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ing a constant supply wholly
clear and unadulterated."
The views we present in this
Number show the "Water-Works Building," which contains the machinery used in
supplying water as at present obtained; " Breaking Ground for the Tunnel;" and
the Iron Cylinders which form a lining to the shaft now being sunk.
We may hereafter give a sectional
view of the Tunnel, showing the plan of construction and other matters of
general interest connected with it.
UNION SCOUTS IN LOUISIANA.
WE give on our
first page a
sketch illustrating an Interesting feature of the war in Louisiana. Among the
most useful auxiliaries of
General BANKS, in his operations in that State, is a
band of native Scouts, led by Captain DUDLEY, who, knowing the country and
accustomed to danger, penetrate every where in search of information. Many of
these scouts are desperate men, who have suffered all manner of outrage at the
hands of the enemy, and who, on that account, lose no opportunity to inflict the
heaviest punishment on those who have driven them to the shelter of the swamps
and forests. Captain DUDLEY is described as a slight, wiry man, about forty-five
years old, with a small eye which is all black, and a face which strikes one as
full of cunning. A correspondent says of him : " He told me that he had been a
physician on the Calcasien River ; that he escaped the conscription and had been
living a wandering life for three years ; that he had been back and forth from
the Rio Grande to Mobile, had always escaped wounds, and I think had not been
even shot at. One of his men told me that one night he followed a party of
conscript-hunters to their camp, waited till they were asleep, then crawled
among them, determined to capture a gun which he had taken a liking to. One of
the party waked, and DUDLEY lay down quietly among them until his hunter fell
asleep, when he helped himself to the gun, and 'silently passed away.' "
NEGROES ESCAPING OUT OF
SLAVERY,
WE present on
page 292 another
view of one of the principal features of the war; namely, the escape of negroes,
at all points within the rebel lines, from the house of their bondage. Mr. A. R. WAUD, who furnishes the sketch, sends the following account of a recent exodus
during a Federal reconnoissance into the enemy's territory. The description will
apply exactly to other movements of a like character in other parts of the field
: "Coming in from the reconnoissance many negroes joined us. As it was not
possible, on account of the muddy roads, for them to keep up with the horsemen,
they were allowed to ride the spare and captured horses—many of them, however,
coming to us on their masters' horses. One party fell into the column with an
old family coach, said to contain eighteen, principally pickaninnies. This was
preceded by an old fellow with a torch, carrying a woman 'a-straddle' behind
him. All the women rode this way, side-saddles not having been provided by the
ordnance officers. Sometimes three would mount upon one horse, and in one
instance a father, mother, and two little children rode one animal. One colored
fellow, on making out that the column was of Union troops, at once saddled his
masters' horse, mounted, and taking another `boy' up behind him, waved his hand
gracefully to the rest of the slaves, mostly girls. `Good-by, folks !'said he; '
I'se gwine to follow the Yanks.' He was asked how he could leave so comfortable
a place. Scratching his head, and waving his hand toward his white-headed
master, he answered, `There's a kind o' poor class of whites about here ; don't
have enough to eat.' Some others told us that the 'Mas'r' had gone to
Charlotteville to 'sell a niXXer,' and had left them with strict injunctions to
look after the house, and let no one take any thing from the premises. The
spokesman meanwhile was busy handing out hams and other eatables, telling the
soldiers to help themselves—' For,' he added, 'we are gwine right along with yer,
he ! he!' Many joined without a word; one fellow had been waiting for us for
some hours. A party plowing in a field regarded the column with indifference for
some time, when suddenly a light broke upon one : ' Why, boys, it's de Yanks !'
And the horses were cut loose from the plow in quick time, the negroes mounting
them and falling in. They all got in safely ; even the coach did not break down
till it reached the lines; but these dusky ones suffered horribly from fear of
recapture several times."
FREEDMAN'S VILLAGE, ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA.
WE give on
page 293 a view of the
FREEDMAN'S VILLAGE, established on Arlington Heights, Virginia, by the
Government. The village is a neat and extensive collection of frame-houses,
erected especially for the use of such contrabands as, failing to provide for
themselves, become a burden to the Government. The village is surrounded by
farmland, which the negroes cultivate for their support. To Colonel ELIAS M.
