Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1863-03-04
TnE OPERATIONS AGAINsr VICxs,
DuRG.


The following description OF snsiHSsr,ns
operations against vishsburg viii bs found sf
interest:
The fseco Pase b q strUt twenty nsiss in
kH&te, connecting the Mississippi with tn Oold-
9e 9eEhsissippi river miles below Helena. Ia
Neiy marrow end crooked pase, nigh cutie
ceep. IN forurr yoars trading boats wers se-
css'omsd TO raeh through here In the Winter
sssFen, wesn sre water was high, and ply their
socsoon through The Summer On the syessA Of
rtycTe with which the pass counecn. Bat in 90
81 .ei wss psss+d by the isS ieiatsre OF Mi-sisi-
rieiceire mp the pese, on scoount OF the annual
.tnrEcaic1 u caused throashout the 10 wlauas
OF The Northern part Of the state. ana a aesyy
leus was eonsens,sd across it parallel With
This iercr has now been cut by our troeo..
And ss he water In the Hissiseippiis 10 vrry hisn-
tows through the pass fn p~rfact torrenI
Bsck OF the hyee, and TO the lower end Of the
psss, the ensmy, On leGrninS or oor attentions,
attempted 20 Distract The stream by nfiinx h
with tcge, trees, and al manner Of Obstacles
Our hoors have been employed in removing
these obstacles, and have succeeded In getting
70 The ene OF tcs pass but soma In pc ii usents
.tiil exist IN the upper end OF the Oosdws
river. o.. .r.. -
The Coldwater 10 quite small stream, ,sczroely
nnyieable for steamtoxu. From the mouth OF
the 1'sss dow n 20 the most tn OF the Oold N xter-
or it's junction with the Little Tailahatchis-.s
thirty miies. The Cpidwater and The Little
lahatchie. This is . navigable river, one hum
drcd snc twenty miles long 10 ia 1uucaon with
the Mississiprf. Thus the total distaAce 10 be
traversed In going by this route from the head
OF the Pass 70 Vtcksburg n four hundred and
eixty uilee.
In this di.tsnce the enemy ha. fortiffcatious
st The junction Of the Big Taliahatch:e and ihe
faliaeuex rivers, at Yaxoo city, one hundred
miiee above ihe mouth OF the Yaroo river and
at Haines Blufs near Nicksburg. II In pro. a.
Bile that the role opject Of the expedition is 70
f<r f..s ~<EI IT..
Complish which we have only 10 light by the.
fortifications at the mouth Of the YsIla6uea and
at fazco city. Our iron clad gunboa,s-those
OF them Grtaiied for this expeditioa-wui
hardly End any trouble In reducing any werks
the enemy may have ai these localities.
LAKKYRovIDEkck ouT-ory.
The lake il 43o miles above New Orleans In
Louisiana. Al no remote period the present
lake has heen the bed OF the Mississippi river
At Its lower extremity, the water in tbs lake
reaches 10 within lees TIA an q half mile Of the
river. The old bed Of the river il stiil a deep
hollow between the two, through which the
river is prevented from flowing st high water
by two immense leveee across its mouth on the
river bank. The surface Of the lake is fifteen
feet below the present level of the river, 40
that by only cutting the lsvee, boats OF nearly
any capacity could run into the lake to-day.
The lake is connected with a chain OF bayous
souihwardly until the eaploration comes out
On the Tenkas river. These bayons are being
connected with short canals, and when once
Eayou Baxter and Rayeu Macon are thus
loibco. nc ntsSissippi kurned 1nuo Lake
Providence, will 20 r0Iiing toward the Gulf
Down the Tensas, deep, not wide river, and
even now nayigable for $50 miles by large
steam boats, we pass through The richest cotton
region OF Louisiana Al Trinity IL unltes with
the Washlts, 10 form the Biaak River, which
flows into the Red River thirty miles from its
mouth. -..
The Washita river is nsvigable for large boats
fer three hundred miles from its mouth. The
Red river is the Sou hernmost of the great
Western tributaries OF the Mississippi, and
with IFS tribu aries has an entire length of two
thousand one hundred miles. Ii lie navigable
by steamers to Shreveport, five hundred miles
from its mouth, and travPrsee throughout n
rec ion Of pre-eminent fertility. That is the
Rcd river to which the Lake Pro evidence cutoT
viii open.
r TIE ATCHArALAvA Pass.
Atchafalaya means s.I,ost Water" and the
water that was lost TO the region IL traverses
was missed when the Red River gave mp It's
own iDdepende mt channel 10 the Gulf. But
oEca a channel always channel In the South
west, and the neglected Lost w ater set mp for
itself as bayou $50 miles long. by which the
rebel steamers have been fading their way,
frt IN the G ulf through to Nickshurg, thus CIV
ing New Orleans the 70 by. All this The Lake
Providence cut on will correct. .