The National tribune., 1906-03-01

carrying in all so seamen and soldiers
armed to the teeth, might have been
seen a little after dark pushing out
from the various gunboats, and gather
ing under the shadows of the willows
that fringe the Kentucky shore Each
boat had an officer in command, and
the whole were in charge of Lieut-Col
Roberts. of the 42d H. The strictest
silence was observed-not whisper nor
even the splash of an oar broke the
stiffness. AT length everything was
ready, and giving themselves The cur
rent, the boats started down the stream
the oarsnlen quietly giving each boat
sufficient motion only to enable the
steersmen TO keep it close within the
shadows. In this mysterious manner
they departed, and speedily disappeared
IN the darkness. An hour later and the
solitary rebel sentry who, musket in
hand, paced backward and forward
along the parapet Of the upper battery,
had his thoughts disturbed by a re-
markable appearance. He had just en-
tered the depths of a cogitation, the
main features of which probably were
that Yankees were vulgar, base, low
born mudsills; that Southerners are
chivalrous, noble, knightly, superior;
and that one of the latter is just an
equal match for from five TO 25 of the
former, when, suddenly, happening to
glance toward the river, his eyes caught
sight of numberless black objects drift
ing slowly toward him, and above these
dark masses were luminous points and
flashes, which seemed to tayelop them
like network of ghostly phosphores-
cent flame. He rubbed his eyes, looked
again at these mysterious phenomena,
and was about to conclude that some
thing was abroad, when suddenly q
voice was heard, "Give way" Fifty
oars dropped in the water, and the
dark-looking objects, with the swiftness
OF thought, shot straight for his posi-
ton. He had only time to see that the
supernatural light was the gleam of
bayonets, and then to his disordered
vision there appeared to be coming at
him a hundred boats, each carrying a
thousand Yankee.
With yell of terror he pulled off
his piece in the air, and fed with the
darkness, no more TO be seen. He had
no more than left when the five boats
struck the bank, their contents poured
ashore and took possession of the bat
terry, and guards were posted around
and their rat-tail files and sledge-ham-
mers were brought into requisition with
a success that, in the course of half an
hour, effectually spiked every gun
there were seven-in the battery
The party remained in the works
about an hour, and then. without hear
ing a word from the enemy, returned
to the fleet. The very audacity of the
thing seems to have so paralyzed the
rebels that they offered no opposition
or, probably, the fears of the frightened
sentry SO magnified the Federal force
that they were induced to believe that
an army had effected landing at the
battery, and hence, instead of assum-
Ing the offensive, they busted them
selves in preparations to repel an at
tack. The circumstance of the battery
being entirely surrounded by water
with the exception Of the gun platform:
and narrow parapet, which alone con
nected them with the higher banks be,
low, prevented the rebels from keeping
d large force at this place. and conse,
quently they were in no condition Il
offer any effective defense.