to examine carefully and critically
the movements and force of the block
ading fleet, and the strength and number
of the Confederate defensive works.
The main approach to Savannah, via
Tybee. was defended by two old brick
forts, very inefficiently armed, chiefly with
smooth-bore 32-pounders. The approach
from Warsaw Sound, through Wilming
ton Creek, was protected by a battery of
seven guns on Skidaway Island, and an
other battery of six or seven guns at
Thunderbolt, further up the creek, and
quite out of range of the first. Both of
these fortifications were newly made
earthworks, entirely open in rear] and the
guns were mounted in barbette.
The United States ships at anchor off
the entrance to Romerly Marsh were just
out of gunshot from the Skidaway battery.
They lay there for days, and so far as’l
could discover, never made a reconnais
sance. There was no sleeping accommo
dation for the garrison inside the works
at Skidaway, and the men lived in tents
and huts some distance in the rear, a
guard only being actually in the battery
night and day. Among the blockading
vessels was one tine steamship of the
“Iroquois” class, and I often wondered
why they did not come inside some dark
night with boats, get round the flank of
the. battery and spike the guns. The gar
rison were sturdy fellows, and would have
been formidable in a stand-up fight, but
the attacking party always have the ad
vantage in a night surprise, and the ships
could not only have chosen their time,
but could have greatly outnumbered the
guard.
The blockading squadron at Tybee was
also very apathetic, and never] while I
was there, came within range of Fort Pu
laski. Among the vessels off Tybee I
recognized my old ship the “Bienville,”
or it might have been the “De Soto”—they
were sister ships. The gunboats could
have run past the batteries on Wilming
ton Creek at any time, and so have got
into the rear of Fort Jackson, driven the
men out of it, and then gone on into the
Savannah river, completely isolating Fort
Pulaski. The men. working the guns in
barbette, could not, have stood a rapid fire
from the ships; grape and Ciluiotcr would
have swept them off the parapet.
I do not know who commanded the
United States blockading squadron at
that time. Either Farragut or David Por
ter would have tried to get inside, if they
had been there; at least, they would have
made some effort to discover the means of
resistance. The Confederate naval forces
at Savannah were commanded by Flag
officer Josiah Tattnall, as gallant a sea
man as ever trod a plank. I suppose no
officer of his rank and quality was ever
doomed to the indignity of such an ineffi
cient command. His flag-ship, the “Sa
vannah,” was a paddle river boat, with en
gines and boilers on deck, and her battery
consisted of one smooth-bore 32-pounde’r
gun, on a traversing carriage. A rocket
exploding among the flimsy joiner-work
of her deck cabins would have set her on
fire, and a single shell from one of the
gunboats outside would have blown her
up. When Tattnall would come down the
river, as he often did, with his so-called
“Musquito fleet,” and flaunt his flag as a
seeming challenge to the formidable ships
of the enemy at Tybee, nothing saved the
display from the appearance of bravado,
or the manoeuvre from ridicule, but the
natural grace and dignity with which the
fine Old gentleman performed every act of
his life.
Josiah Tattnall was a man out ot the
common, the beau ideal of a naval officer
of what must now be called the old school,
“the sublime of Jack-tar.” He was punc
tilious on a point of honor, and rigid in
the practice of official propriety; but he
was genial, modest and unassuming in
his private intercourse with friends, and
his manners were courtly, yet easy and
unrestrained. He was charmingly fluent
and entertaining in conversation, and had
a very special gift for telling a story with
liveliness and spirit, always illustrating
the sense and point of his narrative with
appropriate action and gesture. In posi
tions of command fully testing his tact,
judgment, courage and professional skill,
he almost invariably exhibited higher
faculties than the occasions required, and
no one can therefore fix the limit of his
ability. He possessed all the traits which
are found in heroic characters, and, with
suitable opportunities, would have set his
name among the great naval worthies who
are historic. He was a high type of hu
man nature —a “perfect” man in the Scrip
tural sense —that is to say, complete in all
his parts. He died in Savannah, his na
tive place, and was buried near there in a
grove of old live-oak trees planted to com
memorate the wedding of the first of bis
ancestors who settled in the Colony of
Georgia. A couplet from the touching
requiem to “Tom Bowling” would be a
fitting epitaph to one who has been called
the “Bayard of the sea:”
“Though his body’s under hatches
His soul has gone aloft.”
