Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1855-02-22

voice that is heard. Yet prisoners as
sure us that there are battalions bivon-
lacking in every square Passing BY
the second pareilel to; 60 TO the left,
the Flagstaff Bastion is visable on the
right. This side of the works is de-
Tended by various sorts Of entreneh-
ments. From the ravine spoken Of
above the ports Of Sevastopol is seen in
the distance; its enormous magazines,
storehouses, and barracks are distinctly
visible. 1t separates the bastion from
the ruined tower, which kept up so ter
rible fire on the 18th Of October. and
was in short time completely demol-
ished by our batteries. Then we come
to the Quarantine Fort, bristling with
guns, and separated from us by ravine,
where the church-yard is situated
This fort, the gates of which were al
most touched by the brave General
Lourmel when he fell, consists of two
parts, the one turned toward the land,
the other toward the sea, and joined to-
gcther by crenellsted wall. The ope-
ratiOns for the attack are going on
there
ANY THING NEW BOYS?
A letter dated Sevastopol, Dec. 81,
has the following:
"The other night, in a deluge of
rain, and in complete darkness, some
twenty of those intrepid volunteers
known as enfans perd3s, because they
risk their lives in the most daring en-
terprises, passed out of our trenches
Two led the way, one behind the other
at the distance of five PAGES. The rest
of the band followed, commanded by
an officer called Benner, formerly Of the
seventh regiment of the line. They
all crept along on their bellies, in dead
silence. Their chief, an old Zouave,
had taught them how. AS each man
lies down, he glides along his rifle to
the full stretch of his arm, he then
glides on himself, and thus gets on
without noise or embarrassment, always
ready to bound to his feet, should an
enemy surprise him. The first in ad-
vance acted as guide; he felt the way;
the second communicated with the Off
Ger surrounded by his band. Every
man had his eyes and ears on the alert.
The path they took made a circuit
They had to leave on the right an
earthwork occupied BY Russians.
To fall upon it, carry it, or kill its
occupants, would not have been diff
cult task, but it would have gwen the
alarm. 1t was necessary to double it
and glide between it and the ditch, in
spect the enemy's works, and return
without letting them be aware of the
danger they had incurred. Before en-
tering the narrow strip which separates
the fosse from the Russian post, the Of
ficer left more than half his men on
station. Should his party be discover
ed, they were to fall upon the post. He
himself, with five or six determined
men, enters the dangerous path, and
proceeds alongside the .fosse;; with his
hand he tries the strength of the de-
fenses; they are bound firmly together,
and are fixed fast in the ground. The
tosSe is six feet deep, and full of rain
water. 1t seems possible to scale the
tosse; to tear up the defenses would re-
quire time; it would be better to burn
them; the cheUauz de trise are connected
together by chains. If the one burns,
the other will remain; it is more advisa-
bic to carry them off some twenty
yards-once there, they are ours. The
night is pitch dark. A few steps ahead
man appears. Astonished he glides
toward him.
1t is one of his own men, If they
all get up they are lost; trench stops
him; he hears the sound OF the spade
and the pickaxe in the rock; he hears
the workmen converse, the guard splash
with their feet in the water, the men
cough. What does this mean? The
sound is hollow; it is a mine. 1t COM
mences here and leads there. But the
rain continues to pour down. 1t is Bit
ter cold, and the flash of a gun may
lead to their discovery. The officer
gives the signal to retreat. They re-
turn the way they came. Their track
on the moist earth guides them. They
pass again the Russian outwork. The
Russian little suspect a mortal foe is SO
near to them. The men speak low to-
gether; they might take them off pris-
Oners, but it would be imprudent.-l
There are other parts of the defenses
to be examined. The success of the
enterprise is more valuable than the
death of ten Russian soldiers. Finally, /
all having been explored, they rejoin the
of the band who are waiting
for them lying down in the mud. Amy
thing new, boys?' says the officer
Nothing Then let us return And
these twenty brave fellows, wet to the
skin, pass our sentries, who were be-
coming anxious about them, in the same
silence as before"
,o.-