Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1864-08-22
MORNING LEADER
morDAT MORNme. AUGUST %.
vivid prescription oG Guerrilla Wnrfar
on the Mississippi. a

vivid Description Of Guerrilla warfare
on the MississipPi. .sl.
In letter to the Detroit Tribune'we
find the following
You have heard of the gnerrillas. !
have seen them. Shall l undertake 10 zen
Won how a man feels when on the point 0f
Secoming their prey?
L. !, the 10th instant was travelling up
o.. 7issippi on the steamer Empress. l
tho AIis-- in my room eating a Dis Vf q
was sitting hen / heard sndden crash
watermelon, W. heavy box, In the DOW
like the falling OF 7ext breath were hall
of the boat At the and ] then saw
a dozen similar sounds, eabin, uttering
people running through the Nv Genera
a variety of exclamations. s.. -uing Il
McNeill buclding on his sword, ruL q Oh
and fro and giving orders. Some wei :
their hands and knees crawling along IT,
floor, and some were lying still and low
1t did not take me long to decide what
kind Of a scrape we had got into. Of
course, having no command or responsible
ity except for myself lay down, too
humbly, flat on the fiOor-only l took care
TO lie cndiCise toward the danger, instead
! of sidewise, as all the rest seemed to be do
ing. Bang bang crash erashl rattle
| rattle came the sounds. 1t was artillery
and infantry. At times when shell ex-
| ploded inside the boat, it made the whole
| structure tremble. Bang bangl When
would they stopl Shall we not soon be
mast this danger Alas, no-the shots
| strike thicker and faster. The cabin Is full
| of splinters. This is n dangerous plnce--
And yet we are only just opposite the bat
tery. Harlkl the whistle blOWsl The boa
is going to land. The bell rings. We ar
sinking, OF burning, or what is worse AM
more likely, we have surrendered Here
room for unpleasant reflections. No, tn
firing does not cease, and the engine work
apaIn. Thank God it works more vigol
ousiy than it did a moment ago. But til
nroiectiles strike us like hail. The bullei
non through here like beetles throug
, my study on q sultry summer evening
Can't I get safer place. The wome
are huddled together-some talntlng an
some creaming-though others are beha'
t ing themselves courageously. Crasi
goes shell through the whole length
the cabin. Let me find safer place. II
firing is now in the rear. go into Il
:, kitchen. Here is the range-and here
the wheel-house Better protection tbs
# nothing. Pop! popl popl come the sol
e balls. Bangl 90 the shells as they
= DIode inside the boat. There is no time
ID consider. compose myself in the Dirt
4, Kitchen floor. The good boat keeps
3. some headway-though slow W. a
= mast the battery. Whirr whirr ha
Of heard descriptions of that sound from @
IS brave soldiers, but never before had
i, Measure of hearing the sound 1t repe'
OF itself every half second-whir-r-rl-rlg
4 along side Of where l am now standn
8; Wbir-r-rI another strikes in the wat
70 And another. Now a shell explodes IN I
y air and the water leaps up in half doz
nd lets. We must be getting out OF ran
nd thank God. And there is the smoke o
;gunboat steaming down to meet US !
steam Is out Our boiler Is disabled
are scarcely moving. We are falling
hind. The current will carry US IN J
, minutes directly into the jaws Of that
tery again. Yes, it is a gunboat, and n'
black tug. The unoffending will have
IFS evenoe-. But how slow she comes. Ba
de whir-r-rI The battery again! No.
tS2oJ the gunboat sending prolectile pas
be down the river Bang bang again
o" ogain. The women are screaming agaI
hco one or two of them mean. They can
the he convinced that it is our dogs bark
now. The gunboat has rounded under
7. starp and the boom of her guns come
our cabin window The women actu
feel the eoncussion and think they are
But the danger is now past. we are
fast to the gunboat and towed TO the
posite bank