The prediction that Savannah would be
sealed up for the remainder of the war
was fulfilled, and the “Fingal’s” proposed
voyage to Europe was definitely aban
doned. She was not, however, lost to the
Confederate States. The Navy Depart
ment took her into the service, and she
was converted into an armor-clad, and
christened “Atlanta.” To effect this con
version she was first cut down to her deck,
which throughout about 150 or 160 feet
amidships was widened (6 feet on each
side, widest part, but tapering towards
the ends) bv a “heavy solid overway of
wood and armor,” sloping from a point
several feet below the water-line to the
edge of the deck. Upon this widened por
tion of the deck a casemate was built, the
sides and ends inclining at an angle of
about SOf. The top of the casemate was
flat, and the house to cover the steersman
and officer directing the fire rose above the
roof about three feet. The sloping sides
and ends of the casemate were covered
with two layers of iron plates, each being
two inches thick, screwed to a backing
composed of three inches of oak upon fif
teen inches of pine. The bolts were one
and a quarter inch, countersunk on the
outside of the plates, and drawn up by
nuts and washers on the inside. She was
provided with a beak or ram at the bow;
and a pole and lever, which could be low
ered at will, was also fitted at the bow,
long enough to project beyond the ram.
The pole was intended to carry a percus
sion torpedo. Her armament consisted of
two 7-inch rifled guns on bow and stern
pivots, and two 6-inch rifled guns in broad
side. The 7-inch guns were so arranged
that they could be worked in broadside as
well as for fore and aft tire, and the “Fin
gal” could therefore fight three guns (two
7-inch and one 6-inch) on either side. The
guns were cast-iron with wrought iron
bands, and were of the “Brooke” pattern.
As soon as the “Atlanta” was finished,
the Navy Department was desirous that
she should be tried against the enemy’s
ironclads, eight or nine of which were
known to be in the neighborhood, off
Charleston and the entrances to Savan
nah, or at Port Royal. The senior officers
of the Confederate navy at Savannah did
not think that she would be a match for
the United States “Monitor” class at
close quarters, and they, did not think it
prudent to take her out into Warsaw
Sound, where two “monitors” were lying,
except under favorable circumstances ol
spring-tide, because her draft had been
increased by the weight of armor, ord
nance and necessary stores, and the chan
nels were not only intricate, but the depth
of water very scant at best, and besides
this, the ship steered badly in consequence
of the increased draft and the alteration of
form caused bv the projecting overway,
which extended several feet below the
water-line.
