, 1862-03-27
FROM Down THE RIVER.

THURSDAY, MARCH 81, 1869.
FROM DOWN THE RIVER.
MonoTonY or the BoMBARbMENT.
How a Brave Man Spiked the
Rebel Gums.
PLENTY OF AMMUNITION YET,
Correspondence of the St. Louis Democrat
Or Board G. s: qua1oAr CARosnErKr,)
Within Range OF the Enemy q Guna ut
Island No. "a, Sunday, March IS.
Our oWn firing, diversified as 1t has been
Tor the pabt week, has become no longer a
matter Of interest to lockers on.
a par. Of our mortar boats have occupied 3
place OF no great security On the Missouri
1hore, and more particularly before the in
creased rise in the nver, when they were left
ut night, easily accessible BY land without
any more guard or protection than our gun
hoats could afford. Yesterday, some Of these,
at the suggestion Of Capt Wake, were trans
3erred to the Kentucky shore, where they can
be quite as efficient and much safer The
them, and would not hesitate to adopt and at
tempt the execution Of any desperate plao'
even under the cannon OF our gunDoats-
which would avail US little IN supr1se BY
nlght-to set adrif few Of our mortar
boats, to be caught ut the Island and used
pgainst Gen Pope's blockade.
In former letter Wrote Of contemplated
attempt on the part Of Lieut.. Allen, Of COM
pany &c" Of Twenty-segenth Illinois, to
spike the guns Of the upper rebel fort at this
place, ehf1stened, as We have been told, Fort
Polk. This bold task was undertaken last
Friday night, when the Lieutenant, in compa~
ny With four othez men, dropped down in
Ekif, and found large body Of rebels at work
cannon. The Lieutenant resolved not to be
totally Disappointed, and landing, very coolly
approached q sentinel who was pacing
= pa1apet at the lower extremity Of
the dort, and representing himself as
a brother rebel, remarked "1 viii relieve
wearied and thankfu1, moved of to his quar-
ters, when the Lieutenant spiked the 81
FOUNDER at the lower part OF the fort, which
was served vi With such accuracy against Us On
rebels would not suffer him to prosecute any
further work which had already proven him
daring officer.
That night the Ca1onde1et was ordered to
drop down and occupy position nearer the
preliminary to 4 general attack. cannot say.
It may be for the purpose Of occasional firing,
and Obtaining the range to make more eHec-
tive the shooting when all cooperate. The
Mound City, which has held one position, and
discharged a few shot and shell ever since last
Monday, Las now acquired the closest precis~
ion. and when signaled yesterday to open fire,
threw fifteen or twenty shell, every one Of
which struck within or. upon the enemy s
works, when the flag officer, apparently satis-
fled with it as an experiment, signaled her to
cease firing
The prize gunboat Eastport, which is being
fitted up at Mound City, is to be partially arm
cd with navy canncn, carrying two for
ward and two aft It is thought she will be,
when completed, Lone Of the most scrviceablc
boats Of the feet.
Some apprchensfons hare been expressed
that OUT fleet would use up all Of our ammuni
lion if the bombardmcnt YVES protracted long a!
No. 10. a little examination into our resonr
ce6 relieves all fears on that point. Captain
Sanford has 400 tons Of shot and shell, in
Guiding 50, eco rounds for gunboats, and II COX
rounds for the mOrtArs. and averages Of 50f
rounds for each piece Of ordnance in tht
squadron
The steamer Universe is expected down thi:
evening with five or Fix hundred bales Of hay
which, like the enemy'e cotton bales, will bt
used to resist cannon balls.
MORTARS AND GUNBOATS WON'T DO
From the Cincinnati Gazette, yesterday.J
The rebels still exhibit signs Of determine
Hon to resist to the last They are constant
II strengthening their fnrtifcations at suc1
points as cannot be reached by the gunboatl
from the present position Of the fleet. ",
day much better prepared torepulse an attacl
than they were Ehcn We first arrived here
They have removed number Of guns from
some batteries and placed them upon other
better calculated to reach us. They under
Etard fully the strength Of our fleet and tl'
if.ra nF 1cy- -
decrease the horror OF Commodore Foote'
command, which the battles Of Forts Henr
and Donelson spread anon st them.
During the past three days We have bee1
doing but little firing. Two or three mortar
have been working al intervals, for the sole OF
jcct Of keeping the enemy alive to the fac
that the Federals are on their heels. Afte
niue days practice, one would think those il
charge OF the 1nortars ought to have attained
by practice, at least small degree Of prt
fciency- Yet such is not the case judgin
from the latest shots fired Now and then
Eheu is landed in the right place, and doe
come execution; but such instances are yer
rare.
The truth Of The matter is, Island No. 10:
not the place for nortars. The main encam]
ments were removed beyond their reach
week ago, and there is now nothing for the1
TO he aimed at except the scattered batterie
On the Island and along the Kentucky shors
The only "branch" OF wartare In which mo
enemy, is the reduction Of cities and larg
camps, where shell can explode any pla{
within an area Of five miles with certainty
doing some execution They could have dor
camp with 10000 1nen was on the summit
a high hl11 in their direct range
The gunboats will not take very prom
neDt part IN the capture Of Island No. Il
The lew engagements We have already ha
with the enemy at this point have demo,
tn "a 11r,1c TGT1f ftF a1f4t
Of tho f1ot1lla- To maintain our position
The river, fighting "hcad on even at Ion
range, down such tremendous current as
nowin the Mississippi, would be an imposs
proves bow little can be achieved by cannol
a6lng at long range, where the es
emy's Notifications are as we'll built &
they arc here. It is simply waste of ammr
milton on both SIDES In an entire days frin
from four batteries, our fleet was struck BIZ
three times, and there is little doubt that Of
Shots were proportionntcly ineffective. 1
Fort Donelson, in an hour and a half, our fle
was struck upward of two hundred time
This shows the difference between close 81
long range shooting. The case, then, stan'
thus: The gunboats cannot rednce Islar
No 10 at long range, and the current of u
Mississippi will not permit them to get I'M
close quarters without presenting their broa
E1des TO the enemy, and aE soon as they
this they will be sunk.
0ER CAIRO CORRESPONDENCE.
Especial Correspondence Of the Chicago Tribuu
CA1Ro, March 2G, 1861
4 te1eeraphic correspondent Of the Jour,
and IoA chaSacterizcs my dispatch to t
TRIBUNE relative to the rumorcd threaten,
attack upon Cape Girardeau as "sel1," a,
broadly intinates that your Corresponds
was the victim Of hoax For their delec.
tien, and If possible to stimulate then, to a
ditiona1 cxcrtions in that direction, I y
State how the intelligence was obtainc
Lieutenant Mitchell, an officer Of Powclrs B;
teE,sta'ioned at Cape Girardcau, came to hea
quarters at Cairo, and informed Gen. Stro
1hat Jtf Was securing the country back
Cape G1rardeau, impressing men and hors
Into the Confederate service, and that 10,
citizens feared an attack upon the post whs
were stored seventeen large gums, and la,
quantity ofammunition and provision, ,withc
adequate protection. Gen Strong iu,mediat.
communicated the facts to Gen. Hal1eck, n
by him was directed, if he thought proper,
Send feinforcements. Two companies of
tantfy and 3 squadron OF cavalry were !
mcdiatelJ dispatched, which arrived in sea-
to prevent the Threatened demonstration,
may be, in the face of these clrcumstant
that the "too easy believing reporter Of