GREENE is due the principal credit of thus assisting the negroes to help
themselves.
All the smartest and strongest
among the released slaves find employment as servants of different
kinds—barbers, teamsters, etc. But there is still a number who fail to get
employment, and these Colonel GREENE has tried to make self supporting on the
Government lands, and so far with considerable success.
The village is quite lively,
having a large number of children in it. For these there is a school house;
there is, besides, a " home" for the aged, a hospital, church, tailor and other
work shops, with other public buildings. The principal street is over
a quarter of a mile long, and the
place presents a clean and prosperous appearance at all times.
THE DEVIL'S FRYING-PAN.
THE United States sloop of war
Dragon-Fly swung lightly to her anchor in the soft west wind, and the officers
and men of the larboard watch lounged idly about the decks or slept beneath the
bulwarks dreaming of their Northern homes and waiting sweethearts.
Astern stretched broad leagues of
moonlit waters, ahead gleamed among his countless islands the stately Sound of
Altamaha, and close abeam rose Little St. Simon's Island, while a dark cloud
upon the horizon showed where Sapelo lay.
"Dull work this blockading,
Fenwick," yawned Lieutenant Benton, to Dr. Fenwick the surgeon, who had come on
deck to enjoy the beauty of the night, and now stood lounging against the
taffrail close beside the young officer.
" Rather so. But these long days
are grand for study. Why don't you get yourself up in an 'ology,' Benton, and
astonish our fair friends in Boston by your erudition when we return?"
"H'm. A fellow that has seen
service as I have doesn't need any erudition to recommend him to the fair sex
nowadays, Doctor," responded the Lieutenant, foppishly twisting his little
mustache.
" True. I forgot that." And the
surgeon pulled away at his cheroot with a merry twinkle in his dark eyes.
" Have you ever been seriously
wounded, Ben-ton?" asked he, carelessly, after a moment or two of silence.
" Why, no, I can't say that I
have. You see I never was actually in action, but then—"
"But then you might have been. I
see. Well, we none of us can improve the opportunities that are not given to
us."
Lieutenant Benton, with a
disagreeable consciousness of being very young and inexperienced, left off
pulling his mustache and walked up the quarter-deck, casting a scrutinizing
glance aloft, and sternly bidding the look-out man to " mind his eye."
The seaman thus exhorted suddenly
restored his attention from the stars to things terrestrial, or rather maritime,
and immediately shouted,
" Boat ahoy !"
"There it is," remarked the
surgeon, as Benton sprang to the side and looked over, and pointed to a small
black object slowly approaching the sloop down the broad wake of the setting
moon.
"Dug-out ahoy!" he might have
hailed, " re-marked the officer, forgetting his momentary annoyance. " It will
be a contraband, I suppose."
" Running the blockade. Now is
the Dragon-Fly's chance for distinguishing herself."
" Perhaps it is a fetich-man come
off to compare notes on the healing art with you, Doctor."
" Or some dusky maiden who has
heard of your mustache, Lieutenant," laughed the surgeon.
" Bother !" ejaculated the young
man, and leaned farther over the rail to scrutinize the clumsy little craft now
within hail of the sloop.
" It's a boy—no it's a dwarf—or a
monkey! What is it, Doctor ?"
" One of Count Monboddo's humans
in an early stage of the transformation from baboon to man, I should say."
" Well, here he is. Hallo there !
Range along-side and give me your name and business."
The dug-out was, after many
awkward attempts, placed in the required position ; and a voice from the lumpish
heap of clothes, arms, legs, and close-curled wool, responded :
"Lor, mas'r, 'tain't noffin but
me !"
" And who are you, and what do
you want?" "I's Ban, mas'r, dat's short for Caliban, an' I's come to tell yer
sumfin."
"Well, Ban, make fast your
dug-out to the cable there and come aboard."
A few moments after a dark ball
alighted suddenly upon the quarter-deck and presently developed into a human
form about four feet in height, and nearly as much in shoulder-girth, with the
shortest and crookedest of legs, and the longest and most muscular of arms. A
bullet-head surmounted this singular frame, and the crisp wool curled about a
face inscrutable as to age, ugly in its lineaments, and expressive of mirth and
cunning, good-nature and violent passions.