Flag-officer Tattnall's advice was to
wait until the enemy collected his iron
clads for a second attack upon Charles
ton. and then to send the “Atlanta” out
on the first spring-tide, when she could be
got to sea without the risk of being taken
at a disadvantage in thenarrow and shoal
waters of the Romerly Marshes and War
saw Sound. Once fairly afloat, and with
ample sea-room, he thought she could
strike a telling blow, either at Port Royal,
where the enemy had a large collection of
transports, or at some other point, this
wise counsel was unhappily overborne by
the weight of public clamor, and the Navy
Department yielded to the outside pres-
SU Co’mmander Wm. A. Webb, a clever aud
spirited officer, was ordered to the “At
lanta,” and the condition of his appoint
ment appeared to be that he should at
once “do something.” Before daylight on
the morning of June 17, 1863, Webb got
under weigh, and steaming past the old
batteries on Skidaway Island, which had
ere this been abandoned, entered Warsaw
Sound. The United States monitors “Wee
hawken” and “Nahant” were at anchor
in the Sound. They made out the “At
lanta” at about 4 a. m., and the “'Weehaw
ken” immediately slipped her cable and ;
steamed towards her, followed closely by
the “Nahant.’’ At about 600 yards from i
the “Weehawken” the “Atlanta” ground
ed, but was backed off with some diffi
culty. Shortly after, the “Atlanta” took j
the ‘bottom again and stuck fast. The
“Weehawken” approached to within |
about 300 yards, and choosing a position ■
so that “the ‘Atlanta’ could bring her j
guns to bear with difficulty,” opened tire. I
The engagement, if it can be called one, I
lasted about fifteen minutes. The “Na- I
hant” did not fire a shot, but the “Wee-
hawken” hit the “Atlanta" four times, :
twice with l.i-inch “cored shot” and twice
with 11-ineh solid shot. 'The “Atlanta’s” [
pilot-house was knocked off, and one of
the port-stopners, or shutters, was driven
in; the armor was crushed in at several
points, although not pierced, and the
backing was much damaged. One 15-ineh
shot struck fairly on the inclined side of I
the “Atlanta, breaking the armor plate
and driving a shower of splinters from .
the backing into the ship. Captain Webb
has told me that the concussion knocked
down about forty men, and sixteen were
more or less wounded by the splinters.
Webb was in a sad plight. It can hardly
be said that he was lighting his ship—he
was simply enduring the tire of his a Iver
sary.
It was manifest that a few more concus
sions. and a 15-ineh shot, perhaps a shell,
would find its way into the casemate, and I
there would be great and useless slaughter
among his men. When further resistance i
ceases to hold out any hope of final sue- •
cess, the dictates ot humanity extort an
acknowledment of defeat, and the “At
lanta’s” flag, was hauled down.
The foregoing brief statement has been
made up almost exclusively from the Con
federate accounts. I have before me,
while writing, a copy of the report of the
cemmander of the “Weehawken,” and if
it contained anything in conflict with the
above, I would either mention the fact or
give the report in full. Captain John
Rodgers, of the “Weehawkeen” (1 hope I '
may still speak of him in the present I
tense), is an able officer. He accepted '
with promptness the “Atlanta’s” invita- |
tion to battle, and handled his ship with
skill and judgment. He took up a good
position, awkward for his adversary and i
advantageous to himself, which be was
bound to do, for it is clearly the duty of a
commander so to dispose his force as to
defeat the enemy w ith as little loss to him- >
self as possible, and finally he reported the
result of the engagement in a plain, man- (
ly, straightforward document, without |
the least brag or unbecoming elation. As !
a pleasing but somewhat unique feature
in the report of Captain Rodgers, I may I
mention that ho oallod the “Atlanta" the
“enemy,” and not the “rebel,” an epithet
chosen by the politicians at Washington
for a purpose, and used by them as a re
proach. It crept into the military and
naval phraseology of the war, and was |
thrown broadcast over the correspond- |
enee of civil functionaries and United I
States Consuls; but the old officers of the I
army and navy, for the most part, either
avoided it, or at any rate seemed to use it i
as a technical phrase, without opprobri
ous meaning.
The encounter between the Federal
monitors and the “Atlanta” illustrates
no general principle applicable to engage
ments between ironclad ships. The 15-ineh
guns of the “Weehawken” were superior
in battering power at close quarters to the
6-inch and 7-inch guns of the “Atlanta,”
and the only chance of success for the lat
ter would have been to get into deep and
broad waters, where she could manoeu
vre, and thus use her guns efficiently, and
choose her distance as well as position.
Lying helplessly aground, she was at the
mercy of her opponent, who was able to
come within the most effective range for
her own guns, and to avoid almost entire
ly the return tire of her adversary. Cap
tain Bodgers does not mention that his
ship was hit, or that she received any in
jury w hatever, except by collision with 1
his own consort, the “Nahant,” after the 1
surrender of the “Atlanta.” <
CONFEDERATE FLAGS.
