Part 3

"Considering other possible external causes of the total disappearance of liners, heavy weather must be regarded as a probable reason in some instances. Although we do not admit that the roughest weather would harm a modern liner, we must remember that the older vessels were not as large and powerful as those of the present time. The _Pacific_, for example, which disappeared in 1856, was not nearly half the length of the latest vessels. Bulkheads had not been brought to the perfect condition of security which they have now attained. Not infrequently even now steamers become water-logged and reach a sinking condition and their crews are happy if rescued. It may well have happened that vessels have foundered in mid-ocean in consequence of not being able to receive assistance, while the sailors could not take to their boats with any hope of living in the tempest.

"Uncharted rocks also cause the loss of vessels, as in the case of the _Pericles_. But her captain was a man of resource and no lives were lost.

"Icebergs are a probable cause for the loss of some vessels, especially of liners running to Canadian ports. The damage to the _Arizona_ may be instanced, and many other vessels have had hairbreadth escapes. A vessel insufficiently secured by bulkheads would stand a poor chance in collision with an iceberg.

"Tidal waves are probably accountable for some unexplained losses. There are three classes of such waves--those due to submarine seismical disturbances, solitary waves occurring in an otherwise calm sea (the origin of which is obscure), and cyclonic waves. Each is very dangerous, the first and last chiefly in the vicinity of coasts, the second out at sea. It was a seismic wave which wrought such havoc at Lisbon in 1755 and in Japan in 1896, when 30,000 people were killed. But the effects of these do not usually extend far out to sea, as do those of solitary waves. Many records of the latter have been given where the decks of vessels have been swept of all hands and of all deck erections. In 1881 all hands were washed off the decks of the _Rosario_. In 1882 the master and half the crew of the _Loch Torridon_ were swept off the deck by a tidal wave. In 1887 the _Umbria_ was flooded by two great waves. In 1894 the _Normania_ was struck by a solid wall of water reaching as high as the bridge, smashing the cabin on the promenade deck, and carrying away the music room and the officers' quarters. The height of tidal waves ranges from forty to eighty feet. The Cunarder _Etruria_ was struck by a tidal wave on the 10th of October, 1903, when a Canadian gentleman was killed and several wounded. The captain's port bridge and stanchions were carried away. Though such waves would not greatly endanger the huge modern liners, they might have swamped their predecessors by breaking through the decks or rushing down hatchways and skylights. Many vessels have been lost by being pooped by vast storm waves, which are not as high as many tidal waves.

"In reference to mysterious agencies, these can be dismissed in the present state of knowledge. The secrets of the sea have been investigated so well that no destructive agent is likely to exist that is not known to science. Collision with a whale would not damage a liner, though it would be bad for the whale. The sea serpent may be dismissed without comment. The eruption of submarine volcanoes may be dangerous to small vessels, but the idea of harm from them can not be entertained in connection with the Atlantic service. So that, after all, we are driven back for the solution of these disappearances to the same causes which are known to have wrecked so many vessels. Among these must be included collision with derelict wrecks, which have been known to drift about in the Atlantic for over a twelvemonth, and unhappily the malicious placing of explosives among the cargoes of liners, as was done at Bremerhaven in 1875."

During the War between the States, on the 24th of August, 1864, the writer was captured after bombardment for five hours while serving as purser of the Confederate steamer _Lilian_, engaged in running the Federal blockade off Wilmington, N.C., and made a prisoner of war. Subsequently he escaped to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and reported to a prominent citizen of that town who was acting as the Confederate States representative. He was one of the most popular Southern sympathizers; a man of fine presence, good business qualifications, courteous and amiable to a degree. He was trusted by all, and he acted as banker for nearly every Southerner who came his way. Halifax was then the center of large Confederate interests. Several Confederate war steamers were there, among them the _Chickamauga_ and the _Tallahassee_. It was the rendezvous of blockade runners who had escaped from confinement or who had been discharged after detention by the Federals for several months. K---- was attentive to all of them. When the war ended K---- suddenly disappeared with the cash entrusted to him by confiding Confederates.

