oting, we had to turn the boat
completely around and head out to sea. The man with the bow oar tried to
push the bow around by putting the blade of the oar on the hard sandy
bottom and shoving it, and was so energetic that the oar snapped in two.
At last we got around, and for a few minutes some good sprinting was
done.

The coxswain in the stern then had the best chance of being struck by
the bullets, and doubled himself in a way that would have aroused the
envy of a contortionist. The men at the oars laid as low as possible for
them to row. I was shoved out at full length, shoving at the stroke oar
while the men pulled. Arrants was doing the same thing with the second
oar. My left cheek was badly stung in different places--I supposed at
first by buckshot--but a rifle ball had struck the handle of the oar on
which I was shoving, and, my head being close to it, the splinters from
the dry ash wood had struck in my face. That bullet had just barely
missed my head. As soon as we got out of the range of the buckshot,
Arrants and myself returned the fire with our rifles. The Confederates
then quickly took their horses and got behind the sand dunes. The battle
was over. One of our men had his right eyelid grazed by a buckshot just
enough for a single drop of blood to ooze out. A rifle bullet went
through the stern of the boat, passing between the coxswain's legs,
thence between the whole boat's crew, until it reached the man in the
bow, where it passed his left side and elbow, removing some cuticle from
each. That fellow was scared, sure enough, at first, but after we pulled
his shirt off to stop the blood and found the skin was only peeled off,
he concluded to live a little while longer. It was a miracle that every
one of us was not killed or seriously wounded. We were in a compact
space and the enemy had nothing in the way of a counter-fire to prevent
taking deliberate aim.

We got back to the brig, and handed up our prize pigs for Christmas
gifts, then told of our adventure with the rebels. The boat was hoisted
up and inspected. It had twenty-two buckshot marks, and was pierced
through and through by six bullets. My face was badly spotted by the
splinters from the oar. We were all congratulated upon our narrow
escape. Captain Gregory vowed vengeance on the Southerners for their
conduct, and, that night, plans were arranged for the next day to "carry
the war into Africa." Then we went to bed, excepting those on duty.

Ne