The Tattered Colors of Southern Regi
ments in Danger of Being Entirely
Destroyed.
Washington Post.
The hundreds of captured Confederate
battle-flags, which were exhibited for a
long time in the Ordnance Department
Museum, have been transferred for safe
keeping to the Adjutant General’s De
partment. While on exhibition this col
lection formed one of the most interesting
exhibits at the national capital. They
are now packed away, which fact prompt
ed a War Department official to remark
that these flags were destined to become
the prey of the destructive moth or mil
dew unless they were again exposed to
light and air. While in the museum the
tattered and scorched relics of war were
hung about the capacious room. It is
probable that Secretary Lincoln will be
requested to again hang these banners on
the inner walls of some public museum.
Among the number are flags with tragic
histories. The Palmetto battle flag of a
South Carolina regiment is said to have
been captured from a remnant of the
regiment, who had piled up their own
dead as earthworks and were deliv
ering their fire from behind that ghastly
protection. A mound of dead bodies
was piled about the staff to keep
it upright. The flag of a Virginia regi
ment was finally captured after seven
men had been killed about it. The fa
mous black flag, which is alleged to have
been hoisted over Fort Pillow, is also
there, and the handsome blue silk banner
of the Norfolk Light Artillery Blues. A
handsome United States flag was cap
tured at the fall of Richmond' The Con
federates found it wrapped about the
body ot an officer of a New York regi
ment who was shot while trying to es
cape with the flag he had received with a
speech, not very long before, from the
ladies of his native North. The re
mainder of the vast collection are of
equal interest.
The Jordan Canal.
yew York Herald.
That “Jordan is a hard roadto travel” is
a dogma of juvenile conviction that few of
us ever expected to see applied to ships as
well as to men. It is, nevertheless, over
twenty years ago that the proposition was
first mooted to flood about one-sixth of the
Holy Land, in order to make a ship canal
from the Gulf of Acre to the Gulf of Aka
bah. Since then the scheme has been dis
cussed in a haphazard, erratic sort of
way, and has drawn forth from those who
ought to know 7 all about it views of the
most conflicting and bewildering charac
ter.
Pessimists maintain that the Jordan
canal is a wild, visionary scheme, far be
yond the bounds of possibility; that, ow
ing to the enormous area, evaporation and
percolation, it would take over a hundred
years for the largest practicable stream
fifteen feet by ninety feet, running at a
velocity of twenty-five miles an hour—to
submerge the valley; that it would be ut
terly impossible by any known system of
locks to control such a head of water
dashing along at railroad speed, and that,
if ships ever managed to get into the great
inland sea, they never could get out
again. The letter that General Gordon, of
the British Royal Engineers—commonly
know n as “Chinese Gordon”—has sent to
the Herald from Mount Carmel furnishes
a new gleam ot light upon the subject.
For six months General Gordon has been
traveling about in Palestine considering
the scheme, not only from an engineering,
but also from a political and religious,
point of view. General Gordon’s conclu
sions are somewhat startling. Instead of
a hundred years, he says that it would
only take nine months to flood the two
hundred and twenty-five cubic miles of
the Jordan Valley and create a great in
land sea in the heart of Palestine. More
over, General Gordon's letter will glad
den "the hearts of Biblical experts and
amateurs, for it points out the extraor
dinary effect that the canal would have
upon the prophetic utterance of Holy
Writ.
