, 1865-08-21

[Cc11cspcadence OF the ChIcszo Tribunal
MorAp CITr, III, Aug. II, 1sG11,
| The Government sale Of boats In this cit,
| to-day, drew an Immense concourse Of peoplf
most Of whom came from merc curiosity. q
with the Insane expectation Of buying an ol
boat "cheap." Among the crowd we're to b
found steamboat men from cvcrg part Of th
mississippi Valley, and not few from th
Gulf coast several Of the boats having bee
purchased for Texas streams, and others 70
the Alabama river. SO great meeting O
boatmen WIS never before held In the Vest
md generation may pass away before cir
cuunstances viii again cali together SO maa,
representatives Of the steamboat iutcrcs
from the hikes to the Rio Grande, and from
The Alleghaniea to the Rocky Mouu.ains-
AFFEARAHcE OF TIE FLEET BEFoRs TIE SALE
Tie hoats and tngs, si1ty y-t1trce IN number
wern anchored in the river, between Mound
City and Cairo, nearly filling the bead bSt~esn
thctwo places. At night, when these crah were
decked ont with their full complement of Ian
terms and lights, they presented most beau.
tiful and striking appearance, resembling the
myriad liclts Of a large and popnlous city.
For many dsrs previous to tie sale, every de-
scriptiou Of small water craft Ind been con.
tinual]y In rcqulsition, conveying to and from
| the various boats would-be purchasers, thus
Ewing the public every means OF Information
Tys1eCi iuc the value Of tue boats and If aty
buycr paid mere than his boat Mns worth. BE-
did 20 with full knowledge Of whst he xps
doing.
TIE AUCTION AND IT'S RESULTS.
The Arrangements for the sale were happily
conceived and admirably carried out. In the
Il kAFa7&|Ar FtF hA <,AAf< f.t.Hl -
| stand for the auctionecr and clerks was erect-
cd handsomely decorated with national en-
| signs, while every convenience was afforded
reporters and purchasers. Promptly as thu
bells struck, announcing the hour Of noon.
the auctioneer, Sol. Silver, Of Caisn, took
the s1and q, and put up the iirst boat
soon knoekcd down to r. T. schenk, Tof lof
&, 500 The safc proceeded rapidly; the
bidding was good and spirited, and In three
hours the last tag was disposed of, and Uncle
Sam Ind closed ont most Of his ss bad stock u
fer the snug sum OF *625, 900 The ocean
steamer General Bragg, formerly the Mexico,
| selzad By the rebels and converted into for.
| niiiab1e gun boat, and captured at the taking
| Of Memphis, brought the inconside1ablc sum
| OF e., 1ou. The only interruption during the
sale was Protest By the former owners Of the
Little l:eoel which boat was also captured at
Memphis. Her former owners have cou-
mcnced suit against the United States for her
recovery, upon the ground that she WIS forsi-
bly, taken out Of tlleir possession By the reb-
els, and By them converted into war vessel.
Tbs suit is pending in the U. S. Circuit Court,
Der.
Thus ended the great Government sale, aud
with II vanished the Mississippi SQUADRON
but few vessels save the monitors and slow
going "turtie-backs" remain of this once
formidable fleet.
A0rSD CITY AFTER THE WAR
Several hours before the eale were spenf ,,v
TIE crowd in examining The advantages Of
Mount City as great commercial aud manu-.
featuring emporium nnl nnval stotiou, Ont.
sidess afc strangely obuvious to tho decided
Inducements this place affords over its vain
rival, and nm disposed to believe tLai Mound
Cayites arc IN about the same tl1. Tue civ
L. Struggling collection Of good, bad and in-
different buildings scattered along the Ohio
shore Tor about Two miles, end extending a
few hundred yards back to the timber. The
streets ali shoW the effects Of high water, tbs
Ohio intruding its foods into the houses with
nearly every June rise The city contains
some S,U0 inhabitants, and vas laid out by
the Emporium Real Estate Comnany,-1nost
q e1,la' TIE stock being owned Ia Philadelphia,
most magnificent in Its inception, looked wen
On paper, and only failed because Of It's I'M
psncticability and lack Of funds. It was in.
tended That tie city should extend from the /.
C. Railroad at the Junction to The Onio-to
embrace parks, avenues and drives innumera-
BILE, whilst churchcs, colleges, school houses,
town halls nnd an manner of public
buildings were to be scattered pfonis-
cuolaly whereou good site could be
obtained. The lithograph eag1ayings Of !" En-.
poIium City, as tic place was first called, look
magnificent and leave the eye nothing to
dezire-everyth1ns pertaining to first class
city. 4 large foundry, several factories md
shops werc erected and put In motion, but all
are now si1cnt and deserted; splsuIid brick
block Tor business houses was built at an
enormous expense, but remained without
tenant until taken By the Government for q
hospital TIE removal Of the Nary Yard to
hut With the removal Of The yard vent tue
Of the place, and the 'city' is as |
near played out as well can be-. Everything |
has dali, slcepy look and chccrloss aspect. !
Few Eigns Of lie arc visible III the streets, and
how Mound City is to sustain Itself Is 4
Letn expended in Cairo It would now hare I
been paying splendid interest as we'll ns
behetti1g the whole country.
DEDnls OF TIE NAVY yAEn.
The Navy Yard, bcinre being broken M |
and removed to st. Louis, wns model Of |
ncatness and order. The various buildings |
were convenient and admirably adapted 10 I
the purposes intended, and an immense
amount ot work was constantly under way. |
Here were repaired and frequently rebuilt all t
the iron-clads, dispatcl.boass, tugs and other |
vessels of the Western Navy, and the work |
was MS thorough md well done Is at anv |
other yard in the United States Int the |
war ships no longer line the shores, the 1na-
chiuery has been removed to St. Louis, and /
little now remains but the debris OF the Nary |
Yard. Some ordnance stores are still here, !!
including guns Of every size and pattern, and
the first object of interest that gTeets the ere
Of the stranger, on entering the enclosure, is
q quantity Of l5-inch shell; A sight Of these
dealh-dealiug nonsters will convey to the
cisilin butter idea Of what " war" means
tLan all the descriptions Of battles ever writ
ten. TIE lard is covered with Old irpn-the |
plating stripped + ON several vesscls-most Of
Il being brt half inch In thickness, whilst some.
aiken irom monitors and turtle-backs, Ia two
md a-haf inches in thickness. Guns that
lase not xithstood tie ordeal Of battle, or
zunk with the charred wreck Of some burned
Is un-clad7" nrc seen On every hand, whilst |
boilers md engines. In every stage Of useless
aess, are strrwed In utter confusion. All
these nre soon to be sold at auction, when a
fortune will be offered to some enterprising
Western ironanonger.
TEE THREE RIVER MONSTERS STILL on HAND,
But three fron-clads remain here, and their
fate or destination is uncertain. The Mis- [
souH, surrendered a few months since up Red
river ty the rebels, is being repaired, and will
psose 81; Sa agi{ customer es 70 IN enemy. she
H. arIoSs"a ~ ~ end 1,n15ta III ~ ,,r t,,,s1e h
las sutiicieut speed to make most forrnid.
lblc ram. The Inflated lndianola, which run
le rebel batteries at sicksburg only 10 he
sapsa1ea " .ne IGoe4 fam &ebu, ana blown
r. ~ sty !ne eaeany ~ loollsa lanlc 4es AZ Tue
:aoS, .aS. "seslea W. r. VI aer .naGnmeiy. sac
cnnn. ':n3 ,. WIN lhe Ps2getea 1npsosemsnls she
Nv r. ~ Vs. =! s ~. sua ooa,s u LIT
;as ias ~ ,ne e1,eln 3.e VA walefs. an ontlaadtsh,
lnia' ,aa9 T;a Sfa9t nss hlgn ana ar upon the
's1.,a;, taua. i LIN sstalaan ~ Ins 4useunoia,
ae .Gssa ,.,, & Soon ~ palt IN lae
AlessEA 0l"JA 1!41Au 0Alt, &4l14 HsIG.4Aut Na5 /