Just at nightfall, on the evening of the 21st of June, I received the following despatch from the commanding officer of the forts:
CAPTAIN:--I am desired by the commanding officer to state, that the _Ivy_--this was a small tender of the forts, and letter-of-marque--reports that the _Powhatan_ has left, in pursuit of two ships, and that he has a telegram from Pass à L'Outre, to the effect, that a boat from the _Brooklyn_ had put into the river and was making for the telegraph station, where she was expected to arrive within a few minutes.
The _Powhatan_ was blockading the Southwest Pass, and it was barely possible that I might get to sea, through this pass, if a pilot could be at once procured; and so I immediately ordered steam to be raised, and getting up my anchor, steamed down to the Head of the Passes, where the river branches into its three principal outlets. Arriving here, at half-past ten P. M. I dispatched a boat to the light-house, for a pilot; but the keeper _knew nothing_ of the pilots, and was unwilling to come on board, himself, though requested. The night wore away, and nothing could be done.
The telescope revealed to us, the next morning, that the _Powhatan_ had returned to her station. From the sullen, and unsatisfactory message, which had been returned to me, by the keeper of the light-house, I began to suspect that there was something wrong, about the pilots; and it being quite necessary that I should have one constantly, on board, to enable me to take advantage of any temporary absence of the enemy's cruisers, without having to hunt up one for the emergency, I dispatched the _Ivy_, to the pilots' station, at the Southwest Pass, in search of one. This active little cruiser returned in the course of a few hours, and reported that none of the pilots were willing to come on board of me! I received, about the same time, a telegraphic despatch from the Southwest Pass, forwarded to me through Major Duncan, which read as follows: "Applied to the Captain of the Pilots' Association for a pilot for the _Sumter_. He requested me to state, that there are no pilots on duty now!" "So ho! sits the wind in that quarter," thought I--I will soon set this matter right. I, at once, sent Lieutenant Stribling on board the _Ivy_, and directed him to proceed to the Pilots' Association, and deliver, and see executed the following written order: