The cause of this fatal affray was that great instigator of crimes, RUM. The men were both under its influence; fired with its fumes, they lost all discretion, and commenced a quarrel: from words they proceeded to blows. In this struggle Smith had the advantage. Finding himself worsted, the other ran down to the boat for a pistol. With this, he returned and threatened to shoot his adversary. Smith demanded a pistol for himself, that, as he said, he might have fair play. At that instant his cowardly opponent shot him! Had they both been sober, this tragedy would never have been enacted. Who can reveal the effects of alcohol? From this station we sailed to Tampico, where we lay but a short time, meeting with nothing worthy of remark, except that we found abundance of turtle in the river; during the day we could see their heads peeping up from the river in all directions. At night we used to send our men ashore to take them. This was done by tracking them on the sand, whither they went to deposit their eggs. We used to turn them over on to their backs, and drag them down to the boat. When alongside they were hoisted on board with a tackle; some of them weighing four or five hundred weight. They were then killed, and converted into a soup for the whole ship’s company. The day after we left Tampico on our passage to Vera Cruz, I was looking out on the cat-head or starboard bow; seeing a sail, I shouted, “Sail ho!” when three other vessels hove in sight. These were all patriot privateers, so we were ordered to our quarters; but the vessels, discovering our character, kept clear of our guns, and we pursued our own course. About ten o’clock, A. M., we saw two more of these privateers, crowded with men, but mounting only one long gun. Mistaking us for a Spanish brig, with money on board, they fired most lustily for us to heave to. We mounted short carronades, excepting two long nines at the bows, so we bore down, all hands being at their quarters, to bring our short guns to bear upon them. Meanwhile we kept one of the long nines in full blast. I was stationed at this gun; and it being my duty to sponge and load, I had to exert every muscle and strain every nerve, as, firing only one gun, it was necessary to discharge it as often as possible. Before, however, we came near enough to injure them, they discovered what we were, fired a leeward gun in token of friendship, and hauled off. If they had not, our men very _elegantly_ observed, they would have found they had taken the wrong pig by the ear. We soon came in sight of the beautiful revolving light, which throws its friendly beams on the port of Vera Cruz, where, as in the former places, we lay a short time, and then, after visiting some other ports, we returned to our former station at Ship Island. Here, however, we remained for only a brief period, before we were under weigh for New Orleans, from which place we sailed to Havana. Such is the constant change kept up by men of war on a cruise.