member of the crews.  To the frantic inquiries of the person in charge of the other boat as to the cause of his (the steersman’s) extraordinary conduct, his only reply was, ‘There!’ pointing to a small Confederate flag of about fifteen inches long and six inches broad, which I had inadvertently left flying at the gaff; the gaff being lowered down, the little flag having been used as a dog-vane, in order to tell the direction of the wind, &c.  No sooner did the men perceive it than they redoubled their exertions to gain the shore; one of the masters calling out that they had spoken a ship a week ago, from whom they had obtained news of peace.  No credence, however, could be, or was placed in this statement.

’Immediately after they left I despatched a boat to the Alabama informing them of the character of my visitors.  At 9.15 the Alabama was observed to get under way, steaming out of the anchorage after the two vessels.

’The larger island being between the scene of the Alabama’s operations and the Louisa Hatch, I was not, of course, an eye witness of the captures.  But at 5.30 I observed a dense column of smoke, which, as it grew later, turned into a ruddy glare, leaving no doubt in our minds as to the fate of the whalers.  At 7 P.M. observed the Alabama coming round the northern part of the island with a vessel in tow, both anchoring at 7.30.  The next morning I learnt that the captures were the barque Lafayette, of New Bedford, and the brig Kate Cory, of Westport.  The barque was burnt and the brig kept, it being our intention to send off all the prisoners we had on board, consisting of 140, including the women stewardesses, in her; but on communicating with the authorities, it was resolved to land them on the island, a Brazilian schooner engaging to convey them to Pernambuco.  For this purpose provisions for twenty-one days were sent ashore, the prisoners, after being paroled, following.

The remainder of the day was spent in transferring provisions, &c., for ship’s use.  The next evening the prizes, the Louisa Hatch and Kate Cory, slipped cables, and stood seaward.  When about five miles from land both vessels were set fire to; Mr. Evans, the officer in charge of the brig, returning on board long before me, the strong westerly current rendering it extremely difficult to stem it.

’We remained painting and cleaning ship until the 22nd.  At 9.30 A.M. we got under way, steering and cruising towards Bahia, at which place we arrived on the 11th of May, having captured and burnt four vessels between Fernando and Bahia.

’The news of our doings off the islands had preceded us, of course with additions and manipulations ad lib., the schooner having left Noronha the day previous to our departure.  The Governor of Pernambuco had sent three war vessels to the islands to enforce the neutrality of the place, which, according to Yankee representations, had been infringed.  Not content with this, the American representatives had succeeded in procuring the recall of the Governor, whose only crime was that he had let us anchor off the place—­a crime of which he was necessarily guiltless, because he had no power to prevent our anchoring if we insisted on it.