It must be borne in mind that the excitement of fighting did not exist.

One was always either running away or being deliberately pitched into by the broadsides of the American cruisers, the slightest resistance to which would have constituted piracy; whereas capture without resistance merely entailed confiscation of cargo and vessel.
The vessel I had charge of--which I had brought out from England, was one of the finest double-screw steamers that had ever been built by D----n; of 400 tons burden, 250 horse-power, 180 feet long, and 22 feet beam--and was, so far as sea-going qualities, speed, &c., went, as handy a little craft as ever floated.

Our crew consisted of a captain, three officers, three engineers, and twenty-eight men, including firemen, that is, ten seamen and eighteen firemen.

They were all Englishmen, and as they received very high wages, we managed to have picked men.

In fact, the men-of-war on the West India station found it a difficult matter to prevent their crews from deserting, so great was the temptation offered by the blockade-runners.
I will begin by explaining how we prepared the vessel for the work.