University of Virginia Library

CHAPTER XXVII.

May 13th.—I was busy making arrangements to get to
Pensacola, and Fort Pickens, all day. The land journey was
represented as being most tedious and exceedingly comfortless
in all respects, through a waste of sand, in which we ran the
chance of being smothered or lost. And then I had set my
mind on seeing Fort Pickens as well as Pensacola, and it
would be difficult, to say the least of it, to get across from an
enemy's camp to the Federal fortress, and then return again.
The United States squadron blockaded the port of Pensacola,
but I thought it likely they would permit me to run in to visit
Fort Pickens, and that the Federals would allow me to sail
thence across to General Bragg, as they might be assured I
would not communicate any information of what I had seen in
my character as neutral to any but the journal in Europe,
which I represented, and in the interests of which I was
bound to see and report all that I could as to the state of both
parties. It was, at all events, worth while to make the attempt,
and after a long search I heard of a schooner which
was ready for the voyage at a reasonable rate, all things considered.

Mr. Forsyth asked if I had any objection to take with me
three gentlemen of Mobile, who were anxious to be of the
party, as they wanted to see their friends at Pensacola, where
it was believed a "fight" was to come off immediately. Since
I came South I have seen the daily announcement that "Braxton
Bragg is ready," and his present state of preparation must be
beyond all conception. But here was a difficulty. I told Mr.
Forsyth that I could not possibly assent to any persons coming
with me who were not neutrals, or prepared to adhere to the
obligations of neutrals. There was a suggestion that I should
say these gentlemen were my friends, but as I had only seen

two of them on board the steamer yesterday, I could not accede
to that idea. "Then if you are asked if Mr. Ravesies
is your friend, you will say he is not." "Certainly." "But
surely you don't wish to have Mr. Ravesies hanged?" "No,
I do not, and I shall do nothing to cause him to be hanged;
but if he meets that fate by his own act, I can't help it. I
will not allow him to accompany me under false pretences."

At last it was agreed that Mr. Ravesies and his friends, Mr.
Bartré and Mr. Lynes, being in no way employed by or connected
with the Confederate Government, should have a place
in the little schooner which we had picked out at the quayside
and hired for the occasion, and go on the voyage with the plain
understanding that they were to accept all the consequences of
being citizens of Mobile.

Mr. Forsyth, Mr. Ravesies, and a couple of gentlemen
dined with me in the evening. After dinner., Mr. Forsyth,
who, as mayor of the town, is the Executive of the Vigilance
Committee, took a copy of "Harper's Illustrated Paper,"
which is a very poor imitation of the "London Illustrated
News," and called my attention to the announcement that Mr.
Moses, their special artist, was travelling with me in the
South, as well as to an engraving, which purported to be by
Moses aforesaid. I could only say that I knew nothing of the
young designer, except what he told me, and that he led me
to believe he was furnishing sketches to the "London News."
As he was in the hotel, though he did not live with me, I sent
for him, and the young gentleman, who was very pale and
agitated on being shown the advertisement and sketch, declared
that he had renounced all connection with Harper, that he
was sketching for the "Illustrated London News," and that
the advertisement was contrary to fact, and utterly unknown
to him; and so he was let go forth, and retired uneasily.
After dinner I went to the Bienville Club. "Rule No. 1" is,
"No gentleman shall be admitted in a state of intoxication."
The club very social, very small, and very hospitable.

Later paid my respects to Mrs. Forsyth, whom I found
anxiously waiting for news of her young son, who had gone
off to join the Confederate Army. She told me that nearly
all the ladies in Mobile are engaged in making cartridges,
and in preparing lint or clothing for the army. Not the
smallest fear is entertained for the swarming black population.

May 14th.—Down to our yacht, the Diana, which is to be
ready this afternoon, and saw her cleared out a little—a

broad-beamed, flat-floored schooner, some fifty tons burden,
with a centre-board, badly calked, and dirty enough—unfamiliar
with paint. The skipper was a long-legged, ungainly
young fellow, with long hair and an inexpressive face, just relieved
by the twinkle of a very "Yankee" eye; but that was
all of the hated creature about him, for a more earnest seceder
I never heard.

His crew consisted of three rough, mechanical sort of men
and a negro cook. Having freighted the vessel with a small
stock of stores, a British flag, kindly lent by the acting Consul,
Mr. Magee, and a tablecloth to serve as a flag of truce,
our party, consisting of the gentlemen previously named, Mr.
Ward, and the young artist, weighed from the quay of Mobile
at five o'clock in the evening, with the manifest approbation
of the small crowd who had assembled to see us off, the rumor
having spread through the town that we were bound to see
the great fight. The breeze was favorable and steady; at
nine o'clock, P. M., the lights of Fort Morgan were on our
port beam, and for some time we were expecting to see the
flash of a gun, as the skipper confidently declared they would
never allow us to pass unchallenged.

The darkness of the night might possibly have favored us,
or the sentries were remiss; at ail events, we were soon creeping
through the "Swash," which is a narrow channel over
the bar, through which our skipper worked us by means of a
sounding pole. The air was delightful, and blew directly off
the low shore, in a line parallel to which we were moving.
When the evening vapors passed away, the stars shone out
brilliantly, and though the wind was strong, and sent us at a
good eight knots through the water, there was scarcely a ripple
on the sea. Our course lay within a quarter of a mile of
the shore, which looked like a white ribbon fringed with fire,
from the ceaseless play of the phosphorescent surf. Above this
belt of sand rose the black, jagged outlines of a pine forest,
through which steal immense lagoons and marshy creeks.

Driftwood and trees strew the beach, and from Fort Morgan,
for forty miles, to the entrance of Pensacola, not a human
habitation disturbs the domain sacred to alligators, serpents,
pelicans, and wild-fowl. Some of the lagoons, like the Perdida,
swell into inland seas, deep buried in pine woods, and
known only to the wild creatures swarming along its brink
and in its waters; once, if report says true, frequented, however,
by the filibusters and by the pirates of the Spanish
Main.

If the mosquitoes were as numerous and as persecuting in
those days as they are at present, the most adventurous youth
would have soon repented the infatuation which led him to
join the brethren of the Main. The mosquito is a great
enemy to romance, and our skipper tells us that there is no
such place known in the world for them as this coast.

As the Diana flew along the grim shore, we lay listlessly
on the deck admiring the excessive brightness of the stars, or
watching the trailing fire of her wake. Now and then great
fish flew off from the shallows, cleaving their path in flame;
and one shining gleam came up from leeward like a watery
comet, till its horrible outline was revealed close to us—a
monster shark—which accompanied us with an easy play of
the fin, distinctly visible in the wonderful phosphorescence,
now shooting on ahead, now dropping astern, till suddenly it
dashed off seaward with tremendous rapidity and strength
on some errand of destruction, and vanished in the waste of
waters. Despite the multitudes of fish on the coast, the
Spaniards who colonize this ill-named Florida must have had
a trying life of it between the Indians, now hunted to death.
or exiled by rigorous Uncle Sam, the mosquitoes, and the
numberless plagues which abound along these shores.

Hour after hour passed watching the play of large fish and
the surf on the beach; one by one the cigar-lights died out;
and muffling ourselves up on deck, or creeping into the little
cabin, the party slumbered. I was awoke by the Captain
talking to one of his hands close to me, and on looking up saw
that he was staring through a wonderful black tube, which he
denominated his "tallowscope," at the shore.

Looking in the direction, I observed the glare of a fire in
the wood, which on examination through an opera-glass resolved
itself into a steady central light, with some smaller
specks around it, "Wa'll," said the Captain, "I guess it is
just some of them d—d Yankees as is landed from their
tarnation boats, and is 'conoitering' for a road to Mobile."
There was an old iron carronade on board, and it struck me
as a curious exemplification of the recklessness of our American
cousins, when the skipper said, "Let us put a bag of
bullets in the ould gun, and touch it off at them;" which he
no doubt would have done, seconded by one of our party, who
drew his revolver to contribute to the broadside, but that I
represented to them it was just as likely to be a party out from
the camp at Pensacola, and that, anyhow, I strongly objected

to any belligerent act whilst I was on board. It was very
probably, indeed, the watehfire of a Confederate patrol, for
the gentry of the country have formed themselves into a body
of regular cavalry for such service; but the skipper declared
that our chaps knew better than to be showing their lights in
that way, when we were within ten miles of the entrance to
Pensacola.

