Mississippi Democrat. (Carrollton, Miss.) 1844-18??, 1845-08-27

mountain, and the army was compelled to
toll up it in single file through the deep
snow. And when he arrived at the sum
nit, which was small fiat, about fifty rods
across, he found the Auslrians there, pre-
pared TO dispute the passage with him.
This narrow flat lay between two enor-
nous glaciers, that no human foot could
scale, and across it the enemy had built
three entertainments, forming a triple line.
and composed chiefly of huge blocks of
ice, cut into regular shapes, and fitted TO
each other. Behind these walls of ice.
the Austrians lay waiting the approach OF
the exhausted French. The grenadiers
clambered up the slippery path, formed in
column, and advanced with firm step on
the strong entertainments. A sheet Of fire
ran along their sides, strewing The rocks
with the dead. Pressing on, however, they
carried the external palisades. but the fire
here becoming so destructive, they were
compelled to retreat, and brought word to
Macdonald that the entertainments could
not be forced. Eight days after, however,
he ordered a fresh column under Van
damme, to attempt to carry them by as
saut. Under a terrible discharge, the in
trerid column moved up TO the icy wall,
and though devouring fire moved down
the men, so fierce was the onset that the
two external forts were carried. But the
fire from the inner retrenchment, and from
blOckhouse that commanded the position
of the French, was too terrific to withstand,
and after bravely struggling against such
desperate odds, they were compelled to re-
treat, On the snowy summit of the To-
nal among tho glaciers, and scattered
around on the huge blocks of ice, lay the
brave dead, while the wintry sun flashed
mournfulIy down on the bayonets Of the
retreating and wounded column. Nothing
daunted, Macdonald by a circuitous route
over two other mountain ridges, at length
reached the Adige, and fulfilled the extra
ordinary commands of Napoleon. This
wonderful exploit Bonaparate took every
pains TO disparage, knowing as he did,
that it rivalled the most brilliant achieve
ment he ever performed. But the world
can now see clearly, and that passage of
the brave Scotchman stands alone in mo-
dern warfare. A hired press and interest
ed flatterers could echo the false state
ments of Napoleon, while he welded the
destinies of Europe, but Tirae, which
IS Sets all things eyen,"
has reversed that falsehood. The passage
| Of Napoleon over the San Bernard was a
magnificent feat, but the passage of the
Splugen, by Macdonald, was desperate
one. One was attended with difficulties
alone, the other with danger-one was ex-
ecuted in safety, the other with the loss Of
whole companies. This latter fact alone
IS sufficient to prove which was the mos
difficult and dangerous feat. SuwarIov
was driven up his pass by the cannon o.
the French, and led his bleeding thou
sands over the snow, while the enemy:
muskets were continually thinning his de
fenceless ranks. Macdonald led his CO
lumn through an awful gorge, and up q
naked Alpine peak, when the tempest wa:
raging, and the snow flying, and the ava
lanches falling in all the terror of win
try hurricane. Bonaparte led has army
over the San Bernard, in the delightful
month of summer, when the genial SUI
subdues the asperity of the Alps, and with
out an enemy to modest him. Which
achievement of the three stands lowest II
the scale, it is not difficult to determine.