he vessel, and afterward a
_pro rata_ of the expense was charged to each. There was quite a
contrast between the Nereus and the Perry. The ward-room officers
consisted of one lieutenant, one master, four ensigns, paymaster,
surgeon, and chief engineer. The master's mate and second and third
engineers each had separate mess-rooms in the steerage.

Seven of the officers were ex-prisoners of war. A few months afterward
Captain Howell stated that we were the wildest lot he ever commanded; it
only took a short time for him to form his opinion, however. The vessel
was ordered to the squadron at Cape Haitien, Hayti, West Indies. The
Panama steamers had to be convoyed through the Mariguana Passage, thence
between Cape Maisi, Cuba, and San Nicolas la Mole, Hayti, to Navassa
Island. The rebel steamer Alabama had captured one of the Panama boats,
securing eight hundred thousand dollars in gold bullion, and had bonded
the steamer for the same amount, to be paid when the Confederacy gained
its independence. Fort Fisher was to be attacked, and Captain Howell got
permission to join the expedition with his vessel. All of us were
pleased with the chance to pay up old scores with the rebels. The
corn-meal was still rankling in our systems. Steam was gotten up, and,
under charge of a pilot, we started for Sandy Hook. Before we got a
hundred yards from the dock the trip very abruptly ended. The pilot ran
too close to a large floating buoy, and the result was that one of the
propeller blades caught the heavy chain by which the buoy was anchored.
The engines were slowly reversed. It was of no use. That chain was there
to stay, and we were securely fastened by the stern. I shall never
forget that December night. It was my watch on deck from twelve to four
in the morning. The thermometer was twenty-one degrees below zero, and I
thought I would freeze to death. The men on deck I sent below out of the
cold wind, but I had no place for shelter, as the deck was clear fore
and aft.

The next day a submarine diver examined the propeller blade. The chain
was jammed in between the stern-post and the centre of the screw. A
floating derrick was fastened to our stern, the buoy and anchor were
hoisted on it, and our vessel was thus taken into the dry dock. It was
quite a job to free the chain. That little mishap detained us one week.
We made another start and got to Fortress Monroe. Taking a monitor in
tow, we went to Fort Fisher. Nearly all the expediti