The skipper lay-to, as he, very wisely, did not like to run
into the centre of the United States squadron at night; but
just at the first glimpse of dawn the Diana resumed her
course, and bowled along merrily till, with the first rays of
the sun, Fort M'Rae, Fort Pickens, and the masts of the
squadron were visible ahead, rising above the blended horizon
of land and sea. We drew upon them rapidly, and soon
could make out the rival flags—the Stars and Bars and Stars
and Stripes—flouting defiance at each other.

On the land side on our left is Fort M'Rae, and on the end
of the sand-bank, called Santa Rosa Island, directly opposite,
rises the outline of the much-talked-of Fort Pickens, which is
not unlike Fort Paul on a small scale. Through the glass
the blockading squadron is seen to consist of a sailing frigate,
a sloop, and three steamers; and as we are scrutinizing them,
a small schooner glides from under the shelter of the guardship,
and makes towards us like a hawk on a sparrow. Hand
over hand she comes, a great swaggering ensign at her peak,
and a gun all ready at her bow; and rounding up along-side
us a boat manned by four men is lowered, an officer jumps in,
and is soon under our counter. The officer, a bluff, sailor-like
looking fellow, in a uniform a little the worse for wear, and
wearing his beard as officers of the United States navy generally
do, fixed his eye upon the skipper—who did not seem
quite at his ease, and had, indeed, confessed to us that he had
been warned off by the Oriental, as the tender was named,
only a short time before—and said, "Hallo, sir, I think I
have seen you before: what schooner is this?" "The Diana
of Mobile." "I thought so." Stepping on deck, he said,
"Gentlemen, I am Mr. Brown, Master in the United States
navy, in charge of the boarding schooner Oriental." We each
gave our names; whereupon Mr. Brown says, "I have no
doubt it will be all right, be good enough to let me have your
papers. And now, sir, make sail, and lie-to under the quarter
of that steamer there, the Powhattan." The Captain did not
look at all happy when the officer called his attention to the

indorsement on his papers; nor did the Mobile party seem
very comfortable when he remarked, "I suppose, gentlemen,
you are quite well aware there is a strict blockade of this
port?"

In half an hour the schooner lay under the guns of the
Powhattan, which is a stumpy, thick-set, powerful steamer of
the old paddle-wheel kind, something like the Leopard. We
proceeded along-side in the cutter's boat, and were ushered
into the cabin, where the officer commanding, Lieutenant
David Porter, received us, begged us to be seated, and then
inquired into the object of our visit, which he communicated
to the flag-ship by signal, in order to get instructions as to
our disposal. Nothing could exceed his courtesy; and I was
most favorably impressed by himself, his officers, and crew.
He took me over the ship, which is armed with ten-inch Dahlgrens
and eleven-inch pivot guns, with rifled field-pieces and
howitzers on the sponsons. Her boarding nettings were triced
up, bows and weak portions padded with dead wood and old
sails, and everything ready for action.

Lieutenant Porter has been in and out of the harbor examining
the enemy's works at all hours of the night, and he
has marked off on the chart, as he showed me, the bearings
of the various spots where he can sweep or enfilade their
works. The crew, all things considered, were very clean,
and their personnel exceedingly fine.

We were not the only prize that was made by the Oriental
this morning. A ragged little schooner lay at the other side
of the Powhattan, the master of which stood rubbing his
knuckles into his eyes, and uttering dolorous expressions in
broken English and Italian, for he was a noble Roman of
Civita Vecchia, Lieutenant Porter let me into the secret.
These small traders at Mobile, pretending great zeal for the
Confederate cause, load their vessels with fruit, vegetables,
and things of which they know the squadron is much in want,
as well as the garrison of the Confederate forts. They set
out with the most valiant intention of running the blockade,
and are duly captured by the squadron, the officers of which
are only too glad to pay fair prices for the cargoes. They
return to Mobile, keep their money in their pockets, and declare
they have been plundered by the Yankees. If they
get in, they demand still higher prices from the Confederates,
and lay claim to the most exalted patriotism.

By signal from the flag-ship, Sabine, we were ordered to

repair on board to see the senior officer, Captain Adams; and
for the first time since I trod the deck of the old Leander in
Balaklava harbor, I stood on board a fifty-gun sailing frigate.
Captain Adams, a gray-haired veteran of very gentle manners
and great urbanity received us in his cabin, and listened
to my explanation of the cause of my visit with interest,
About myself there was no difficulty; but he very justly observed
he did not think it would be right to let the gentlemen
from Mobile examine Fort Pickens, and then go among
the Confederate camps. I am bound to say these gentlemen
scarcely seemed to desire or anticipate such a favor.

