The course was given by signal also, but it was observed that Commodore Shaw kept two points to windward of the course given by the Commodore. It had been blowing very fresh before we left Tripoli, and attended with a very heavy sea. While we were at Palermo, an old priest came off to the ship with a large bag, and a St. Antonio box, in which he kept the charity money which he from day to day could beg. This bag he intended to contain anything in the way of provisions that the charitable were disposed to give to his " poor monk brethren." He brought the bag to me, and with an imploring look, offered to sell us a fair wind for a small sum of money or a few biscuits.
And as the purchasing of a fair wind did not exactly belong to me, I declined the offer, but was sorry afterwards that we did not accept, the old man's, bargain, as we had a head wind all the way to Tunis. The second day after leaving Tripoli, in consequence of the previous and continued bad weather, the fleet had become scattered, and out of their regular order of sailing. It so happened, and very fortunately too, that the Erie, drawing less water than any other of the ships, had, by tacking, got ahead of the fleet; where, if the weather had been good, the commodore should have been. About nine o'clock in the morning, all at once we saw a change in the color of the water, and immediately a signal was made from the Erie, of danger.
The commodore gave the signal to tack, which we obeyed. He then, by signal, ordered each ship to run under his lee quarter, and as they did so, were ordered to make their best way to Tunis. The dangerous place in which we found ourselves, whether by accident or carelessness, I shall not attempt to say, was the Gulf of Cabes, which may be recognized on the chart as a dangerous place; lying between Tripoli and Tunis. On our arrival at Tunis, we found the U. S. frigate, wliich had arrived the day before, she had made a straight course, avoiding the difficulty we had so providentially escaped, and anchored off Carthage. The officers visited this renowned spot, and also Tunis, as often as they wished.
A rather laughable, or what might might have been a serious affair, came off while we lay at Carthage. Two passed midshipmen, who had quarrelled some months before, and at the time of the quarrel, belonged to the same ship, but by the changing of officers and crews, these two belligerent gentleman had been separated; but had always, since the quarrel, been determined to settle the matter honorably, on the first opportunity that presented itself. Accordingly, the preliminaries for a duel were arranged, and a meeting had on the beach at Carthge with pistols. They had exchanged shots before, but neither had been lucky enough to hit his antagonist. They were now determined to fix the matter up, man fashion.
So they measured their distance, and fired. But where the bullets went, no one could tell; it was certain, however, that neither of them did any harm. The friends (?) loaded up again, and one, two, three, fire! and no one either killed or wounded yet. They now concluded, at the suggestion of the seconds, to try small swords; when, after about twenty-five minutes, P — e received a scratch upon one of his ribs, which decided the battle in favor of the hero, who first drew blood. So ended this tragic affair. There are some interesting remains of old Carthage still to be seen. Some very large broken columns still standins: on the heights, and traces of the old walls are still visible.
Hannibal's wells are shown, but now nearly filled up. The top of the hill presents a beautiful view; away toward the eastward is the Lybian desert, and near by the pretty and busy town of Tunis. At the goletta there are some guns left mounted, whose calibres are twenty-one inches in diameter; these were intended for stone shot. The short passage from Carthage to Tunis is through a lake of water so highly impregnated with salt, that the spray is ruinous to fine clothes. News had just reached Tunis, that Lord Exmouth had completely demolished Algiers. This caused us to hasten there with all possible dispatch, fearing that our consul might be in danger. We ran down in two days, and entered the Bay.