The canal would not only serve to fulfill
Ezekiel’s celebrated prophecy about the
fishermen of Engedi cathing in their nets
the fish of the Mediterranean; but, what
is far more striking, the military to
pography of the Holy Land would become
so modified that a strict application of the
principles of modern strategy would indi
cate Megiddo—the ancient' Armageddon
—as the spot where the great battle must
be fought to decide the supremacy of rival
nations in the East. Moreover, the poten
tate whom Ezekiel had in his mind w hen
he spoke of “Gog, Prince of Rhos, Meshech
Tubal,” and who is destined to play such
a'prominent role at the great battle of
Armageddon, turns out by the context of
the Septuagint to be the Czar of all the
Russias.
According to the prophets, “Gog,” alias
the Emperor of Russia, is to get the worst
of it at Armageddon—in fact, “only a
sixth part of him shall be left.” We hope
that the authorities at the Horse Guards
will not allow themselves to become too
elated by this couleur de rose propheev.
It would be far too great a windfall for the
present generation of Englishmen should
the poet laureate have so fertile a theme
as the realization of the prophecies of
Ezekiel and St. John and were England’s
“only general” to have the opportunity of
eclipsing his Egyptian honors by annex
ing a title from "the Book of Revelation
and taking his seat in the House ot Lords
as the Duke of Armageddon.
One voice all over the land goes up from
movers, that says, “My daughters are so
feeble and sad, with no strength, all out
of breath and life at the least exertion.
What can we do for them ?” The answer
is simple and full of hope. One to four
weeks’ use of Hop Bitters will make them
healthy, rosy, sprightly, and cheerful.
BEAUTIFUL COMPLEXIONS.
Modes of Producing These Desirable
Lady-The
Met Mask, and H<rw to Use It-Pre
cautions to be Taken in Drying-
Coarse Oatmeal and Kran as Toilet
Adjuncts.
Said a beautiful Chicago girl- “Tell
you all about how ladies beautify then
selves’ Indeed I will not for several rea
sons: First, it would take all day; next
th? hidieo know what is needed, and'
third, it’s not right; and then gentlemen
are not interested.”
“Excuse me, but they are.”
“You would detest us if you were to see
us in the morning. We look horrid At
night we bandoline our hair—quince
seeds, you know—place it in the desired
shape, hold it down with a net and go to
bed. The next day comee powder paint
and the eye-brows; no, not the common
pencil, crayons or burnt cork is used, and
tor the cheeksan excellent substitute is
now used for paint by • merely
wetting the leaves of " artificial
flowers or a piece of pink ribbon,
with which to rub the cheeks.
The color is delicate, far more
natural in appearance and wears better.
Oh, then, there are dozens of other things
that you don’t care anything about. 1
know an 85-pound lady who has been
made as plump as a partridge by her
dressmaker. Even the back of her dress
is padded so artistically as to conceal her
shoulder blades, which would otherwise
be painfull}’ prominent, to sav nothing of
the danger of their cutting through "the
material. She is a perfect picture at a
reception, having, as she does, all the
graceful curves and lines so much ad
mired and dwelt upon by sculptors and
art critics.”
“Here, sir, you’re putting that down.
I'll not say another word,’’ and she did
not on that subject. She had not gone far
enough into description. There were the
manicure, the pedicure, the depilatory
powders, tight lacing, belladonna, has
heesh, switches, palpitators, amputation
of tho small toe, surgical pimples,
enamels and other alluring devices. De
fects of form can be easily provided
against, but the complexion,"face, neck
and hands have to stand forth for
uncovered inspection, and hence the
greater skill needed in their care.
One of the simplest and best reme
dies for the complexion is plain,
coarse food, with bran or oatmeal baths.
If it is‘desired to be extra lumtum a dis
agreeable wet mask may be used. This
mask must be of several thicknesses of
white cotton or any material that will
retain water. Openings must be provided
for the eyes and nose. Thoroughly damp
ened, it is put on before retiring and not
taken off until morning. By its use air is
kept away, the skin softens until the
outer cuticle conies away, leaving the
skin of a velvety smoothness. The pro
cess requires from six to eight weeks.
