Friday, January 3rd, 1862.—­Ugly looking morning, with a falling barometer.  Several sail were reported from the masthead during the morning watch.  We shortened sail to permit one of them, which was steering the same course with ourselves, to come up with us.  She proved to be a Spaniard.  We then gave chase to another ahead of us, running before the wind for the Strait of Gibraltar.  We chased her some two hours, when it began to blow a fierce gale from the west, which obliged us to give over the chase and to haul up to prevent running to leeward of our port, and to put the ship under short sail and steam.  It blew very fiercely until near sunset, and raised a heavy, short, abrupt sea, in which the ship rolled more heavily than I had ever seen her before.  This shook our propeller so as to cause the ship to increase her quantity of water considerably—­so much so that the engineer reported that under short steam he was just keeping her free with his bilge-pumps, and that if anything happened to these, he feared the other pumps would not be sufficient.  Under these circumstances, I ran in for the land, cutting short my cruise by a day or two, as Iliad still two or three days’ coal on board.  We made the Cadiz Light in the mid-watch—­(my fine chronometers!)—­a beautiful red flash, and soon after got soundings.  Ran in for the light under low steam, and at 7 A.M. we were within four or five miles of it.  The morning was wet and gloomy.  Fired a gun, and hoisted the jack for a pilot; and soon after, having received one on board, we ran into the harbour and anchored.  As we approached, the scene was most beautiful, in spite of the day.  The city of Cadiz is a perfect picture as you approach it, with domes, and towers, and minarets, and Moorish-looking houses, of a beautiful white stone.  The harbour was crowded with shipping—­very thinly sprinkled with Yankees, who could get no freights—­and a number of villages lay around the margin of the bay, and were picturesquely half hidden in the slopes of the surrounding mountains, all speaking of regenerate old Spain, and of the populousness and thrift of her most famous province of Andalusia.  Visited by the health-officer, who informed us that unless we were specially exempted, we should be quarantined for three days, for not having a certificate of health from the Spanish Consul at Martinique.  A number of merchant ships hoisted their flags in honour of our arrival, and one Yankee showed his in defiance.

CHAPTER IX.

Cadiz harbour—­Notice to quit—­Local authorities—­Wisdom—­The Queen of Spain—­Docked—­Under repair—­Deserters—­The honour of the flag—­The Neapolitan—­The Investigator—­Gibraltar—­Official visits—­Up the rock—­A legend—­Neutrality again—­Consular diplomacy—­Blockaded—­The Tusoarora—­Seven in pursuit.

During the stay of the Sumter at Cadiz, and her subsequent arrival at Gibraltar, Captain Semmes made the entries in his Journal which will be found in this chapter.