The daily Evansville journal. (Evansville, Ind.) 1862-1863, 1863-04-10

IL EfgzzzsEizEE
he's dway by seven o'clock. The water
was swift aud rapidly rising At times
the bow Of the boat would go crushing
into the brush and timber on one side,
and then her stern would swing around,
sweeping away the brush and dead limbs
.overhrnging the Pass on the other side.
IT is well for the boats that most of the
timber which presents Instructions IS
dead and easily broken. Had such not
been the case, We would hardly have
reached orr destination. At times there
would be a shower of broken limbs and
dead wood swept down by the chimneys
which would cover the hurricane root.
Again the struggle between the chimneys
and some obstinate limb would be so
fercely contested as to leave the result
for time in doubt, until the limb would /
finally give way and come down with
crash that startled every passenger
There are few bends in the Pass. The
turns are very abrupt, forming either
/ acute OF right angles. Many OF these
l turns can be made only by sending
! small boat in advance with a line. Fast
/ enine enc end of it to a tree, the crew
l could pull the boat around the point with
safety, if not with ease. Thus did we
| work our way slowly along, each days
| experience being similar to the last.
/ On Sunday we passed the steamer
| Iuella, sunk. She was heavily loaded
with comu,issary stores, most of which
we're lost Her troops and passengers
--4es5u, A.stty -v,ll r1ui eay'JnJ@n the
! Pass, sunk a few yards above the Luella.
The latter boat barely succeeded in get
! ting out of the Pass before sinking Had
she went down in the Pass it would have
| so INSTRUCTED it as to have prevented the
! passage of other boats. The Govern
ment should be thankful for small favors
Our boat was guarded by detachment
of the 56th Ohio volunteers, under the
command of Lieut. Col Rayner. Trouble
from guerrillas was anticipated, and our
boys began making preparations for them
By barrlcadlng the boats. A large frame
house situated near the Pass which had
never been finished, was visited, and a
large portion of the lumber transferred
to our boat. A gun boat, the Petrol,
which we afterwards met, had been fired
into, two men killed and three wounded
We arrived at Coldwater river on Mon
day at 4 o'clock. 1t proved to be but a
repetition of the Pass in every particu-
lar, except that it was little WIDER
Our boat was damaged more in the Cold
water than in the Pass Monday was a
rainy day, and in connection with the
extensive and dismal swamps which ex-
tend hack into the country for miles on
each side of the river, was not we'll cal
culated to cheer our spirits. The coun-
try is most desolate There were but
two other plantations on the Pass, and
but four Or five on the Coldwater worthy
the name of plantations. These of which
we speak appeared to be well stocked
with healthy negroes. One of them
we will say for the encouragement OF
some Of our young men of marriagea-
BILE AGES owned by pretty young girl
of sixteen or seventeen summers. The
estate comprises about 800 acres oil
land, and one hundred negroes, with a
nice little brick house for the mistress
and comfortable quarters for the slaves.
At another, owned by a man named
Hatco, we landed a scouting party, who
fiscating box of shoes, a Mississippi rife
and three intelligent contrabands, who
begged so earnestly to be taken on the
boat, that ex-Gov. Wood of Illinois. who
was passenger and headed the scouts,
could not refuse and so brought them
along.
We reached the Tallehatchie FLYER on
Wednesday. At the mouth of the Cold
water lay the mosquito gunboat Petrie,
which had been ordered there to prevent
the erection of batteries by the rebels.
The shores of the Tallehatchie as of
the Coldwater, are covered with thick
growth of cane, except where they are
lmpenetrable swamps Both rivers are
so crooked that it not unfrequently hap
pened that the beat which was behind US
would present the appearance of being
in our front. There are points where the
neck OF land between two portions of the
river is so narrow that stone can readi-
Iy be thrown from one portion of the
stream to the other, and yet it requires a
run OF an hour or two for boat to pass
round the bend
But | will weary patience no longer
We arrived here on Friday morning
without having been fired on by guer-
rillas and with no other accident than
the damage sustained by the boats Her
gingerbread work > is all torn off, one
of her fantails shattered, two of her rud-
ders lost or broken, chimney guys broken
or torn down, jack-staff gone, and sundry
other mishaps are plainly visible.
No movements of special interest on
the part of the army and navy have oc-
Cured since the repulse of the gunboats
by the Fort The rebels are busily at
work Strengthening their Notifications,
and are far better prepared for pro-
tracted engagement than at any time
heretofore. Our army is doing compare
observe. We understand that something
decisive will be attempted in dav or
two, and we propose to stay and see it.
T. NJ +.
B9r We acknowledge the RECENT of