During 1889 we had the pleasure of a visit from Captain George B. Boynton, the former owner of Chicora in her blockade running days, who was delighted to renew acquaintance with his early ally. He gave us many reminiscenses of that stirring period, the narration of them cannot be done better than by giving extract by courteous permission of the publisher from his narrative as afterwards contained[5] under the heading "Looking for Trouble." Copyright, 1911, by Adventure Magazine, the Ridgway Company.
After giving an account of his earlier life and share in the American Civil War, and of a project to join some adventures in Cuba he says, "While I was wondering how I could get into communication with Cespedes, my interest was aroused by a newspaper story of the new blockade runner Let Her B. The Let Her B., whose name was a play on words, was a long, powerful, schooner-rigged steamship, built by Lairds on the Mersey. Though classed as a fifteen-knot ship she could do sixteen or seventeen knots (19 miles) which was fast going at that time. There was so much money in blockade-running that the owners of one could well afford to lose her after she had made three successful trips.
"In five minutes I decided to become a blockade-runner and to buy the new and already famous ship, if she was to be had at any price within reason. I bought a letter of credit and took the next ship for Bermuda. On my arrival there I found that the Let Her B. had been expected in for several days from her second trip and that there was considerable anxiety about her. A fresh cargo of munitions of war was awaiting the Let Her B, and a ship was ready to take to England the cotton she would bring.
"I got acquainted with the agent for the blockade-runner, and offered to buy her and take the chance that she might never come in. He wanted me to wait until the arrival of her owner, Joseph Berry, who was expected daily from England.
"After waiting several days I said to him one morning, "It looks as though your ship had been captured or sunk. I'll take a gambler's chance that she hasn't and will give you $50,000 for her and $25,000 for the cargo that is waiting for her; you to take the cargo she brings in. I'll give you three hours to think it over."
"It looked as though I was taking a long chance, but I had a "hunch" that she was all right, and I never have had a well-defined "hunch" steer me in anything but a safe course, wherefore I invariably heed them. At the expiration of the time limit there was not a sign of smoke in any direction and the agent accepted my proposition. In half an hour I had a bill of sale for the ship and the warehouse receipts for the cargo of war-supplies.
"At sunset that day a ship came in from England with her former owner. He criticized his agent sharptly at first, but when two more days passed with no sign of the anxiously-looked-for ship, Mr. Berry concluded that he had all the best of the bargain, and complimented his agent on his shrewdness.
"On the third day the Let Her B. came tearing in, pursued at long range by the U.S.S. Powhatan, which proceeded to stand guard over the harbour, keeping well off shore on account of the reefs and shoals that were under her lee.
"The Let Her B. discharged a full cargo of cotton and was turned over to me. I went over her carefully while her cargo of arms was going in and found her in excellent condition. She was unloaded in twelve hours, and all her cargo was safely stowed in another forty-eight hours. I took command of her, with John B. Williams, her old captain, as sailing master, and determined to put to sea at once.