With the face in its new and improved
condition, care must be taken not
to jeopardize it by an exposure to
the sudden changes of outdoor atmos
phere. A veil is one of the best safe
guards, but it, of course, need not be
worn in balmy weather. Rainwater is
best for toilet purposes, and it should be
warm when used. It is soft, and re
moves dirt with but very little aid from
soap, an article that should be applied
sparingly at any time. To wash imme
diately before going outdoors is to roughen
the skin. When bed-time arrives the
apartment should be of an agreeable tem
perature, so that a tepid bath can be
taken without danger. Then the face
must be washed with hot water, as it
opens the pores, removes the natural
oil, which causes the unwished-tor
shininess, and has an after-effect to
lighten the skin and render it firm.
Now comes the wet mask, if desired.
On getting up the face is to be
washed in tepid water and dried with a
soft towel, the rubbing to be downward
and thoroughly. Quick and brisk rub
bing damages the skin. Above all things
avoid sitting too great a length of time
before an open fire, unless the face is pro
tected by a screen, as the heat will pro
duce more disastrous results than are
caused by harsh, cold or dusty air. Oat
meal and bran are excellent and cheap
adjuncts to toilet requisites. Water in
which coarse oatmeal has been soaked for
a few hours is a magnificent thing for the
hands. Bran softens and whitens the
skin, and a bran bath should be taken
once a week. To avoid clogging the
waste pipe the bran can be placed in a
number of little muslin bags, and the bags
thrown into the tub to soak.
Rough complexions arise from a variety
of causes, among which may be named
indigestion, impure blood, tight lacing
and insufficient bathing. A sponge bath
once a day hurts no one, and is far better
than complete immersion, which so often
weakens the system. Rubbing the body
with dry powdered oat meal after the
bath is beneficial. When the sulphosaline
baths were in use in Cincinnati the effect
of the sulphur water upon ladies given
to the use of face powder was peculiar.
The moment the elements came In con
tact with the powdered face a chemical
change resulted, turning the skin black—
a hue that remained for two or three
hours. This was caused by an affinity of
sulphur with the nitrates of bismuth con
tained in the powder.
“The young lady who just left here
bought a box of rouge, didn’t she?” said
the reporter to a Vine street druggist.
“Yes.”
“And a hare’s foot?”
“Yes. Where were you ?”
“Outside.”
“Did you see her buy them?”
“No, but she carried packages of about
that size, and as she passed the glass
coming out she looked in and drew her
gloved fingers down over her pale cheek
with a glance that seemed to say, ‘You’ll
look differently to-morrow.’ Tell me
something about these things, Doc; what
do you sell the most of and how much do
you estimate the annual city trade in
such things to be?”
“Face balms by long odds, and I guess
the annual sales in this city of beautifiers
of one kind and another foot up to $50,000
anyhow. Anything that has the word
oriental tacked to it goes like hot cakes.
Here’s a convenient arrangement,” and he
produced a|tigure-eight shaped box,having
at one end a cake of lily white and at the
other a smaller cake of pink. In the neck
of the box were two little puffy arrange
ments made fast to knobbed bits of ivory.
Each bore the color of the cake to which it
belonged. “You were asking about pen
cils. You mean crayons. Here theyjare.”
In the box laid on the shernv case were
cylindrical tin cases about fhree inches
in length, each of which contained a
crayon. “They are colored, you notice,”
said the druggist, “like the crayon. This
black is for the eyebrows, the red for the
lips and this blue one, you'd never guess
it, is for tracing the delicate veins on the
hands, arms, neck, face and temple.
Yes, that’s liquid rouge—French; the
ounce bottles cost $1 50. A friend of
yours is the only customer I have for it.
Years ago, when I first started in this
business, the only customers I had for
cosmetics, pink saucer and so on were
women of mature age. Girls of fifteen and
sixteen buy them now. I don't know
what we are coming to.”
Propagation of Carp.
Washington Motes.
