Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1863-03-16

owners of property along the lake, and
| upon the numerous streams leading into it.
unprotected by races, as they are, appreciate
the result of such an overflow and are doing
all in their power to prevent or avert the i'm
pending catastrophe. They have offered the
government of the United States three mil
| lions of dollars to discontinue operations
looking to the emptying of the Mississippi
into Lake Providence. Further than this,
they have made proposition to give the con-
federate government one million if they will
evacuate Vicksburg, or surrender, and render
the dreaded consummation, the destruction
of their houses and their property, unneces-
sary. 1t is not to be supposed that the rebels
will do as they wish, and there seems to be
no valid reason why. the federal authorities
should respect any Of the so-called rights of
| people in arms against it.
w hen the steamer Memphis, bringing late
| dispatches and large load of passengers
from Gen. Grants army, came past the mouth
| OF White river last week, her captain was
warned by the officers of gunboat stationed
| there that it would be well to make all the
| speed possible, as some confederate gunboats
| were known to be in the vicinity-up the
White-and it was expected they would soon
| come out and endeavor to flank the federal
fleet. The number of rebel steamers was
SAID to be ten or twelve. 1t may be possible
that these are transports upon the White riv-
er. 1t is even possible that there are rams
and gunbOats there but if so, they will have
hard work to get past the blockade of gun.
boats placed there expressly to meet such con-
hngencies, except they have two or three
boats like the Arkansas or Indianola, which
is not very probable.
NEAR V1CKsBURG, March 3-Admiral Da-
Vi1 II Dortar hos 49, Al Ill
Vicksburg at an early day; not by assault,
but by combinations which the enemy cannot
prevent, and am too loyal to reveal The
programme for the capture of the Mississippi
stronghold is very good one, and can see
no reason why it cannot be readily carried out.
The secessonists, it is said, have been very
uneasy for some time past respecting our
operations, and have been removing provis-
IONS, machinery and supplies eastward to the
Tombigbee river. ''Vicksburg must be ours"
said Porter. "ThNe is no question of the
result. We shall as certainly take it as that
the sun will rise tomorrow"
SCARED BY ''TURRETED MONSTER"
1t has been generally reported and believed
that the Indianola was blown up by the rebels
in a panic. Commodore Porter states that he
fitted up an old flat boat to resemble in ap-
pearance turreted iron-clad, and sent her
down past Vicksburg. His aim was to draw
the fire of the rebel batteries and learn more
about them. The rebels were completely de-
ceived by the "monster," and opened upon
her from the whole line of their batteries
Their cannonade was tremendous, but not
very effective. The monster passed the bat
teries uninjured. Just below the city were
the Indanola and the Queen of the West.
The Indianola was not in a condition to be
''saved," and the terrified rebels blew her up.
The Queen of the West ran away, going down
the river at the top of her speed. Never was
there a more ludicrous mistake. The Rich
mond Examiner has the following on the sub
Ject, which has been printed in some of the
northern papers, =.
''The reported fate of the Indianola is even
more disgraceful than farcical. Here was,
perhaps, the finest iron-clad in the western
waters, captured after heroic struggle, rap
| idly repaired, and destined to join the Queen
of the West in series of victories. Next
we hear that she was Of necessity blown up
in the true Merrimac-M Mallory style, and why !?
Laugh and hold your sides, lest you die of a
surfeit of derision, 0 Yankeedom! Blown
| up because, forsooth, flat boat or mud Scow,
with small house taken from the back gar
| den of plantation, put on top of it, is floated
down the river, before the frightened eyes of
the partisan rangers. A turreted monster!
ga most unfortunate and unnecessary af-
fair, says the dispatch. Rather so! 'The
turreted monster proved to be fat-boat, with
sundry fixtures to create deception! Think
OF that! She passed Vicksburg on Tuesday
night, and the officers (what officers p believ-
ing her to be turreted monster, blew up the
Indianola, but her guns fell into the enemy's
hands, This is passing odd. Her guns fell
| into the enemys hands after she was blown
up? Incredible! Mallory and Tatnall did
better than that with the Merrimac.
''sThe Queen of the Vest continues the
| facetious despatch, left in such hurry as to
| forget part of her crew, who were left on
shore Well done for the Queen of the West
| and her brave officers. Taken altogether
concludes the inimitable dispatch, lit was a
good joke of the partisan rangers, who are no.
toriously more cunning than brave Truly
an excellent joke-so excellent that every
man connected with this affair Of any resem-
| blance OF the truth is contained in the des-
patch) should be branded with the capital let
tiers IT. M and enrolled in detached com
pany, to be known by the name Of 'The Tur-
reted Monster henceforth and forever. We
employ the conditional tense because, as the
reader will perceive by Gen. Pemberton's tell
egram of later date, some doubt yet exists
as tie the true story. Gen. Pemberton does
not precisely contradict the original statement
relative to the turreted panic, but indicates
that the guns did not fall into the enemy's
hands because one of them bursted, and the
vessel itself is sunken in the river"
THE CAPTURE OF GEN. sToUGHToN.
A letter from Vermont, dated March 10,
and printed in the New York Times of Sat-
uIday, has the following:
81 took my morning paper of this date to
be met by the staring capitals, "A rebelraid on
Fairfax Court House, Gen. Stoughton among
the Prisoners! | INDUCED in my usual sigh
of resignation as | added this to my list of
unfortunate affairs which are among the incl
dents of the war. About an hour after L re-
ceived letter dated Fairfax Court House,
March 5, 1868, from which L make the fol-
| lowing extract:
'.Gen. Stoughton, who commands the sec
ond Vermont brigade, has his headquarters
in the village, although his brigade is five or
six miles away. What he could or would do
| in case of an attack, l don't know; but it
seems to me that general should be with his
men. If he is so fancy that he can't put up
with them, the government had better put him
| out" ''There is woman living in
the town (Fairfax) by the name Of Ford, not
married, who has been of great service to Gen.
Stuart in giving information, &c.,-so much
so that Stuart has conferred on her the rank