Several years after, there was a great explosion upon the dock where a German mail steamer was loading for sea which produced a sensation throughout the world. An infernal machine intended to wreck the liner had prematurely exploded on the quay and killed and maimed a large number of persons, among whom was the shipper, under an assumed name. This man, mortally wounded, was eagerly questioned by the police as to his diabolical plans and his accomplices; the only clue they obtained from his incoherent ravings was an intimation that he had been connected in some way with the Confederacy, and strangely enough he said something about Captain Maffitt and my ship the _Lilian_. The authorities took photographs of him, which were imperfect because of the reclining position of the dying man. Further investigation after his death revealed one of the most fiendish plots in commercial history; large shipments of bogus goods had been made by the liner, and heavily insured by this stranger, who had designed a clock machine intended, it was said, to explode three days after the sailing of the steamer, and sink her with all on board. For many months the secret service detectives were working on this case; at length one of them came to Wilmington and questioned me about the man, whose picture was exhibited. Neither I nor any of the pilots at Smithville could identify him, although his face was strangely familiar to me. The detective went away, but returned in a few weeks and asked me if I had known a man named K----. "Yes," I at once replied, "and he was the author of this awful crime." Such proved to be the case. It was the old story of depraved associates and the downward road to ruin.

TO THE RESCUE.

I have said in _Chronicles of the Cape Fear River_, pages 525-527, that a public service which measures its efficiency by the number of human lives saved from the perils of the sea is to be classed among the highest humanities of a great government, and that an important arm of great reach and efficiency is the admirable service of the U.S.S. _Seminole_ on this station.

The activities of this ship in assisting vessels in distress are so continuous as to be classed by her efficient commander as all in the day's work. In the four months from December 1, 1912, this ship assisted nine vessels in distress at sea and destroyed a tenth, the _Savannah_, a dangerous derelict.

A typical case is described in the recent rescue in a gale of wind three hundred miles off Cape Fear, of the British mail and passenger steamer _Korona_, bound from St. Thomas, West Indies, for New York, whose boilers broke down, rendering the ship helpless without motive power, wallowing in a heavy sea which threatened to engulf her.

The story of this splendid rescue of a hundred human lives is told in the matter-of-fact official report of Capt. Eugene Blake, jr., of the _Seminole_, and in the letter of thanks to the Secretary of the Navy, which follows, with the Acting Secretary's reply:

"Wilmington, N.C.,

"_April 2, 1919_.

"_Seminole._

"From: Commanding Officer.

"To: Commandant, Fifth Naval District.

"Subject: Report of search and tow of Canadian S.S. _Korona_.

"1. At 1 a.m. on the morning of March 25, the following message was transmitted to the _Seminole_ from the communication officer at district headquarters:

"'March 24, 1919: _Korona_ boilers out of commission. Needs assistance. Position, latitude 31-48 N., longitude 72-12 W., noon, today. Signed, Doyle, Master.'

"2. The _Seminole_ left the Berkley oil docks at 7 a.m. the same morning and proceeded at top speed for the reported position of the _Korona_, passing through the Gulf Stream from 2 a.m. to 8 a.m. of the morning of March 26.

"3. At 8 a.m. in the forenoon of March 26, intercepted a radiogram from the Porto Rican S.S. Co.'s steamer _Coamo_ that she had the _Korona_ in tow, and was proceeding with her to the westward. Communication by radio was immediately established with the _Coamo_, and the position, course, and speed ascertained. It was also learned that as the Coamo was bound to the southward for Porto Rico, she was anxious to be relieved of the tow. Arrangements were therefore made to meet the _Coamo_ at the nearest possible meeting point and at 10 that morning the course of both vessels was changed to effect this meeting at about 7 that evening. The _Seminole_ was run under forced draft in order to take advantage of the weather, which was then favorable to picking up the disabled vessel.