The surgeon and Lieutenant gazed
in silent astonishment at this strange figure, and he in turn rolled his large
eyes over their persons, the clustering group of sailors amid-ships, and the
novel objects that surrounded him.
"Be you mas'r cap'n ?" asked the
stranger, suddenly, his eyes reverting to the Lieutenant.
" Lord, Sirs! can it talk?"
quoted the surgeon, in an under-voice, while Lieutenant Benton answered,
good-naturedly,
" No, Ban ; but I can serve your
turn as well as if I were. What is it?"
" Reck'n I'll wait an' see mas'r
cap'n, mas'r," returned Ban, after a little hesitation.
"The old man wouldn't want to be
called up for any thing this creature can have to say, think?" inquired the
Lieutenant aside of the surgeon.
" That depends on what it is,"
oracularly re-turned the surgeon.
" Well, you try him, Doctor.
You're older than I, and perhaps he will be more willing to confide his secret
sorrows to your ear, if indeed my first guess is not the right one after all,
and he is the fetich man."
" We will see." And the Doctor
bidding Cali. ban follow him, led the way to a secluded part of 1 the deck,
where he placed the negro full in the light of the waning moon, and stood
looking curiously down at him from the altitude of his six feet two inches.
" Where do you come from, Ban ?"
asked he, at length.
" De Debbil's Fryin'-Pan, mas'r."
" And a very likely specimen of
his cookery you are," mentally ejaculated the Doctor, but the only
audible response was a wondering
repetition of the name,
" The Devil's Frying-Pan !"
"Yis, mas'r, data whar we lib."
"Who lives there besides you?"
U Dad an' main, an' lots o'
pickaninnies." "And how did you get here?"
"In de dug-out, mas'r."
" I know. But where is the
Devil's Frying-Pan? and how far from here?"
" Right up in de Soun', mas'r,
'bout two mile from dis, I reckon."
" Is it an island?"
"Yis, mas'r."
" And who gave it that name?"
Donno, mas'r, I's sure. Reckon it
alluz had it."
" And who named you Caliban?"
" Oh, mas'r ! my mammy, she brung
up on de ole plantation, an' daddy he free niXXer. So he bought mammy an' me,
an' de rest of de young uns has come along since."
" And your father brought your
mother and you to the Devil's Frying-Pan to live ?"
"Yis, mas'r. It don't b'long to
no one in'ticlar, an' so we jis libs dere."
" And how old are you, Caliban?"
"Donno, mas'r. Didn' nebber ask."
" And how do your father and you
live ? How do you earn money, I mean ?"
" We ketches fish, mas'r, an'
inters, an' lobsters, an' we raises some truck in de gardin, an' w'en we wants
money we totes a load o' fish an' sarce up to town an' trades it off. Den I
fiddles for de dancin' sometimes an' gits w'at I kin."
" You fiddle !"
"Yis, mas'r."
"Well now, Ban, what did you come
here for to-night ? You had better tell me, and if I judge it of sufficient
importance I will send to ask the Captain to see you. He is asleep now, and we
don't like to disturb him without necessity."
Ban, in whose mind the surgeon's
magnificent proportions had inspired a much greater degree of reverence than he
was inclined to accord to the juvenile Lieutenant, drew confidentially close to
his side, before he replied,
"Yis, mas'r, I tell you all 'bout
it. Dis yer ship am sot to cotch all dem dat tries to go in an' out dis yer Soun',
ain't she ?"
" All that belong to the rebels,
or are trying to trade with them. Why do you ask ?"
" Cause dere's a big schooner in
here, hidin' away 'mongst de islan's, all loaded down wid cotton, an' dey's
gwine to git out sure dey says, fer all de dam Yankees kin do to header 'em."
" When will they sail ?" asked
the surgeon, hastily.
"Jes' arter moonset 'morrer
night. Jes 'bout dis time."
" How do you know ?"
