The Olive Jane, having been seen to be well on fire, the Alabama made her way back to the first prize, which, in charge of the prize crew, was doing her best to follow. This vessel was the Golden Eagle. She had sailed in ballast from San Francisco, had taken on a cargo of guano on a small island in the Pacific Ocean, rounded Cape Horn, crossed the equator and the calm belt, and was just catching the breezes which were expected to waft her to her destination at Cork, Ireland, when she fell in with the merciless destroyer, and was condemned to be burned.
The Alabama was now approaching a locality where active operation might be looked for. Says Captain Semmes:
We were now in latitude 30° and longitude 40°, and * * * on the charmed "crossing," leading to the coast of Brazil. By "crossing" is meant the point at which the ship's course crosses a given parallel of latitude. We must not, for instance, cross the thirtieth parallel, going southward, until we have reached a certain meridian--say that of forty degrees west. If we do, the north-east trade wind will pinch us, and perhaps prevent us from weathering Cape St. Roque. And when we reach the equator there is another crossing recommended to the mariner, as being most appropriate to his purpose. Thus it is that the roads upon the sea have been blazed out, as it were--the blazes not being exactly cut upon the forest trees, but upon parallels and meridians.
The Alabama was now kept exceedingly busy examining flags and papers of the passers by, to make sure that no Yankee should get past her unawares. February 27th the Washington fell into the Alabama's net, but she had a cargo of guano belonging to the Peruvian government; and her master having given a ransom bond of $50,000 and taken the Alabama's prisoners on board, was suffered to proceed on his voyage. March 1st the Bethia Thayer, with more Peruvian guano, was also released on bond. The next victim was the John A. Parks, of Hallowell, Maine, with a cargo of lumber for ports in Argentine or Uruguay. The cargo was certified in proper form to be English property, but some tell-tale letters in the mail bag showed that these certificates had been obtained for the sole purpose of preventing confiscation in case of capture, and ship and cargo were consigned to the flames.