to our return; and was further cautioned against the mistake, then
common, of underrating the courage of the Rebels. "It proved impossible
to dislodge those fellows from the banks," my informant said; "they had
dug rifle-pits, and swarmed like hornets, and when fairly silenced in
one direction, they were sure to open upon us from another." All this
sounded alarming, but it was nine months before that the event had
happened; and although nothing had gone up the river since, I was
satisfied that the resistance now to be encountered was very much
smaller. And something must be risked, anywhere.

We were delayed all that day in waiting for our consort, and improved
our time by verifying certain rumors about a quantity of new
railroad-iron which was said to be concealed in the abandoned Rebel
forts on St. Simon's and Jekyll Islands, and which would have much value
at Port Royal, if we could only unearth it. Some of our men had worked
upon these very batteries, so that they could easily guide us; and by
the additional discovery of a large flatboat we were enabled to go to
work in earnest upon the removal of the treasure. These iron bars,
surmounted by a dozen feet of sand, formed an invulnerable roof for the
magazines and bomb-proofs of the fort, and the men enjoyed demolishing
them far more than they had relished their construction. Though the day
was the 24th of January, 1863, the sun was very oppressive upon the
sands; but all were in the highest spirits, and worked with the greatest
zeal. The men seemed to regard these massive bars as their first
trophies; and if the rails had been wreathed with roses, they could not
have been got out in more holiday style. Nearly a hundred were obtained
that day, besides a quantity of five-inch plank with which to barricade
the very conspicuous pilot-houses of the John Adams.

Still another day we were delayed, and could still keep at this work,
not neglecting some foraging on the island, from which horses, cattle,
and agricultural implements were to be removed, and the few remaining
colored families transferred to Fernandina. I had now become quite
anxious about the missing steamboat, as the inner passage, by which
alone she could arrive, was exposed at certain points to fire from Rebel
batteries, and it would have been unpleasant to begin with a disaster. I
remember, that, as I stood on deck, in the still and misty evening,
listening with strained senses for some sound of approach, I