PREPARATIONS FOR CLOTILDE’S VOYAGE
In 1858, Mobile had been for almost a century and a half one of the
important Gulf coast ports. Picturesquely situated at the head of
a lagoon-like bay, the craft of many nations dropped anchor in her
waters. Somewhat past the heyday of youth, her buildings mellowed by
time and her streets shaded by trees, she wore an air that was calm
and comfortable, and her homes and public buildings bespoke a settled
prosperity. Survivors of primitive and pioneer life might be seen
about the streets; some Indians lingered on and with baskets strapped
across their shoulders sold _filé_ and sassafras about the streets,
while white-covered “Chickasaha” wagons, drawn by from six to twenty
oxen, came slowly and laboriously down Spring Hill and St. Stephen’s
roads, bringing staples from the interior to the Mobile markets. The
district near the river and towards the northern part of the town was
given over to commerce and occupied by cotton warehouses--low-lying,
monotonous structures of brick. The river boats carried on a brisk
trade and Mobile’s export to foreign countries was large. Life about
the wharves which was usually busy--and often gay--became very
stirring during the latter part of 1858 and 1859. It drew upon itself
the attention of the United States Government, elicited a special
proclamation from the President, and a vigilant watch by United States
officials.
In the early fifties, during one of Nicaragua’s chronic revolutions,
General Walker had been invited by the democrats of Leon to unite
with them against the aristocrats of Granada. Many Alabamians joined
him in this expedition and shed their blood for the cause. Walker
gained supreme power, but his glory was short-lived. The opposing
forces united and compelled him to leave. In 1857, President Buchanan
recognized him as President of Nicaragua, and addressed him as such.
His adventurous exploit met with general acclamation. But when Walker
announced that Nicaragua would be open to Southern colonization,
admitting slaves, it was like flaunting a red rag before a maddened
populace; the abolitionism of the North, already unrestrained in its
fanaticism and jealous hatred, backed by Northern commercialism caused
a rapid reversion of feeling. Walker, the erstwhile hero, was denounced
as a filibuster, and Southerners were accused of attempting to
establish a Southern Republic along the Gulf of Mexico that they might
spread slavery and reopen the slave traffic.
In 1858, Walker prepared to make good his previous claims. The
collectors of the ports of New Orleans and Mobile were ordered not to
clear vessels for Nicaraguan ports, before first communicating with the
Government of Washington. Vessels carrying passengers and receiving
every protection of the Government still sailed from Eastern ports to
San Juan del Norte. Mobile and New Orleans felt the trade of the South
to be seriously crippled by this discrimination. In a special message,
the President denounced the “leaders of former illegal expeditions who
had expressed their intention of open hostilities against Nicaragua,”
and particularly against one “who is now at Mobile, which has been
designated as the rendezvous and place of departure for San Juan del
Norte.” He enjoined all the Government officers, “civil and military,
to be active, vigilant, and faithful in suppressing these illegal
enterprises.” This message was received with indignation throughout
the whole of the lower South. Mobilians gathered in groups about the
streets and on the new post-office steps, and excitedly discussed
the President’s proclamation. They were in sympathy with Walker and
many were contributing funds towards the expedition. Espousal of his
cause became an issue in the mayoral election. Further excitement
was generated by the attitude of Judge Campbell, his charge to the
grand jury, and his emphasis of the President’s order for officials
to be “vigilant, active, and faithful.” Citizens regarded this as
espionage and as a personal affront to their fellow townsman, Robert H.