"4. At 6.45 p.m. March 26, the _Coamo_ with _Korona_ in tow was sighted bearing almost dead ahead, and at 8.15 p.m. the _Coamo_ had been relieved of the tow and the _Seminole's_ hawser shackled into the starboard chain of the _Korona_. The _Korona's_ master stated that his port of destination was New York and requested to be towed to the northward. Hampton Roads was accordingly selected as the port of destination and the course shaped for Diamond Shoals buoy.

"5. The weather, which up to this time had been fine, commenced to show signs of a decided change, and the storm warning received the following morning, March 27, confirmed the prediction of an approaching gale. The wind, however, was from southwest to south, and, being favorable, good progress was made, at an estimated speed of five or six knots from the time the _Korona_ was picked up until midnight of March 27.

"6. By this time the wind had shifted to west and was blowing a strong gale, and the _Seminole_ was unable to hold up to her course with the tow. We were shipping heavy seas at frequent intervals and were practically hove to and drifting to leeward. About 2 a.m. March 28, the wind shifted to northwest with slightly increased force, and the _Seminole_ was put before the gale with engines turning over at dead slow speed, sufficient to keep the _Korona_ astern, to act as a drag. This is an unfavorable position for the _Seminole_ because she rolls to a dangerous angle in a following sea and takes much water in the waist, but it was the best that could be accomplished under the circumstances. The tow seemed to be fairly comfortable.

"7. During the night of March 27 and daylight of March 28, the _Seminole_ with tow lost about 60 miles in a general southeasterly direction.

"8. On March 28, picked up an S.O.S. call from the steamer _Alapaha_ in our immediate vicinity; in fact this steamer reported herself in sight at one time during the day, but as she was going to leeward faster than the _Seminole_ and reported no immediate danger to her crew, there seemed no reason for abandoning one vessel for a doubtful chance of picking up the other. It was also learned that the Coast Guard cutter _Yamacraw_ was proceeding to her assistance.

"9. The weather moderated slightly during the afternoon of March 28, and at 5.40 p.m. the _Seminole_ with tow was brought up head to wind and sea on course northwest, making little if any progress. The gale increased again in force from 8 p.m. to midnight, and at 3 a.m. March 29 west was the best heading that could be held.

"10. During the worst of the gale this night the _Seminole's_ air pump stopped, and the two vessels fell off into the trough of the sea and at one time were in imminent danger of collision. The _Seminole_ being the lighter and naturally in the weather position, drifted faster than the _Korona_, but was worked clear by setting the staysails and getting a few turns out of the engine at the critical moment. As soon as the _Seminole_ was to leeward of the _Korona_, the engine was stopped and in the course of an hour the air pump was repaired.

"11. The northwest weather continuing throughout March 29 with gale force, it was decided to make Wilmington, N.C., and a westerly course was maintained throughout the day.

"12. About 2 p.m. on March 30 the _Korona_ managed to get a small head of steam on one boiler, and, after coupling up propeller, which had been disconnected on taking up the tow, was able to turn her engine over at slow speed. This materially lightened the weight of the tow and we were able to make way at a speed between four and five knots.

"13. Continued at this rate of speed through March 30 and 31 with very slowly moderating weather, and at 1.40 p.m. on the 31st got on sounding, sighting Frying Pan Shoal buoy at 5.30 p.m. that date.

"14. During the night of March 31 a moderate northerly gale developed, but the tow, being under the lee of Frying Pan Shoal, was easily manageable. Speed was regulated to arrive off Cape Fear River entrance at daylight, and upon reaching that point the heavy hawser was unshackled and the _Korona_ towed up the river to Wilmington with a lighter line and short scope.

"15. Arrived off Wilmington at 2.30 p.m., where _Korona_ was turned over to her agents, Alexander Sprunt & Sons Co., the _Seminole_ proceeding to her wharf at the custom-house.

"16. A Coast Guard statistical report of this assistance is attached.

"Eugene Blake, Jr."

