The Press.
London, England, 1855-11-10 00:00:00

1066

stopped by the fire of a Russian battery. Of the
appearance of the river at the entrance the Times
correspondent writes
The mouth is about five miles wide. The banks are
high on both sides, and the brown steppe, studded with
herds, farmhouses, and Cossacks, presents no object of
interest. About three miles up, on the left-hand bank,
there is a small village, and one of the largest farms 1 ever
saw. Five miles up on the right.hand bank there is
another village with two pretty churches. There are
guard stations and lookout posts on both sides, as usual.
The river is three or four miles broad up to the Spit,
where it narrows considerably. On both sides the cliff is
upwards of 100 feet high, and can scarcely be commanded
by the guns of a ship. However, it was advisable to
ascertain what defences there were on the lower part of the
river till it contracted into within range from both banks.—
Times cor., Oct. 20.

The squadron were steaming slowly up, every one
on board examining the coast, and admiring the nume-
rous farmyards, when as they neared a high bank,
just over the Voloisk Spit, a small Russian battery

opened fire :
The Cracker had run on ahead, and the Grinder was
just drawing on parallel with this high bank—we were all
examining it--one officer was saying to the other, " Well!
I wonder the Russians have not got a battery on that cliff"
—when from a seam in its side, parallel with the water, a
puff of white smoke spirted out, and the rush of a shot
followed, and was terminated by a splash in the water close
to the side of the Grinder. " Tell the Grinder he may give
him a shot in ieply," cried Admiral Stewart, and little
Grinder, with more valour than discretion, at once put down
his helm and ran in to land, drawing as he did across the
Stromboli, at which the enemy had opened another gun at
the moment, but this shot fell short also. —lb.
The Stromboli soon closed up with the gun-boat,
and tried a shot or two at long range :
The enemy replied. We heal d the shot coming right at
us, and as it flew over the head of Captain Spratt, who was
stationed at the foretop looking out for shoals, and plunged
into the water 501) or 600 yards beyond us, it became
evident that the Muscov had been playing the deep game
of firing short to entice us well under his battery, so that
he was trying extreme range, and had heavier guns than
we thought. The Spitfire' Cracker, and Grinder were now
coming into play, and the former two matte some excellent
practice, and struck the earth right and left of the battery.
Stromboli was edging down nearer, and the captains of the
guns were all with eye intently gazing along their guns.
" Try two thousand yards." Away flew the iron messenger
again, but he only told the Russians to bob their heads and
keep out of his way, and flew behind them. The field-
pieces now took to firing shell, and studded the air above
ns with smoke clouds, and the angry hum of the splinters
was heard once more, but for the most part the) were too
light to reach us. Whiz !—right across our crowded deck
comes another round shot, and plashes into the water over
our counters. The long gun at the bow sends a shot in
reply right into them this time, at 1,700 yards, and the
Spitfire follows the example. Whiz! whiz! two shot, one
after the other, at the Stromboli, one dashing the water up
in a pillar close to her sides, the other cutting the jib foot-
rope.—lb.
As the sole object of the expedition was to ascer-
tain what defences the Russians had prepared to
dispute the passage, Admiral Stewart, after a parting
shot or two, returned down the river. The next day
a small squadron of French gun-boats ran up to the
Spit, and engaged the battery :
One small gun-boat stood bravely in within 1,500 yards
of the shore, the others anchored at 1,1400, and all engaged
the guns in the breastwork very sharply. Their shot flew
over the cliff, hit its face, knocited the water at its base
into clouds of spray, and the Russians struck the water
behind, before, at this side, and at that side of the vessel,
but never hit mast, spar, or rope, and so the fight con-
tinued ; but the French aver they dismounted one gun at
least, and drew down a great body of the enemy nefore
they retired, which they did after half an hour's dalliance
with the Russians, and then they anchored off the mouth
of the Bug, close to us once more.—lb.
The reason of the very limited advance of these
expeditions up the river, appears to be want of suf-
ficient land forces to act with any degree of success
against Nicolaieff :
Had Marshal Pelissier listened to the earnest demands
of Sir Edmund Lyons for 15,000 or 20,000 men, there
would, indeed, have been some object of utility in such a
reconnaissance, for the operations of our steam fleet might
have mystified the enemy so completely as to enable us to
land a force by a coup de main to destroy, though not to
occupy, Nicolaieff ; but it appears that from the Spit below
the confluence of the Ingul and Bug the town is 5,000
yards off, and is invisible, so that it would be necessary for
a fleet showing a very natrow front and in very shoal and
difficult water to force batteries, booms, sunken vessels,
gun.baats, and get round into the Ingul itself before they
could fire a shot on the place ; and meantime every vessel
would have to run the guantlet of high banks lined with
riflemen which their guns could not reach. Sir Houston
Stewart, under any circumstances, would scarcely have
been justified in allowing an experiment of the kind to be
undertaken, more especially as its success could not have
led to any result ; but it would not have been in his
province to give permission, inasmuch as Sir Edmund
Lyons was almost within sight.—fb.
A letter from Vienna, of the 2nd, states upon
authority :
It is confirmed that the Grand Duke Constantine has
the intention of defending Nicolaietf himself, in conjunc-
tion with General Todtleben ; and that GeneralfLuders has