, 1863-03-19
THE YkzOO PASS EXPEDITION,
DESCRIPTION OF THE YAZ00
PASS.
The Voyage Of the Fleet
Through IT,
Completion Of the Trip Amid
Many Dangers.

VVA3pkGt4VA VI tAV LIP AAAAA
Many Dangers.
The Coldwater River and
It's Nature.
frorresnondcnce OF the N. T. Herald.l
UNITED STATS GuNnoAr MAnAoRA:
cnInWArEn RIVER, MisH., Feb %, 1853.
The Rnb;con is crossed. Three and half
days of most tedious, yexatious, bothersome,
troublesome and damaging steamboatlng has
brought the expedition twenty miles On its
way, and disclosed to Its view the How famous
Yazoo Pass. A more e1ecrab1e place was
never known. Should one propose to run
steamboat to the moon, be would be consId-
cred equally sane By those who had seen the
Tazoo Pass before this expedition forced q
passage through it rs the person who pro-
poEeo this movement. l Would like to de-
Fcribe
TIE TAzoo pAss.
would like to compare 1t to something
that would be ineligible to your readers.
But know Of nothing in heaven or on earth,
or in the waters under the earth, that will
compare with 1t. Had the immortal bard
desired subject from which to draw a pic
ture Of the way that leads to the realms Of
darkness and despair, he had only to picture
the Yazoo Pass. Let me try, in the feeble
language can command, to describe 1t. Per
haps the reader has passed through the Dis
mai Swamp Of Virginia; or, If not, he las
read the accounts of travellers who hare en-
joyea that privilege. Then he has heard Of
read Of the unhzoken silence that perEades the
boundless tall forests Of the John Brewu tract
in Western New York. Conceive the ugliest
features Of these three varieties Of terri
tory, and he will by able, be combining
region through which the Yazoo Pass runs.
Those who have watched the course OF q
snake as he trails his way along the ground,
winding this way and that, hithtr and yonder,
going in al directions at the same time, and
yet maintaining something Of 4 regular course
ture in their own minds, understand some
thing Of the tortnous conrse Of the Yazoo
Pass. have passed through 1t from one end
to the other, aud assert caudidly that there
is not throu ghout IFS entire lengtha piece 200
feet long Of perfectly straight river. The or
ders under which this expedition moved re-
qui1ed that boats should keep 500 yards apart;
but there was no place to be found in the
whole stream where they could sre oue.third
| OF this distance ahead or behind them. Once,
indeed, we did catch glimpse OF the Rather,
hagshiR; She was Just abreast Of us. and
about LOO yards away, going in an opposite di-
| rection to us. We fancied re were close on
to her, and, as it Vas near night, concluded to
| tic up, SO as to let her Get away from us. The
| next morning We got under way at daylight,
and jnst as the sun was at the meridian we
! passed the spot where we had seen our file
leader eighteen hours before.
THE DISTINCTIONS.
| Much has been said and written of the ef-
| forts put forth by the rebels to obstruct this
| pass. Their labor was all thrown awar Ma
| tuTe had placed greater obstructions in the
! way than in enemy could place there, no mat
tef how powerful he might have been, or how
long he bad been employed. Cypress and
fusion, internixed with gigantic cotton~woods
| bearing the widest ENHANCEMENT OF wild
| grape vines. The stream itself is never to
exceed a hundred feet in breadth, and fire.
! qucntly not more than fifty or seventy five.
Over this the timber forms i most perfect arch
| frequently, as good fortune would hare it, 50
high as to admlt.ofthc easy passage ofthc tail
smoke stacks beneath it, Eut sometimes graz
ing their tops, and again angrily toppling over
the intruders. But Providence evidently did
| not intend this pass for a military highway
| Providence opposed the movement, not 10
much by this Aigh arch enclosing the river
and shutting 1t out from view, as by the long,
| Jagged limbs it thrust out from the trees dl.
rectly across the channel, and the numerous
crooked and leaning trees that formed 4 most
effective blockade.
TIE TRIP.
It may be possible, from what have writ
ten, to get IN IDA Of the Yazoo Pass. 4 short
account Of the trip through it will be more
profitable SOr this purpose. The total length
Of the pass from the Mississippi to the Cold
water River is twenty miles. From the Mis-.
