Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1863-03-27
Frsn Our caralrr in Frs.s.

I From the Huntsville Advocate
We learn from an officer Of Van Dorn's com
msnd, who Jeff Columbia On the I4tb. that th
! whole comm and was then st that point rossinl
their horses after tbs rsesnt severe and tiresom
marches, which had well nigh worn them oul
/ The ponto0n bridge, which the nights and i'm
petuositY Of the current, during the Tecen
/ heavy rains, had forbidden being crossed, va
/ being laid down, and is doubtless ready 70
I crossing BY this tim3. So soon as completed !
was Van DoTn's intention 70 place his esmman
upon the north side of the river snd move upol
the enemy.
The four Yankee divisions under command
Of Generals Granger. Sheridan and JEFF G Davis
exasperated At their failure 70 trap our cavalry
returned to Franklin and hiurfreesboro', destroy
ing forage, fences, farming implements, snC
stealing all the stock as they went back. They
told the people that Van Dorm had escaped and
was now upon their rear, but they would ye
catch him Three Of tss four divisions were de
tached rom RoseeTans at MuFfTessboro', and
they have now returned. Additional cavalry
had been ordered 10 report to Van Dorm, and
our caYslrymen were IN the highest spirits al
their recent successes and eager 20 repeat them
Immense trains Of the enemy, In al cases &C
companied BY large infantry escort, come from
MuThsesboro' and forage almost EithiR our
lines When hearing Of this the ''liltle dragon
II said 70 have exclaimed.
Wait Tor the wagon boys. sad wen ali take ride
A STEAMBOAT MAN.-A Mississippi steam
boat man is hardly human being He Ger
tsinly is not Of this world His "hoTue is on tie
deep" He has studied currents and eddies and
whirlWinds till i makes ones head swim 70
hear him talk They can tell from the surface
Of the boiling water whether if is "shoal OF
deep" Ia their cesseless races they have
learned how 70 derive every conceivable advaa-
tage from the currents whether ascending or de-
scendiDg the river To an uninitiatsd trav-
eler there is a tedious monotony in the scenery
along She Mississippi, but to the captain Of
river craft, every "t0W-hesd' has its nsme
and distinctive features. When he looks out
from his Texas" at midnight, he recognizes
the nearest headland, snd determines the dis
sanee made, and the speed Of his boat He can
tell you on the instant the number Of pounds Of
steam under the pressure Of which he has been
running. If a quarrel has occurred between
himself and rival. he knows how to cross the
river, to calculate the effect Of the current on the
course Of his boat, and to run his bow into the
wheel house Of his compsttor Put = seaman
on the Mississippi 10 command Of gunhosts,
and we shall ever have them run ashore I
burned as was the Arkansas.
Il was as well to make Stouewau Jackson q
commodore and give him the place of Semmes,
as send en- Annapolis midshipmsn to command
gunbOats on the Mississippi An old river cap
tain would never have lost the Arkansas. To
burn his boat would never occur to him, to sure
has boat has been the greet lesson Of his life If
the Arkansas could have been run ashore and
burnt above Baton Rouge, she could have driven
her way through that feet Of gunbosts which
did such fearful work among the troops of Clark
and BreckinTidge. Her IRON besk weighed
twenty thousand pounds, and yet the "seamen"
know not how TO use It. A river captain would
hsve neglected his guns. but with bis knowledge
Of the cnTsnt be would have sunk every vessel
that obstrueted his course. Shirley should have
commanded the boat he built the best ever con
struetsd.-Richm0Ed correspondence KH0zUiiLs
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