Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1855-06-30
THE srRcn OF sRBAsToPoL.
TnH RUSSIAN WORKS.


CAMr BEFORE SEBAsroro1, May 2I-Thc
rumor is that we open fire on the Gath
Thursday ncxt.) but that may be ruse to
distract tho attention of gossip and corres-
pondents" from the expedition. AS to the
operations of the French army, nothing is
known with any certainty.
1t is said that private Of the 4eth Regi.
meni has given some very veluable informa-
tion respecting the terrain or Sebastopol,
and has corrected O serious misconception
under which our engineers were laborng re-
spetting the course Of creek in front of the
left attack. The man has been for some
years in Russia, and as stone mason he
iabored at the works ofSobastopol, and knows
every street in it. lie pointed out the po-
sition OF the terminus Of the water works, and
OF the engines working in it, and it is now
stated that there ore no less than 100 guns.
all hid from view, defending these works, and
raking the Redan, so that had we assaulted
and carried the formidable work. we should
have met o fire on which none of our officers
had calculated. The uncertain reports We
receive respecting the strength of the garri-
son ore most pcrpexing.
II Is certain that the Russians require an
immense number of men to keep their CON-
munlcatlons in order, and to bring up their
supplies to Sebastopol,. wherever they may
come from. Should they, indeed be short of
mdter'df, 1t may be easy to estimate the dill
cuitles tney encounter in dragging up shot,
SHE'LL cannon and powder from their depots
hundreds of miles away, by referring to the
great labor we have to undergo, railway and
oil, in furnishing our batteries, only seven
miles from the sea, with the requisite arma
ment and ammunition. The French here were
lately flying large kites over the Flagstaff
bastion, whether to amuse themselves and
annoy the enemy, or to secure some practical
object, l cannot say. Their example has
been followed, and a large kite is at this
moment soaring gracefully in front of the
Fourth Division.
SCENES WITHIN SEBASTOPOL.
LETTER ERoM RUSSIAN THERE.
The Austrian lfiiitmy Zeitung contains
m interesting letter from Sebastopol, uuder
date May l3. The following is a summary
-"In spite of all the efforts which the enemy
have made, ouI bulwarks stand as fast as
ever. Long before the bombardment began,
the journals of the West informed us that
our walls and forts were speedily to be put
to new proof This made us redouble our
precautions, and we bore firmly the truly
murderous fire [holhsche which threatened
all with destruction. Nevertheless, thou
sands were devoted to death, and it made one
shudder to see the Chorus the steamboat
pass every two hours during the lombard
ment, from the south TO the north, with so
many wounded that she could scarcely carry
them. While standing in Bastion No. A.
the bastion which suffered more of ALL for
got the danger to which / was exposed in
admiration of the cool end stoical conduct of
our sailors They fell and expired without
cry, though racked with the most fearful
sgonies.
"The southern side of our town has suffer
ed most severely. and is hardly to be recog-
nized-5O0 houses have been totally destroy
ed, and grass is growing on their ruins. The
beautiful theatre no longer exists. Though
the upper districts of the town are not so
much damaged, yet there is nota single house
to be seen which does not bear manifest ira
ces of the bombardment The streets are
everywhere ploughed up by shot, and the
pavement is totally destroyed; {; while at every
corner stand whole pyramids of the enemy's
cannon balls and exploded shells, which were
daily collected before the opening Of the fire.
In many streets five or six such pyramids are
to be seen, each of them from feet to 10 feet
high. Nevertheless, business is continued,
and booths are opened for the sale of goods
Prices, however are enormously raised, and
sugar costs silver rouble (2s.) per lb. The
supply of meat is more than abundant, but
bread is exceedingly scarce. The streets are
filled with people, and crowds of children run
to and fro, assisting at the construction Of
barricades, aud pelting each other with balls
of clay. Our life in Sebastopol is agreeable
to us, for use in second nature. The
greatest activity prevails in the harbor of
Skaterin, where cannon balls, powder, fa-
cines, sacks, and provisions are landed in
astounding quantities, as they are forwarded
from the northern forts. In word, neither
the thunder of the enemy's cannon nor the
siege of Sebastopol, is suffered to disturb us
any longer; we mourn over adversaries who
are shedding their blood without result before
onr brazen walls. We read many absurd
statements about the condition of the be-
sieged but the absurdest of all is, undoubt-
edly, the news that we suffer from want Of
supplies, and that hundreds and hundreds Of
us us are daily cut off by death-of all which