An interesting sight was witnessei
many persons a few days ago when the
water was drawn from one of the carp
ponds used by the Fish Commission for
propagating purposes. The pond from
which the water was exhausted is in
sight of the White House, between that
building and the Potomac river. To
gether with several other ponds it is in
charge of Dr. Rudolph Hessel, Superin
tendent of Government Fish Ponds.
During the summer some of the ponds
were filled with rare aquatic plants, and
visitors who saw none of the fish were
amply rewarded for a visit to Dr. Kessel’s
ponds by the show of luxuriant plants and
brilliant flowers. The pond emptied covers
two or three acres—perhaps five. It is
shallow, as the carp do not require great
depth of water. When the water was re
duced to a narrow stream crossing the
pond the fish were scooped out with nets,
transferred to tubs, and, having been
carefully counted, were ready for ship
ment to such points as Prof. Spencer F.
Baird, the Commissioner of Fish and
Fisheries, had directed. In this first
pond emptied it was ascertained that, by
the natural process of propagation, the
increase had been 65,000 in one year. The
fish taken are varied in size from the
minute specimens half an inch or less in
length to those of two or three pounds in
weight. They were principally mirror
carp, having a few scales along the back,
but there were in their company
leather carp and an occasional hybrid and
tench.
BURNETT’S COCOAINE.
Promotes a Vigorous and Healthy
Growth of the Hair.
It has been used in thousands of cases
where the hair was coming out, and has
never failed to arrest the decay.
Use Burnett’s Flavoring Extracts
—the best.
Jilrßhinai.
of the continued use of mercury and IKII
for the treatment of Blood and "sUa ,i * U
-they never cure, and nearly alwav.
or totally ruin the general health.
A WELL-KNOWN DRUGGIST
. s l ' Btore was the ,irßt to sell S« i f
feh UmX If™, r runs? I-'-:
have never known it to fail when't l" f '" • I
erly. I sell a large quauUty* f p f " r
diseases that are dependent on blooiHi! r all
skin humor. It cures 100,1 do.jo-i or
PIMPLES AMI BLOTCHES ON TBF s K ,k
the complexion fair and rU ,
for blood taint, there is no such won! io <
It cures cases that have long w thsteLl , j
sorts of treatment, ami without
recurring troubles that generally ffiuow "*
curial ami other so-called cure? * ni, ' r -
T. L. M ASSENBURG, Macon. Ga.
dry tetter.
For years I was afflicted with Drv Te*mr
the most obstinate type. Was frev.i" 1
many of the best physicians; took qutnf ’
of mercury, potash ami arsenic, which I?
stead of curing the Tetter, crippled me
with mineral poison and rheumatism t> P
Tetter continued to grow worse, and the it >, e
ing almost made me crazy. In this condit, n
1 was induced to take Swift's Specific '
the result was as astonishing as it wasgruif
mg. In a few months the Tetter was r '<
well, the Mercurial Poisoning all out of" ?
system, and I was a well man—ami due ...
to Swift's Specific. All like sufferers ,h O
take it. JAMES DUNNING
Louisville, Ky.
WHAT A PHYSICIAN SAYs.
Cypress Ridge, Monroe Co.. Ai:x
, . July23,’lSs3 ’
I have a bright little daughter who will > .
2 years old next month, she lias l>een ti
med nearly eyer since her birth witha- K „
disease, which I first diagnosed chicken-, ,
but later found it to be some sort of ev',
at any rate it resisted very stubbornly a l the
diflerent treatments. I procured one It i«
of .Swift - ■specific and gave it to her in -> '■
doses three times a day. and in a -hort while
had the satisfaction to see that -he w-i< -
tire.y well. lam so well pleased with it>
feet on her that 1 shall not onlv use it in „
practice, but 1 shall administer it to •...
other children and take it mv=elf
W. E. BRONTE, M. I>.
Our treatbe on Blood and skin Diseases
mailed free to applicants.
