At this place, our crew became
sickly, and I was landed among others, and sent to a boarding-house. It
was near a month before we could get the crew together again, when we
sailed for Norfolk. At Norfolk, six of us had relapses, and were sent to
the hospital; the cutter sailing without us. I never saw the craft
afterwards.
I was but a fortnight in the hospital, the disease being only the fever
and ague. Just as I came out, the Alert, the New York cutter, came in, and
I was sent on board her. This separated me from all the Henry Kneelands
but one old man. The Alert was bound south, on duty connected with the
nullification troubles; and, soon after I joined her, she sailed for
Charleston, South Carolina. Here a little fleet of cutters soon
collected; no less than seven of us being at anchor in the waters of South
Carolina, to prevent any breach of the tariff laws. When I had been on
board the Alert about a month, a new cutter called the Jackson, came in
from New York, and being the finest craft on the station, our officers and
crew were transferred to her in a body; our captain being the senior of
all the revenue captains present.
I must have been at least six months in the waters of South Carolina, thus
employed. We never went to sea, but occasionally dropped down as far as
Rebellion Roads. We were not allowed to go ashore, except on rare
occasions, and towards the last, matters got to be so serious, that we
almost looked upon ourselves as in an enemy's country.
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