Major Vogdes, an engineer officer from the forty, who happened
to be on board, volunteered to take a letter from me to
Colonel Harvey Browne, requesting permission to visit it;
and I finally arranged with Captain Adams that the Diana
was to be permitted to pass the blockade into Pensacola harbor,
and thence to return to Mobile, my visit to Pickens depending
on the pleasure of the Commandant of the place.
"I fear, Mr. Russell," said Captain Adams, "in giving you
this permission, I expose myself to misrepresentation and unfounded
attacks. Gentlemen of the press in our country care
little about private character, and are, I fear, rather unscrupulous
in what they say; but I rely upon your character that no
improper use shall be made of this permission. You must
hoist a flag of truce, as General Bragg, who commands over
there, has sent me word he considers our blockade a declaration
of war, and will fire upon any vessel which approaches him
from our fleet.

In the course of conversation, whilst treating me to such
man-of-war luxuries as the friendly officer had at his disposal,
he gave me an illustration of the miseries of this cruel conflict
—of the unspeakable desolation of homes, of the bitterness
of feeling engendered in families. A Pennsylvanian by
birth, he married long ago a lady of Louisiana, where he resided
on his plantation till his ship was commissioned. He
was absent on foreign service when the feud first began, and
received orders at sea, on the South American station, to repair
direct to blockade Pensacola. He has just heard that
one of his sons is enlisted in the Confederate army, and that
two others have joined the forces in Virginia; and as he said
sadly, "God knows, when I open my broadside, but that I
may be killing my own children." But that was not all.
One of the Mobile gentlemen brought him a letter from his

daughter, in which she informs him that she has been elected
vivandière to a New Orleans regiment, with which she intends
to push on to Washington, and get a lock of old Abe Lincoln's
hair; and the letter concluded with the charitable wish that
her father might starve to death if he persisted in his wicked
blockade. But not the less determined was the gallant old
sailor to do his duty.

Mr. Ward, one of my companions, had sailed in the Sabine
in the Paraguay expedition, and I availed myself of his acquaintance
with his old comrades to take a glance round the
ship. Wherever they came from, four hundred more sailorlike,
strong, handy young fellows could not be seen than the
crew; and the officers were as hospitable as their limited resources
in whiskey grog, cheese, and junk allowed them to be.

With thanks for his kindness and courtesy, I parted from
Captain Adams, feeling more than ever the terrible and earnest
nature of the impending conflict. May the kindly good
old man be shielded on the day of battle!

A ten-oared barge conveyed us to the Oriental, which, with
flowing sheet, ran down to the Powhattan. There I saw Captain
Porter, and told him that Captain Adams had given me
permission to visit the Confederate camp, and that I had written
for leave to go on shore at Fort Pickens. An officer was
in his cabin, to whom I was introduced as Captain Poore, of
the Brooklyn. "You don't mean to say, Mr. Russell," said
he, "that these editors of Southern newspapers who are with
you have leave to go on shore?" This was rather a fishing
question. "I assure you, Captain Poore, that there is no
editor of a Southern newspaper in my company."

The boat which took us from the Powhattan to the Diana
was in charge of a young officer related to Captain Porter,
who amused me by the spirit with which he bandied remarks
about the war with the Mobile men, who had now recovered
their equanimity, and were indulging in what is called chaff
about the blockade. "Well," he said, "you were the first to
begin it; let us see whether you won't be the first to leave it
off. I guess our Northern ice will pretty soon put out your
Southern fire."

When we came on board, the skipper heard our orders to
up stick and away with an air of pity and incredulity; nor
was it till I had repeated it, he kicked up his crew from their
sleep on deck, and with a "Wa'll, really, I never did see sich
a thing!" made sail towards the entrance to the harbor.

