the Government and changed into a gunboat. Admiral Farragut
was making his preparations to attack New Orleans, and the _Varuna_ was
added to his fleet. She was a very swift but frail craft, a fact which
led Farragut to grant Boggs' request to be allowed to run ahead of the
position that had been assigned him.

In order to get up all the steam possible, the pork among the ship's
store was flung into the blazing furnace under the boilers. The craft
went through the water at a tremendous speed, and upon coming opposite
the forts, Boggs fired his starboard battery and then ordered grape and
canister to be used as rapidly as possible. Work had hardly begun when
the Confederate gunboats appeared on every hand. With the same coolness
that he had shown when driven ashore in Mexico, the command was given
for the guns to be fired "on both sides." Indeed, there were so many
targets that it would have been about as difficult to miss as to hit
one.

[Illustration: ATTACK ON ROANOKE ISLAND--LANDING OF THE TROOPS.]

The _Varuna_ did terrific work, her gunners displaying fine markmanship.
The formidable craft _Governor Moore_ had detected her in the early
morning light, and steaming after her, fired a shot when only a
hundred yards away, but missed. The _Varuna_ replied, killing and
wounding men on the _Governor Moore_ at every shot. One of the enemy's
shot, however, raked the _Varuna_, killing four men and wounding nine.
Another struck the _Varuna's_ pivot gun and killed and wounded a number
more. Then the _Governor Moore_ rammed the _Varuna_ twice in quick
succession.

But while the Confederate was doing so, Boggs planted three 8-inch
shells into his antagonist, which set her on fire and compelled her to
drop out of action. Her loss had been heavy and her engines were so
battered that her commander ran her ashore, where she was burned to the
water's edge.

Out of the misty light burst the _Stonewall Jackson_ and rammed the
_Varuna_ on the port side, repeating the blow with a viciousness that
stove in the vessel below the water line; but the _Varuna_ swung the ram
ahead until her own broadside guns bore, when she planted several 5-inch
shells into the _Stonewall Jackson_, which set her on fire and caused
her to drift ashore.

But the _Varuna_ had been mortally hurt and was sinking fast. To quote
the words of Commodore Boggs: "In fifteen minutes from the time the
_Varuna_ was struck by the _Stonewall Jackson_, she was on the bot