The
2nd October was a real ugly-looking day, with dense black clouds and a
Newfoundland north-easter blowing freshly. No observation was to be had,
the thick clouds altogether shutting out the sun, and the ship being in
the current of the Gulf Stream, the most she could do was to guess at
her position within some thirty or forty miles.
On the 3rd the weather moderated, and fortune again smiled upon the
Alabama. The morning watch was not yet over when two sails were
descried, the one ahead, the other on the lee bow, each of which in its
turn was overhauled and captured; the one proving to be the Emily
Farnum, from New York for Liverpool; the other, the Brilliant, from the
same port for London, with a valuable cargo of grain and flour.
The cargo of the Emily Farnum being neutral property, the vessel was
released as a cartel, the prisoners from the Brilliant being transferred
to her, as also those already on board from the other prizes, a change,
as may well be imagined, sufficiently acceptable to those unfortunate
beings who had now been exposed for nearly three weeks to all the
vicissitudes of an autumn in the North Atlantic. This done, the Emily
Farnum was permitted to proceed upon her way. The Brilliant was then
stripped of everything that could be of use to her captors, set on fire,
and left to her fate.[8] From the papers taken on board of this vessel
the crew of the Alabama learned the good news of the Confederate
victories in Virginia, and also of the successful run of the
screw-steamer Florida into a Confederate port.
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