As we got abreast of Fort Pickens, I ordered tablecloth.
No. 1 to be hoisted to the peak; and through the glass I saw
that our appearance attracted no ordinary attention from the
garrison of Pickens close at hand on our right, and the more
distant Confederates on Fort M'Rae and the sand-hills on our
left. The latter work is weak and badly built, quite under the
command of Pickens, but it is supported by the old Spanish
fort of Barrancas upon high ground further inland, and by numerous
batteries at the water-line and partly concealed amidst
the woods which fringe the shore as far as the navy yard of
Warrington, near Pensacola. The wind was light, but the
tide bore us onwards towards the Confederate works. Arms
glanced in the blazing sun where regiments were engaged at
drill, clouds of dust rose from the sandy roads, horsemen riding
along the beach, groups of men in uniform, gave a martial appearance
to the place in unison with the black muzzles of the
guns which peeped from the white sand batteries from the entrance
of the harbor to the navy yard now close at hand. As
at Sumter Major Anderson permitted the Carolinians to erect
the batteries he might have so readily destroyed in the commencement,
so the Federal officers here have allowed General
Bragg to work away at his leisure, mounting cannon after
cannon, throwing up earthworks, and strengthening his batteries,
till he has assumed so formidable an attitude, that I doubt
very much whether the fort and the fleet combined can silence
his fire.

On the low shore close to us were numerous wooden houses
and detached villas, surrounded by orange groves. At last the
captain let go his anchor off the end of a wooden jetty, which
was crowded with ammunition, shot, shell, casks of provisions,
and commissariat stores. A small steamer was engaged in adding
to the collection, and numerous light craft gave evidence
that all trade had not ceased. Indeed, inside Santa Rosa Island,
which runs for forty-five miles from Pickens eastward
parallel to the shore, there is a considerable coasting traffic
carried on for the benefit of the Confederates.

The skipper went ashore with my letters to General Bragg,
and speedily returned with an orderly, who brought permission
for the Diana to come along-side the wharf. The Mobile
gentlemen were soon on shore, eager to seek their friends;
and in a few seconds the officer of the quartermaster-general's
department on duty came on board to conduct me to the
officers' quarters, whilst waiting for my reply from General
Bragg.

The navy yard is surrounded by a high wall, the gates
closely guarded by sentries; the houses, gardens, workshops,
factories, forges, slips, and building sheds are complete of
their kind, and cover upwards of three hundred acres; and
with the forts which protect the entrance, cost the United
States Government not less than six millions sterling. Inside
these was the greatest activity and life,—Zouave, Chasseurs,
and all kind of military eccentricities—were drilling, parading,
exercising, sitting in the shade, loading tumbrils, playing
cards, or sleeping on the grass. Tents were pitched under the
trees and on the little lawns and grass-covered quadrangles.
The houses, each numbered and marked with the name of the
functionary to whose use it was assigned, were models of neatness,
with gardens in front, filled with glorious tropical flowers.
They were painted green and white, provided with porticoes,
Venetian blinds, verandas, and colonnades, to protect the inmates
as much as possible from the blazing sun, which in the
dog-days is worthy of Calcutta. The old Fulton is the only
ship on the stocks. From the naval arsenal quantities of shot
and shell are constantly pouring to the batteries. Piles of
cannon-balls dot the grounds, but the only ordnance I saw
were two old mortars placed as ornaments in the main avenue,
one dated 1776.

The quartermaster conducted me through shady walks into
one of the houses, then into a long room, and presented me
en masse to a body of officers, mostly belonging to a Zouave
regiment from New Orleans, who were seated at a very comfortable
dinner, with abundance of champagne, claret, beer,
and ice. They were all young, full of life and spirits, except
three or four graver and older men, who were Europeans.
One, a Dane, had fought against the Prussians and Schleswig-Holsteiners
at Idstedt and Friederichstadt; another, an Italian,
seemed to have been engaged indifferently in fighting all
aver the South American continent; a third, a Pole, had been
at Comorn, and had participated in the revolutionary guerrilla
of 1848. From these officers I learned that Mr. Jefferson
Davis, his wife, Mr. Wigfall, and Mr. Mallory, Secretary of
the Navy, had come down from Montgomery, and had been
visiting the works all day.

Every one here believes the attack so long threatened is to
come off at last and at once.

After dinner an aide-de-camp from General Bragg entered
with a request that I would accompany him to the commanding

officer's quarters. As the sand outside the navy yard was
deep, and rendered walking very disagreeable, the young
officer stopped a cart, into which we got, and were proceeding
on our way, when a tall, elderly man, in a blue frock-coat with
a gold star on the shoulder, trousers with a gold stripe and
gilt buttons rode past, followed by an orderly, who looked
more like a dragoon than anything I have yet seen in the
States. "There's General Bragg," quoth the aide, and I was
duly presented to the General, who reined up by the wagon.
He sent his orderly off at once for a light cart drawn by a
pair of mules, in which I completed my journey, and was
safely decarted at the door of a substantial house surrounded
by trees of lime, oak, and sycamore.

