Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1863-03-12
MORNING LEADER.
THURsDAY MORNING, mARCH II.
The Yazoo Pas ExpedItiou--aIoeH Lake

writing under date Of Moon Lake, hissis-
sippi, February 22d, says
UHToon Lake fga small lunsted sheet Of
water. about eight miles in length, with an
average width Of half or two-thirds Of
mile. and bearing unmistskable indications
Of having at some past time been q section
Of The bed Of the Mississippi River Il
lies directly east Of the Mississippi, and Is
reached through very narrow and difh-
cult pass, about a mile in length, forming
the western end OF the YRzoo Pass To
speak as intelligenny as possible, 1 should
say that the Ya7oo Pass runs through this
lake. II enters It from the Mississippi at
The northern end and leaves It again st
about its centre. In passing from the
river into the pass, there is q ridge, or
narrow bar, to be crossed, Immediately be-
y0nd which the pass makes q short, right
angular bend to the left The water flows
over this ridge with wonderful velocity,
almost resembling cataract, and a steam
er has to be nicely handled to prevent its
being thrown into the woods just beyond
the ridge by the velocity Of the current.
But after crossing this ridge, and turning
The bend to The left, the channel to the
lake is very straight and easy Of nsviga-
hon, having a uniform depth of about
three fathoms, with a current at the pres
out time Of not far from four miles an
hour. The only trouble is in the narrow
ness Of the stream, which affords no op-
portunity for vessels moving in opposite
directions to pass each other and requires
skillful piloting to keep them out of the
woods that line its edges it has no banks.
The width between the timber scarcely
exceeds IS feet, though occasionally places
may be found, of short length, where it
Ridens out to1O0 feet About. midway Of
this pass is the great Mississippi leVee
built by the State in 1856, to shut up this
channel, and reclaim large tracts OF land
in the interior Of the State that had for
merly been annually inundated by the wa
ter Of the Mississippi River flowing off
through this outlet This levee is one Of
the largest and finest TO be seen in the
Mississippi Valley. It was built at great
expense, and with an outlay Of q vast
amount Of labor. Its destruction at the
point where it crosses the channel Of this
pass was but the work of day by small
detachment Of our troops. They had only
TO cut a small hole in il to start The water
when the rapid current and vast volume
Of water soon tore away the rest, making
the gap Of equal width with the pass itself
After reaching the lake there is no
further trouble until we again enter the
pass leading on to the Coldwater river
The lake, as have said above, has about
the same width as the Mississippi river,
and has now a uniform depth over its
whole area sufficient 70 float the largest
class Of steamers. It is very picturesque
and beautiful sheet Of water, the entrance
to and exit from which, both being so very
narrow and through thick woods, can
scarcely be seen a hundred yards away
from their mouths. The shores are high
and dry. On the eastern bank there are
two CT three plantations; but, with these
exceptions, the surroundings are an un-
broken forest. It's isolation, and conse-
quent quiet, have made it great resort
f0r aquatic birds of all kinds Wild ducks
and geese abound here in profusion. Oc-
easionally a swan is seen. Pelicans and
guils hy about over its surface with the
utmost freedom. The water being deep,
cool and comparatively clear, abounds
with fsh Of all kinds. In fact the place |
is q very paradise for sportsmen-or, rath- |
eF, should have said, lras prior to the ad-
vent Of this feet into its quiet quarters |
So unusual 3 sight as large steamers, puff
ing and snorting about, has frightened |
much Of the game away, and even the |
hshes manifesto shyness now, as if they.
too, had become alarmed by the disturb; |
ance Of the waters
"Sueh is the rendezvous of this expedi- |
ton. It is but about eight miles from He |
lena, from which place vessels can be sent |
at any time, as they may be got ready, |
and avoid exposure to the investigations |
and observations Of spies. A casual OBJ
server at Helena can form no possible idea |
Of the character or magnitude of this ex-
pedition, as he can see but one or two boats
ct time, and even then is left to guess
whether they are intended for this move
ment or not. And on this base my strong
est hopes for the success Of the movement.
The enemy, through their own reckless
ness, earelessness, or treachery, have had
timely information OfOur intention to send
en- expedition down this Pass but as yet
we have every reason to believe that they
are in total ignorance Of the magnitude
and formidable character Of the expedi-
ton. I do not give them credit for sufi-
cient gullibility 10 believe that we contem-
plate sending heavy iron-clad gunboats-
some Of the largest of our feet-doWn this
narrow and tortuous pass nor do be-
heVe they will be prepared to see US ap- I
proach with any great number ofgunboats
Of any kind. NOryet can they be expect
ed to anticipate the approach Of large
steamers, loaded with soldiers and artil-
lery, through this route, which has never
before been nsVigable BY anything but
Aatboats propelled by the force of the cur
rent and guided by hand. Rendezvousiug. {
therefore, in this secluded spot, where
here Is no likelihood Of being seen BY the
.nemy, there is every reason TO anticipate T,
hat when We move forward in body
lnc come upon them, we shall take them
completely by surprise. At least I hope SO,
" II we do not take the enemy by sur r
lrise,-h they shall chance to be fully in .
armed Of the nature and extent of our
preparations, and shall be fully prepared
q meet us,-God help us i There will be
70 escape for any Of US. When we ad-
'anoe beyond this rendezvous, there is NO
eturn for US. The pass from here - Cold I
Fater is much narrower and infinitely
aore tortuous, with a more rapfd current
han that leading from tie Mississippi into
be lake. Once through thGs We can nevar 4
'st these boats hack again through II. Tsa
urrent itself would be 6 suiicisst tT,,,S5-
nent TO our return, did none ofber aTistS
l1E only chance, theP, Is to fight our wav l
trough to ticksburg. The only watch
Tora We can have wiz b. Figbt or IieIt
,sl;r, - ~. '11s Ge ,ch beyond this lake,
NJ so1Sbts ssdwater river, that the en-
Srev1 70 obstruct the channel so as
.ent our boats from getting through.
e distance is not far from fifteen miles
5y the course Of the pass Throughout this
distance they filed the channel with logs,
.rees, stumps, and all manner Of obstacles.
Our troops have been at work nearly three
Tseks in clearing out these distractions
- 81. -. - Lha Lirnhar tLnt nHar-