" De ossifers an' some ob de
gen'lemen dat's gwine passinger in her come ashore dis afternoon to look roun'
at de Debbil's Fryin'-Pan, cause its kind o' cures dere, an' I heerd 'em talk.
Den dey tole dad to kitch a right smart chance o' fish an' git some isters or
lobsters to-morrer, an' main's gwine to cook a supper fer 'em, an' I tole 'em I
could fiddle fust-rate ef they'd a mind fer a dance. Dey liked dat tip-top,
an"greed to come jes' arter sun-down, an' den I heerd 'em say dey couldn' sail
till nigh two 'clock in de mornin'."
"And they are to be at your house
after sunset ?"
" Yis, mas'r. So den I 'fleeted
dat ef de Yankees wanted fer ter kitch 'em all, dere'd be a fus'-rate chance,
an' mabbe mas'r Cap'n 'd gib a pore niXXer suffin fer de news."
"And what do you think the
Captain, or which-ever of us got hold of you first, would give you if you led us
into a trap, and sold us to the rebels, just as you now offer to sell them to us
?" demanded Fenwick, sternly, as he fixed his penetrating eyes upon the negro's
face.
" 'Spec's you'd shoot me jes'
like dog. Sarve urn right too," returned Ban emphatically, and with such
unflinching steadiness of voice and eye as set at rest the momentary suspicion
in the keen mind of his examiner.
" You are right. Whatever
happened to us, your own life would be the price of treachery. Remember that,
may boy, and draw back even now if you are not sure of yourself."
" I wish I was as sure ob ten
dollars as I is o' de truve ob what I see," remarked Ban, tranquilly.
"Very well. I will ask Lieutenant
Benton to report your errand to the Captain. I suppose you want to return before
morning."
" Lordy, yis, mas'r. Ef de folks
aboard de Sword-Fish sights de ole dug-out, an' 'spects whar she's ben, it's all
day wid dis niXXer, an' wid yore plans too, mas'r."
" Very well. Stay just here till
you are called."
The visit of the dwarf was
reported to the Captain, and Caliban was soon summoned to the cabin to repeat
his story, which he did with the utmost steadiness, unshaken by the somewhat
severe cross-examination of the astute commander.
This over, Ban was dismissed
under charge of the steward to refresh himself, and a hasty council was held as
to the best manner of using his information.
It was finally decided that two
boats' crews under charge of the two Lieutenants should, early in the ensuing
night, quietly land at the Devil's Frying Pan, surround the house and secure the
merry-makers, and then proceed to capture the schooner, it not being thought
advigable to involve the sloop in the intricate channels and dangerous reefs of
that portion of the Sound.
Dr. Fenwick volunteered to
accompany his young friend, Lieutenant Benton, and his powerful assistance was
gratefully accepted.
The next question was of a guide.
It was obvious that the absence of Caliban after his engagement as musician
would cause suspicion in the minds of the guests, and might defeat the whole
plan, and yet no one on board the Dragon-Fly could boast the slightest knowledge
of the locale of the Devil's Frying-Pan or of the contraband schooner.
Under these circumstances Ban was
recalled to the council, and the difficulty stated.
"'Twon't nebber do for dis chile
to be mongst de missin'," said he, thoughtfully, "nos' dad n'ither. But Nep 'd
do fns-rate. He knows do chan'l an' all jes same's I do. I'll fetch ye Nep."
" Who is Nep?" demanded the
Captain, cautiously.
"He one o' mammy's young ens. He
'smart chile, Nep is."
" How old is he?"
"Lord, mas'r, we don' none ob us
know noffin 'bout dat. We jes grows same as de grass, nebber mindin' when we
begun. Nep he good big boy."
" Well, you may bring him off,
and we will see what we think of him. When will you be here ?"
" Ain't got time to go home, an'
back 'fore day, nohow," considered Ban. " But Nep he'll take de dug-out roun'
back side o' de Pan, an' jes paddle off easy arter dey gits dere. Den he tell
mas'r cap'n how many of 'em come, an' p'raps hark roun' an' fin' out suflin'bout
how many's lef aboard de Sword-Fish."
" And can he find his way out to
the Dragon-Fly alone and in season?"
" Lord, yis, mas'r. Nep he smart
fellow."