Led horses and orderlies thronged the front of the portico,
and gave it the usual head-quarters-like aspect. General Bragg
received me at the steps, and took me to his private room,
where we remained for a long time in conversation. He had
retired from the United States army after the Mexican war—
in which, by the way, he played a distinguished part, his name
being generally coupled with the phrase "a little more grape,
Captain Bragg," used in one of the hottest encounters of that
campaign—to his plantation in Louisiana; but suddenly the
Northern States declared their intention of using force to free
and sovereign States, which were exercising their constitutional
rights to secede from the Federal Union.

Neither he nor his family were responsible for the system
of slavery. His ancestors found it established, by law and
flourishing, and had left him property, consisting of slaves,
which was granted to him by the laws and constitution of the
United States. Slaves were necessary for the actual cultivation
of the soil in the South; Europeans and Yankees who
settled there speedily became convinced of that; and if a
Northern population were settled in Louisiana to-morrow, they
would discover that they must till the land by the labor of the
black race, and that the only mode of making the black race
work, was to hold them in a condition of involuntary servitude.
"Only the other day, Colonel Harvey Browne, at Pickens,
over the way, carried off a number of negroes from Tortugas,
and put them to work at Santa Rosa. Why? Because his
white soldiers were not able for it. No. The North was
bent on subjugating the South, and as long as he had a drop
of blood in his body, he would resist such an infamous attempt."

Before supper General Bragg opened his maps, and pointed
out to me in detail the position of all his works, the line of fire
of each gun, and the particular object to be expected from its
effects. "I know every inch of Pickens," he said, "for I happened
to be stationed there as soon as I left West Point, and I
don't think there is a stone in it that I am not as well acquainted
with as Harvey Browne."

His staff, consisting of four intelligent young men, two of
them lately belonging to the United States army, supped with
us, and after a very agreeable evening, horses were ordered
round to the door, and I returned to the navy yard attended
by the General's orderly, and provided with a pass and countersign.
As a mark of complete confidence, General Bragg
told me, for my private ear, that he had no present intention
whatever of opening fire, and that his batteries were far from
being in a state, either as regards armament or ammunition,
which would justify him in meeting the fire of the forts and
the ships.

And so we bade good-by. "To-morrow," said the General,
"I will send down one of my best horses and Mr. Ellis, my
aide-de-camp, to take you over all the works and batteries."
As I rode home with my honest orderly beside instead of behind
me, for he was of a conversational turn, I was much perplexed
in my mind, endeavoring to determine which was right
and which was wrong in this quarrel, and at last, as at Montgomery,
I was forced to ask myself if right and wrong were
geographical expressions depending for extension or limitation
on certain conditions of climate and lines of latitude and longitude.
Here was the General's orderly beside me, an intelligent
middle-aged man, who had come to do battle with as
much sincerity—ay, and religious confidence—as ever actuated
old John Brown or any New England puritan to make
war against slavery. "I have left my old woman and the
children to the care of the niggers; I have turned up all my
cotton land and planted it with corn, and I don't intend to go
back alive till I've seen the back of the last Yankee in our
Southern States." "And are wife and children alone with the
negroes?" "Yes, sir. There's only one white man on the
plantation, an overseer sort of chap." "Are not you afraid of
the slaves rising?" "They're ignorant poor creatures, to be
sure, but as yet they're faithful. Any way, I put my trust in
God, and I know he'll watch over the house while I'm away
fighting for this good cause!" This man came from Mississippi,

and had twenty-five slaves, which represented a money
value of at least £5000. He was beyond the age of enthusiasm,
and was actuated, no doubt, by strong principles, to him
unquestionable and sacred.

My pass and countersign, which were only once demanded,
took me through the sentries, and I got on board the schooner
shortly before midnight, and found nearly all the party on
deck, enchanted with their reception. More than once we
were awoke by the vigilant sentries, who would not let what
Americans call "the balance" of our friends on board till
they had seen my authority to receive them.