Smith, collector of the port. The discovery of a Government spy--one
General Wilson from Ohio--and a minion of Judge Campbell--who was
seen “sneaking about the wharves and warehouses of the city, to find
something contraband of Abolition interest and Abolition policy,”
provoked the citizens to further anger. “As a next step we shall
have our servants paid to report the words which drop from us at the
table.”[18]
Rebellion was already rampant in the South. The temperament of Southern
men was unfailingly daring--adventure appealed to their imaginations
and risk was a game to be played. In the midst of this excitement,
an expedition was preparing, money was being contributed, and the
schooner _Susan_ fitted out. Harry Maury, socially and financially
prominent, was in command. When ready to sail she was refused clearing
papers, but Maury weighed anchor and sailed down the bay, preparatory
to joining the fleet. The revenue cutter _McClelland_ pursued, brought
her to, and boarded her and demanded her papers. Maury said he did not
expect to receive them until he reached the fleet. The captain of the
_McClelland_ then claimed the _Susan_ as a prize for the Government;
Maury refused to consider her as such. Lieutenant White was placed
aboard with orders to take her to Dog River Bar and to hold her there
as prize. Maury nonchalantly replied that he did not object to White
remaining aboard as his guest. The next day both vessels sailed about
the bay, but the captain, under orders from the custom-house at Mobile,
warned Maury that if he attempted to sail away the _Susan_ would be
sunk. At dark the captain ordered both boats to drop anchor for the
night. About eleven o’clock, a heavy mist arose, the _Susan_ weighed
anchor and slipped noiselessly away, carrying aboard Lieutenant
White. The _Mobile Register_, voicing the sentiments of the citizens,
wished for the voyage “that the breezes be prosperous and the fates
propitious.” When two hundred miles out in the Gulf, Lieutenant White
was transferred to the bark _Oregon_ and sent back to New Orleans,
where he stated that he had received every courtesy while aboard the
_Susan_. He reported that she carried besides her crew, two hundred and
forty men, Minie balls, and Mississippi rifles. The _Susan_ was wrecked
on a coral reef off Honduras. The subsequent adventures of her men is a
thrilling narrative. They were received by the governor of Bay Island,
who upon hearing of their predicament sent them back to Mobile in Her
Majesty’s steam-sloop _Basilisk_.
With the birth and fruition of such adventures, Mobile’s river-front
naturally became an exciting place. About this time a group of men were
one day standing on the wharf discussing the efforts the Government
was finally making to suppress the slave trade, the vigilance which
was being exerted, and the impossibility for a vessel equipped for
such a purpose to evade officials. There was some betting--a favorite
pastime of the day--and Captain Tim Meaher, a steamboat builder and
river-man, who was standing near, wagered that he could send a slaver
to the coast of Africa and bring through the port of Mobile a cargo of
slaves. The wager was taken up and the stakes were large. This is the
tradition which is given in connection with the _Clotilde’s_ voyage.
It may have been true or it may have been invented to give color and
palliation to what proved to be the last cargo of slaves brought into
the United States, but it is certain that this was only one of the
voyages made under the auspices of the Meahers and Captain Foster. Of
these there are still rumors among the older people, and the widow of
Captain Foster, innocent and trustful, hoped until her recent death to
get from the United States about thirty thousand dollars which would
have been Foster’s share in the _Gipsy_--a slaver which with her cargo
was captured by Government officials and which was valued by those
interested in her at four hundred thousand dollars.
There were three of the Meaher brothers--Tim, Jim, and Burns. They
were natives of Maine, and possessed the New England love of the
water and taste for the slave trade. Captain Foster was born in Nova
Scotia of English parentage. His people were all seafaring--sailors,
captains, and builders of boats--and possibly his proclivities were
also inherited. These men were interested in a mill and a ship-yard at
the mouth of Chickasabogue, three miles above Mobile. The _Clotilde_,
the _Susan_, the _Gipsy_, and other boats which were engaged in the
river trade, in filibustering expeditions, the slave trade, and as
blockade-runners during the Civil War were built there. The _Clotilde_,
because of her fleetness, was selected to make the voyage to the slave
coast. She was the personal property of Foster and had been designed
and built by him.
[Illustration: Drawn by Emma Roche.
Poleete.]
Once arriving on the African coast there was little trouble in
procuring a cargo of slaves, for it had long been a part of the
traders’ policy to instigate the tribes against each other and in this
manner keep the markets stocked. News of the trade was often published
in the papers. The Meahers and Foster could have sought nothing more
enlightening or to their purpose than an item published in the _Mobile
Register_, November 9, 1858: “From the west coast of Africa we have
advice dated September 21st. The quarreling of the tribes on Sierra
Leone River rendered the aspect of things very unsatisfactory. The King
of Dahomey was driving a brisk trade in slaves at from fifty to sixty
dollars apiece at Whydah. Immense numbers of negroes were collected
along the coast for export.” Foster, with a crew of northern men,
sailed directly for Whydah.