Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 24.djvu/237

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This u.is marvelous, considering that the steamer r.ni so close that die could hear tin- orders .niven on tin- monitor.

Charleston was being bombarded, many of the business house^ closed, and all could st-e that the end was drawing near. The /ial- tif was in as much danger lying :t the wharf, as she would be out- side, and a cargo was made up for her as quickly as possible-, and sh-- was made ready for her last trip.

Just In-fore dark the sentinels on Fort Sumter counted twent I-'ederal Mockaders off Charleston harbor, and yet the Huttit coolly made her preparations to run out. Just before midnight, with a starlight night and smooth sea, the lucky little craft picked her way through all that fleet without being hailed or a gun fired, and she was lying at Nassau when the news of Lee's surrender was received.

The following gives an idea of the magnitude of the business and a glimpse at the wasteful and reckless manner of living in those times.

" I never expect to see such flush times again in my life," said the captain of a successful blockade-runner in speaking of Nassau. " Money was almost as plenty as dirt. I have seen a man toss up twenty-dollar gold pieces on ' head or tail,' and it would be followed by a score of the ' yellow boys ' in five seconds.

"There were times when the bank vaults would not hold all the gold, and the coins were dumped down by the bushel and guarded by the soldiers.

" Men wagered, gambled, drank, and seemed crazy to get rid of their money. I once saw two captains put up $500 each on the length of a porch. Again I saw a wager of $800 a side as to how many would be at the dinner table of a hotel."

The Confederates were paying the English importers and jobbers at Nassau large prices for goods, but these figures of cost were mul- tiplied enormously in the Confederacy. The price of cotton was not increased in the same ratio, and this large difference in values be- tween imports and exports gave the enormous profits which induced these ventures.

Ten dollars invested in quinine in Nassau would bring from $400 to $600 in Charleston. New York