carefully between the Merrimac and Minnesota. It was a drawn
battle. But the effect was that of a Northern victory; for the
Merrimac was balked of her easy prey, and the North gained time
to outbuild the South completely.

Outbuilding the South of course meant tightening the "anaconda"
system of blockade, in the entangling coils of which the South
was caught already. Three thousand miles of Southern coastline
was, however, more than the North could blockade or even watch to
its own satisfaction all at once. Fogs, storms, and clever ruses
played their part on behalf of those who ran the blockade,
especially during the first two years; and it was almost more
than human nature could stand to keep forever on the extreme
alert, day after dreary day, through the deadly boredom of a long
blockade. Like caged eagles the crews passed many a weary week of
dull monotony without the chance of swooping on a chase. "Smoke
ho!" would be called from the main-topgallant cross-tree. "Where
away?" would be called back from the deck. "Up the river,
Sir!"--and there it would stay, the very mark of hope deferred.
Occasionally a cotton ship would make a dash, with lights out on
a dark night, or through a dense fog, when her smoke might
sometimes be conned from the tops. Occasionally, too, a foreigner
would try to run in, and not seldom succeed, because only the
fastest vessels tried to run the blockade after the first few
months. But the general experience was one of utter boredom
rarely relieved by a stroke of good luck.

The South could not break the blockade. But the North could
tighten it, and did so repeatedly, not only at sea but by
establishing strong strategic centers of its own along the