"We will judge of that before we
trust him ac a pilot ; and remember that the first sign of treachery will be his
death-warrant, and yours too, if we lay hold of you," said the Captain, sternly.
Ef mas'r cap'n tinks I's lyin'to
him he no need to come. I's tryin' to 'bilge him, an' he talks 'bout shootin'
an' hangin' me an' my brother as ef we was tryin' to do hint all do bad we
could." And Cali-ban, half-sulky, half hurt, left the cabin abruptly, and
laboriously climbed on deck.
" He's honest, Captain, take my
word for it, and I have no doubt his information is perfectly reliable," said
Dr. Fenwick, earnestly. And the Captain, who depended very much upon his
friend's judgment, ordered the steward to regale Ban with another glass of grog,
and then to bring him to the cabin to receive his final directions.
The dwarf's injured feelings were
easily pacified by this attention, and half an hour later he paddled away from
the Dragon-Fly in the fullest amity with all its imitates.
Sunset of the following day found
such of the crew of the sloop as had been detailed for the aps preaching
expedition full of busy preparation and anticipation, while the unfortunate
remainder either watched their comrades in envious silence, or indulged in open
complaints of their own inactivity. Some few croakers found pleasure in
intimating that the whole affair was a trap, and that those who were so
"precious green" as to walk into it with their eyes open deserved no better than
the fate probably awaiting them. Another party held that the negro, terrified by
the Captain's threats, would not dare to pursue the matter, and that no pilot
would appear. This suggestion, however, was speedily negatived by the hail of
" Boat alloy L"
And the next moment the dug-out
once more ranged alongside the Dragon-Fly, and a tall young fellow leaped nimbly
to the deck, with the brief announcement,
" He' I is."
" Oh, you're Nep, are you?"
inquired Lieutenant Benton, who had been anxiously waiting for his appearance.
"Yis, mas'r."
"Own brother to the fellow who
was here last night?"
Dunno, mas r; 'spec' so, dough."
i The question was pardonable ;
for this second envoy from the Devil's Frying Par, presented as great a contrast
to the first as call well be conceived in members of the same family. Tall,
straight, and finely proportioned in figure, his feat. tires were regular and
lofty, his eyes large and clear, and his expression bold and intelligent. In
fact, could his bright brown skin have been changed for Saxon red and white, Nep
would have ranked indisputably as an uncommonly fine-looking fellow. In age be
appeared to be about eighteen years old, but like Ban he had no ideas of his own
upon the subject.
Ordered to the cabin for
examination, Nep ac-quitted himself very satisfactorily, and after a brief
interview the Captain dismissed him, and proceeded to give his formal orders, as
he had not yet clone, for the expedition.
It was not considered expedient
to sot out until about ten o'clock, the boat from the Sword-Fish having been
ordered to return for its passengers at twelve, and the schooner expecting to
sail at two, or such after. Nep brought the additional information that the
passengers mentioned by Ban as forming part of the proposed fish party were the
officers of a brig just purchased by the rebels from the English Government, and
now awaiting its armament and crew at Nassau, N. P.
The schooner was expecting to
escape the blockade by running. some distance South among the numerous islands
and intricate channels of that part of the coast, and finally making out to sea
through some one of the innumerable inlets and sounds, offering a ready egress
whenever the blockading squadron should be momentarily absent.
Punctual to the appointed hour
the two boats silently parted from the side of the Dragon—Fly, and guided by Nep,
who crouched iii the stern of' the fore-most one, steered by the first
lieutenant, they struck out into the broad waters of the Sound.
The moon, slightly obscured by
vapory clouds, gave just sufficient light to allow Nep to distinguish, the
various islands and other landmarks by which he directed his course, but not
sufficient to reveal distant objects with any degree of certainty. This point it
will readily be seen was much in favor of our adventurers,' should they come
within eye-range of the Sword-Fish—a danger little to be feared, how-ever, as
Nep, pursuing a devious and intricate course, kept his charge concealed behind
the islands and high rocks whenever practicable.
"Now, mas'r, here we is,"
announced he, suddenly, in a whisper, pointing ahead to a small round island,
around whose entire circumference rose a
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