"_April 2, 1919._

"Sir: As agents in Wilmington, N.C., of the Quebec Steamship Co., owners of the British steamer _Korona_, as agents of Lloyds, as agents of the London Salvage Association, and as official agents of the British Ministry of Shipping, and in behalf of Capt. Austin Doyle, his officers and crew and passengers of the British steamer _Korona_, numbering in all a hundred persons, we desire to express to you and to Captain Blake, his officers and crew of the U.S.S. _Seminole_, through you, our deep sense of gratefulness for the rescue from imminent peril in a heavy sea of the disabled steamer _Korona_ while on her voyage from St. Thomas to New York; and for their splendid seamanship in averting collision and in towing her under great difficulties to this port of refuge.

"Tossed upon a raging sea without motive power, the _Korona_ was in great danger, and her rescue after four days' continuous assistance adds another high record of splendid achievement by the U.S.S. _Seminole_ and her devoted men.

"Permit us, Sir, to thank you cordially in the names of all concerned for this added admirable and effective example of the highest degree of humanity and efficiency in an important arm of the U.S. Navy.

"Yours very respectfully,

"(Signed) Alexander Sprunt & Son.

"To the Honorable Josephus Daniels,

"_The Secretary of the Navy_,

"_Washington_, D.C."

"Navy Department,

"_Washington, April 7, 1919_.

"Dear Sirs: Receipt is acknowledged of your letter of April 2, expressing gratitude for the rescue of the disabled steamer _Korona_ by the U.S.S. _Seminole_.

"Your letter of appreciation has been forwarded to the commanding officer of the U.S.S. _Seminole_ via the Commodore Commandant of the Coast Guard Service and the Commandant of the Fifth Naval District, under whose orders the U.S.S. _Seminole_ is operating.

"It is a great pleasure to know that the work of our salvage and rescue ships is appreciated, and I thank you very sincerely for your expression of thanks and recognition of the excellent seamanship and devotion to duty shown by the captain, officers, and crew of the U.S.S. _Seminole_.

"Very truly yours,

"(Signed) Franklin D. Roosevelt,

"_Acting Secretary of the Navy_.

"Messrs. Alexander Sprunt & Son,

"_Wilmington, North Carolina_."

DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS.

For many years the summer visitors on Wrightsville Beach have looked out upon the hurrying swell of the broad Atlantic and have felt the fascination of the long lines of crested breakers like Neptune's racers charging and reforming for the never-ending fray; and, when the unresting tide receded, they have seen the battered hulks of some of the most beautiful ships that ever shaped a course for Wilmington in the days of the Southern Confederacy. They represented an epoch that is unique in our country's history, for, in the modern art of war the conditions which then prevailed can never occur again.

Some of these wrecks may be visible for a hundred years to come, and, as nearly every one who knew these vessels and of their last voyage has passed away, I have thought it might interest some of our people, and perhaps future generations, to know something of these ships, which I still remember distinctly and with whose officers I was more or less familiar. So that I have noted from memory and from official records of the Four Years' War, the tragedies which involved the destruction of these fine vessels between Topsail Inlet and Lockwood's Folly. These will comprise about thirty ships, nearly all of the steamers that were stranded on our coast during the war while running for the Cape Fear Bar under a heavy bombardment by the Federal cruisers.

Many millions were lost with the destruction of these blockade runners, and possibly valuable metal might be recovered now, in the present high prices for all war supplies. The average cost of one of the blockade runners was $150,000 in gold. They were mostly built of thick iron, which does not corrode like steel in salt water.

The cargoes comprised perishable and imperishable goods, and they were often as valuable as the vessels which carried them. When these ships were stranded so high upon the beach that neither Federals nor Confederates could salve them, the guns from both sides were used to destroy them, so that neither could profit by a rescue. The bombshells set some of the ships on fire, but none were totally destroyed, because the breakers extinguished the fires when the superstructure was burned away, so it is very probable that some of them still contain cargoes of value.

For more than fifty years these melancholy tokens of distress have settled in the shifting sands. "Together," said Mr. George Davis, Attorney-General of the Confederacy, "they stand for warning and for woe; and together they catch the long majestic roll of the Atlantic as it sweeps through a thousand miles of grandeur and power from the Arctic toward the Gulf. It is the playground of billows and tempests, the kingdom of silence and awe, disturbed by no sound save the seagull's shriek and the breakers' roar."

