THE DESTRUCTION OF THE “ALBEMARLE."

639

As day dawned I found myself in a point of swamp that enters the suburbsof Plymouth, and not forty yards from one of the forts. The sun came outbright and warm, proving a most cheering visitant, and giving me back agood portion of the strength of which I had been deprived before. Its lightshowed me the town swarming with soldiers and sailors, who moved aboutexcitedly, as if angry at some sudden shock. It was a source of satisfactionto me to know that I had pulled the wire that set all these figures moving, butas I had no desire of being discovered my first object was to get into a dryfringe of rushes that edged the swamp; but to do this required me to passover thirty or forty feet of open ground, right under the eye of a sentinelwho walked the parapet.

Watching until he turned for a moment, I made a dash to cross the space,but was only half-way over when he again turned, and forced me to dropdown right between two paths, and almost entirely unshielded. Perhaps Iwas unobserved because of the mud that covered me and made me blendwith the earth; at all events the soldier continued his tramp for some timewhile I, flat on my back, lay awaiting another chance for action. Soon aparty of four men came down the path at my right, two of them being offi-cers, and passed so close to me as almost to tread upon my arm. Theywere conversing upon the events of the previous night, and were wonder-ing “ how it was done,” entirely unaware of the presence of one who couldgive them the information. This proved to me the necessity of regainingthe swamp, which I did by sinking my heels and elbows into the earth andforcing my body, inch by inch, toward it. For five hours then, with barefeet, head, and hands, I made my way where I venture to say none ever didbefore, until I came at last to a clear place, where I might rest upon solidground. The cypress swamp was a network of thorns and briers that cutinto the flesh at every step like knives; frequently, when the soft mire wouldnot bear my weight, I was forced to throw my body upon it at length, andhaul myself along by the arms. Hands and feet were raw when I reached theclearing, and yet my diffi culties were but commenced. A working-party ofsoldiers was in the opening, engaged in sinking some schooners in the riverto obstruct the channel. I passed twenty yards in their rear through a cornfurrow, and gained some woods below. Here I encountered a negro, andafter serving out to him twenty dollars in greenbacks and some texts ofScripture (two powerful arguments with an old darkey), I had confidenceenough in his fidelity to send him into town for news of the ram.

When he returned, and there was no longer doubt that she had gone down,I went on again, and plunged into a swamp so thick that I had only the sunfor a guide and could not see ten feet in advance. About 2 o’clock in theafternoon I came out from the dense mass of reeds upon the bank of one ofthe deep, narrow streams that abound there, and right opposite to the onlyroad in the vicinity. It seemed providential, for, thirty yards above or below,I never should have seen the road, and might have struggled on until, wornout and starved, I should find a never-to-be-discovered grave. As it was, myfortune had led me to where a picket party of seven soldiers were posted,