THE SWIFT SPECIFIC CO
Drawer 3, Atlanta, g’a.
’ v Vi J) 3m * 3 n 3 i -W 3 ‘ E f's
fI N ufGD.R /7 r 7
/ J J Fiver Frcdored, / ,
'"IKk \ I / those U/eakeset
JJ/ -Farfa
Kestcres Uitalitv,
S! ~ En sr.d Invtgora.
Brain Nerves.
n poaltin MW ftr Imp u n a
1 / 7 Nervous Debility.
( / FFOMPT, SPFE and SURE!
\ ' r 1.00 par box, Six for $5 tj,
Mailed to any address on receipt
S J of Price. Send for cirrui:'~.
U Sole Jigent for United S'ates,
K CRDUC'd,
-eit'TfiADL 202 Grand St., NetrYorlr.
SOLOMONS & CO.. Sole Agents, Savannah.
(Fxruroiono.
If Northwarfl or Westwarfl Bmi
Where are Pleasant Days, Cool Nights,
Health in the Winds, and where there
is Boating, Fishing and Hunting,
YOU SHOULD
BEAR IN MIND!
That the FAMOUS
GREAT ROCK ISLAND
RAILWAY
Has now perfected a New Line called the
SENECA ROUTE!
which affords travelers from the
South, Southwest and Sontteast
the Shortest, Quickest and most Comfortable
line to
Rock Island, Davenport,
Des Moines, Council Bluffs,
Omaha, Kansas City,
Leavenworth, Atchison,
Sioux City, Minneapolis, St. i’aul,
and points intermediate.
The opening of this new’ route, makes the
pleasantest and most picturesque journey from
the Atlantic seaboard to California. Colorado,
Minnesota and Dakota, via Cincinnati, India
napolis, La Fayette and Seneca, and al! the
States ami Territories reached by the trans
continental lines and their connections.
Trains splendidly equipped with Day, Din
ing and Sleepin scars, and a reallv
Magnificent Line of Parlor Chair Cars
are run WITHOUT CHANGE from Cincin
nati to Davenport, and only one change be
tween the Ohio river and the Missouri and
Upper Mississippi, ami that merely stepping
out of one car into another alongside.
Tourist and Excursion Tickets to all the.
great resorts of Colorado, New Mexico, Cali
fornia and Minnesota.
REMEMBER! seneca route
which have coupons reading via Indianapolis
ami Seneca. Send for illust rated tourist book
WHERE TO RECUPERATE and Maps and
Time Tables. Address
R. R. CABLE, OR E. ST. JOHN,
Vice Pres’t & Gen’l Man. Gen. T. & P. A.
CHICAGO.
Entire New Stoct
I BEG leave to announce to my frier and
patrons that I have now in store a com
plete assortment of new goods, embra< ing
MILLINERY
In all its branches, at prices to defy competi
tion.
OTTOMAN and PLAIN SILKS in alico >rs.
KID Cflb.O'VES
THE BEST ONLY.
BLACK and COLORED CASHMIRE.'.
Also a novel and complete assortment if
NOVELTY DRESS GOODS at all pri -
VELVETS ami VELVET RIBBON' ■ I
DRESS ORNAMENTS.
MY HOSIERY’
For Ladies, Children and Gents cr.
excelled.
Special bargains in BOYS’ and
HATS for this week.
H. C. HOUSTON,
149 BROI’GHTON STREET.
prouiotono, <£tr.
SHB CllillS
AT—
BRANCH & COOPERS
BOLOGNA SAUSAGE.
Boneless Herring.
Boneless Codfish.
New Mackerel.
Sealed Herring.
Smoked Tongues.
Corned Beef.
F. L. GEORGE’S,
COR. STATE AND WHITAKER
Silvmuarr.
SNmuelS
AI'vTWgS 6
il72\V-BAL.TW o R€5 T ' .
ST