It might be interesting to add later an account of the ships that were captured at sea, numbering over a hundred during the four years of the Cape Fear blockade, and to attempt, at the request of my friend, Professor deRoulhac Hamilton, of the University of North Carolina, a short history of this remarkable traffic (through the beleaguered city of Wilmington) which almost wholly sustained the Confederate States commissariat during the last two years of the war.

The "Fannie and Jennie."

The _Fannie and Jennie_ was a side-wheel Confederate steamer of note, engaged in running the blockade for about a year during the Four Years' War. She was of good speed, fourteen knots, and was commanded, it is said, by Captain Coxetter, of Charleston. During the night of February 9, 1864, she made the land to the northward of Wrightsville Beach, but her pilot, Burriss, was not sure of his position, so he anchored the ship and made a landing in the surf to ascertain his bearings. It having been the intention of the captain to make the land about two miles north of Fort Fisher, he then proceeded down the beach in the darkness. Unhappily, however, she stood too close in shore, and grounded repeatedly, and at about midnight stranded on a shoal a mile or two to the southward of where Lumina now stands. At daylight she was discovered by the Federal cruiser _Florida_, commanded by Capt. Peirce Crosby, who made me a prisoner of war a few months later. Captain Crosby, desiring to save the _Fannie and Jennie_ and realize big prize money, ran a hawser from his ship to the stranded vessel, intending to pull her off into deep water, when a Confederate flying battery of Whitworth guns of long range, from Fort Fisher, opened fire from Masonboro Beach, and with great precision cut off one of the _Florida's_ paddle-wheel arms, broke a second one, and cut a rim of the wheel in two; also, one of the Confederate shells exploded on board the _Florida_ and came near destroying her. The _Florida_ returned the fire, which so alarmed the captain and crew of the _Fannie and Jennie_ that some of them attempted to reach the beach in boats. In this attempt Captain Coxetter and his purser were drowned in the breakers, the others gaining the shore; the rest of the crew, twenty-five in number, who remained on board were made prisoners by the Federals. Captain Coxetter had in his keeping a very valuable gold jewelled sword, which was to be delivered to Gen. R.E. Lee as an expression of the admiration of many prominent English sympathizers. It is still on board this wreck, which lies near a line of breakers to the south of Lumina. The _Fannie and Jennie_ was loaded with a valuable cargo, five days out from Nassau bound to Wilmington, when she was stranded.

The "Emily of London."

During the month of January, 1864, while my ship was in St. George, Bermuda, loading for Wilmington, I met frequently an attractive young Virginian named Selden, of the Confederate Signal Service, who had been detailed as signal officer on the fine new steamer _Emily of London_; and I became most favorably impressed with this courteous Christian gentleman and with the superior qualities of his beautiful vessel. All of her appointments were first-class, and her equipment was superior to that of any other blockade runner of the fleet. As she lies now in sight of my cottage on Wrightsville Beach, visible at every turn of the tide, I often wonder what became of Selden, for I never learned his fate after the stranding and loss of his fine ship a mile or so above the wreck of the _Fannie and Jennie_, on the same night, February 9, 1864.

The only particulars of the stranding of the _Emily_ are embodied in the official report of her discovery on the beach by Captain Crosby, of the Federal cruiser _Florida_, who found her ashore between Masonboro Inlet and Wrightsville Beach after her captain and crew had abandoned her. She was then set on fire by bombshells from the cruiser _Florida_, a loud explosion on board of the wrecked vessel indicating that her cargo was probably partly composed of explosives for the Confederacy.

Captain Crosby adds that she was a new and very handsome steamer, expensively fitted out. It is presumed that the _Emily's_ captain and crew, numbering about fifty men, succeeded in reaching the protection of the Confederates.

The "Ella."

An ex-Confederate officer describing Wilmington during the blockade, among many interesting things, said the following: