The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1898-12-15

| broken country. The year before, q naval
officer in command OF a fleet that shelled
! the city for some time had embarked
upon the canal project. He had gathered
together force OF 200 negroes, and had
made considerable progress in the work
when the rapid falling Of the river com
PEELED the Withdrawal Of the feet. The
heavy and long continued rains in the
north were now causing the river to rise
| swiftly and il seemed to Gen. Grant that a
| little work would make the canal suffi-
GENTLY large at least to permit the pas
| sage of bis feet and let him take his
army to where he could land it on the
high ground below the city.
| Four tn u sand soldiers-as many as
could work at it at once-were set to
| digging the ditch down through the clay to
| the sandy sub-soil which would yield
really to the securing Of the current. 1t
was dreary work. The rain fell almost
daily: the country was overfoWed every
where, and the only way the camps were
kept from being submerged was by build
ing levees are ind them. Everywhere was
! a sea of mud, through which the wretched
Solliers waded disconsolately in the per-
fOrmancc OF such duties as were impera-
tive. Disease scourged them unmerci-
fully.
1t was in the midst Of this that Bronson
Karl and O'Neil arrived from the hospital
at Memphis. They looked at the thou
sands tOiling YEARLY in the mige OF the
/
ing in the cold rain, and vainly tying
by one ingenious device or another-to re-
ducc somewhat the discon1fsrts Of their
desolate and mud-bound camps. They
saw the lcvees-the only places left for
graVe3-dOtted with mCurnful burial par
ties committing To the earth the bodies Of
those who had succumbed to the priya-
| tons and sulferinGs. They contemplated
all this and shuddered. 1t was the most
desolate outlook OF their experience.
"a an eel, rph rf
Bunyan never saw one in his dreams,
said Bronson.
1T makes Cairo seem like Baradise ;"
| said Kari
"'Oi wud not live Away, Oh ashk not to
sthay'-in this place, Joined in O'Neil
The kindly little Adiutant came up and
said:
Boys, it's CHASTITY here and the longer
you stay the worse il will be. 1t Will be
| rough on you, because you are just cut Of
| the hospital, and | thought of a way to
help you out, and the Colonel approves.
We've just received requisi,ion FIR men
| TO go a gunbodt as sharpshoOterS, and
I've placed you on the detail It's likely
| to be sharp work in some directions, but
anything is better than To stay here"
THE gunboats are old acGuaintanccS Of
Karls and of mine" said Bronson, and
we are very glad TO accept the detail, with
many thanks 10 you"
"O1less it's the Coloners orders, Oil
not CO." said O'Neil; Dim an officer now
an an officers first july is to shtay wild
his min an share their fate. DIN shtay
wild my min come what may"
He was unaiterable, but persisted that
Bronson and Karl should 90. They were
reluctant 10 be separated, but there was
n chance of their being Of much more
service on the gunboats than wading
about in the mud. SO they were sent on
board their old acquaintance, the ram
| Queen Of the West. She was now being
| fitted up for the most desperate and dar-'
ing adventure yet conceived by her com
mander-Col. Ellet. This was to run her
4 by the seven miles Of batteries that
crowned the VicksbuTg nights, and in the
midst OF them, and ram the steamer City
of Vicksburg, which lay directly under
the fires OF the heaviest guns. To APP
preciate the danger, il must be borne in
mind that the Queen OF the West was
absolutely unnamed and that the half
inch pine planking Of her upper works
was all the resistance she could make to
the passage of shot from the heavy guns
on the hills; also, that she must run
for about four miles on a course that was
enfiladed by nearly 100 cannon.
| All that could be done to protect her
was TO pile 300 bales OF cotton around her
machinery to help ward off the shot. The
! boat and everybody on board had to take
| their chances on the rebels skill with
would end the whole matter with a per-
| forated boiler and the scalding of all on
| board, or with the sinking Of the boat to
the bottom like a stone.
| IL was on the evening of the I'd of
| February, 1863, that the two comrades
took their places with 20 others on tho
ram. Past experience had made familiar
the swift, methodiral way in which the
navy makes ready for battle, and they