Eissippi to the east side Of Moon Lake, where
the Pass proper commences, Is called eight
miles, leaving the distance from Moon Lake
| to the ColdWater twelve miles. We left tht
Lake on Wednesday morning, the 18th inst.
and reached the Coldwater this afternoon jus
after dinner, making the tripin exactly three
days and q half.
IN THE rpFEa END OF THE rAss
| | the stream is confined, and rushes along will
great rapidity through its narrow channel
The rate being rot less than FIVE or six mile:
perLour. Lower down there are strips O.
! oycrfown, giving greater width, and conse
quently less rapidity to the current. But il
| no place were ne able even to drift Will
! the current. That would inc7itabl,
; | have dashed US into the timber and tori
: our boat to atoms. From the time we entered
the Pass until We emerged from it we could
, | only Keep our wheels backing, and even thi
!, was not enough. a small boat was rcquisit
0 On either side, by which lines we're constant1.
passed out and made Fast ito the trees to checl
our hcadway or case us around the shar
bends. The expedition has been facctiousl
. called "the stern heel expedition" from I'll
circumstance Of there being none but stern
!, wheel boats (which are narrower than side
wheel 5teanlers) engaged in It: but it nigh
with equal propriety be called "the bac
water expedition OF the "lo1d back expedl
:. tion," because Of ouradyanclng only by holt
ing back.
DAMAGED OCCASIONALLY.
But with all our care and labor 1t has bee
impossible to save our boats from, much dan
age Frequently it was impossible to chcc
c the Roadway Of a vessel in time to saTe it
a smokestaeks, and away would 60 those ia
a iron cylinders, crashing gtlrought the hurrica1
, deck, and making complete wreck Of IL
n limb would come crashing and smashin
# along the side, tearing away stanchio,
and braces, and sometimes even Il
:, light tulkheads around the upp
Ii Acting Commander Smiths cabin turned ini
complete wreck. In fact, all the ycsse
q look as though they had been in hard fougl
t battle and been badly worsted, only that moi
= Of them are damaged in machinery or hui
l. It has been most exciting trip; but belle,
. njggcr--a contraband- belonging to this &c
j. sci. He WAS lying in his hammock In ii
= sick bay, being on the sick list, when hug
It limb, broken of by the persistence of oi
{. emoke-stacks. came down endwise upon Il
r deck, and passing through, administered Il
Is ter emancipation proclamation to that po
g dnrkey than any Father Abraham has issu'
yet. .....
Is BUT TIE RCD1CoS Is PASSED.
6 VIC are through this last Of all plac
y through which steamer ought to attempt
l. pass, and there is no return for u.s. We Ia
. now only to fight our way out By anoth
is route. 70 this our minds are fully made u
and We will do It. ! say we are through. 0
>r boat is the fourth In the line. It Is throug
e and those behind 1t are struggling along z
l. expect they will get through, because ,
P. the thing can be done. The road behind
must certainly be easier than ne found
n. We have made q route ourselves by choppi
down trees, cutting away oTerhangi
7, branches, dselodging huge rafts Of heavy dri
Mood, and forcing our own boat throue
,e our improvements, Ike an ayaricious taz til
NJ claimant to lands. We shall all wait here
- fast as the bouts come In, until the last b
arrived, and then push forward On what ]
IT. hope to find little more practicable route.
Of CoLDwATIR RrsER, March /, 1863
y ALL THROUGH.
:" The boats have al arrived in the Coldwat,
mr. and VIC are ready to push forward again
he the morning according TO orders already
he sued. Some Of the vessels look pretty har
~ ~ The gunboat Romeo has both her chime
to to carried away. The tender Bayard has he
~ in her hun. All Of them hare their upp
r. works badly torn to pieces, and their Elet
~. more or less damaged; but none are so bad
be injured as to affect their working qua1itl
ID materially. We shall start forward at d.
60 light in the morning with high hopes and e:
Nd nest desires to meet the enemy as soon as
=" can conveniently show himself We hear
II him at the mouth Of the Coldwater, which
h. now reported to be only twelve miles fro
AZ here. 1t is said that he has battery ther
but We only fear he will get away from the
before we arrive. He Certainly has nothi
at that point that can hold out against o