AKMY OPERATIONS. 



45 



kets into the darkness, and indications of ex- 

 citement were manifest everywhere. The boat 

 had been discovered running the blockade, bat 

 no one knew where she was. Five minutes 

 passed after the first gun was fired, and another 

 had not followed. At last it became necessary 

 to start the wheels in order to get steerage way 

 on the steamer. The noise of the steam drew 

 forth a second and third gun, and a discharge 

 of musketry, and again all was still. The boat 

 drifted on a few moments in silence, when the 

 steam was again let on, and she dashed down 

 the river, regardless of any noise that might be 

 made. Battery after battery now opened upon 

 her until twenty shots were fired, and she had 

 passed uninjured beyond their reach. The 

 steamer was under the command of Lieut.- 

 Oom. Brown, and continued on down the river, 

 until she met the Era as above stated. After 

 pursuing the Webb, in vain, as far as the mouth 

 of Eed river, the Indianola proceeded up that 

 stream in search of Confederate transports, and 

 kept up a watch off the mouth of the Atcha- 

 falaya river. Here her commander learned that 

 the Queen of the "West had been repaired and 

 might soon be down. As the narrowness of 

 the Ked river made it difficult to manoeuvre a 

 long boat like the Indianola, while the Queen 

 was much shorter, Commander Brown de- 

 termined to return to the mouth of the Big 

 Black river, and attempt to pass up.that stream, 

 and reach if possible the bridge of the Vicks- 

 burg and Jackson railroad. This had been one 

 of the objects for which the steamers had run 

 the blockade. The Big Black river empties 

 into the Mississippi at Grand Gulf, forty miles 

 below Vicksburg. It rises in the northern part 

 of the State of Mississippi, and flows south- 

 westerly, passing about fifteen miles east of 

 Vicksburg. 



On Tuesday morning, Feb. 24th, the India- 

 nola reached the mouth of the Big Black, and 

 in the afternoon made preparations to move up 

 the river, when two steamers were descried 

 approaching. These proved to be the Con- 

 federate gunboat "Webb and the Queen of the 

 "West. The "Webb was a powerful boat and one 

 of the swiftest on the river. They immediately 

 attacked the Indianola, and, chiefly by striking 

 her with their rams, so shattered her as to en- 

 danger her sinking, when she was surrendered 

 and immediately run ashore. 



A few days afterward a flatboat was fitted 

 up by Admiral Porter to appear like a gun- 

 boat, and set adrift in the river without a pilot 

 or crew. As it passed the batteries at Vicks- 

 burg, it was supposed to be a formidable ram, 

 and they fired fiercely. It escaped uninjured 

 however, and floated on down the river. Infor- 

 mation of its approach was sent to the Queen 

 of the "West, lying under the batteries at "War- 

 renton, eight miles below Vicksburg, and she 

 immediately fled down stream. The Indianola 

 was undergoing repairs near where she was 

 taken, and the authorities at Vicksburg, think- 

 ing that she would be recaptured by the ram, 



issued an order to burn her up. This order 

 was sent down by a courier to the officer in 

 charge of the boat. A few hours later, and 

 another order was sent down countermanding 

 the first, it having been ascertained that the 

 monstrous craft was nothing else than a coal- 

 boat. But before it reached the Indianola she 

 had been blown to atoms : not even a gun was 

 saved. 



Meanwhile, the work of cutting channels 

 from the Mississippi to Providence Lake, on 

 the west side, and to Moon Lake, on the east 

 side, was progressing rapidly. 



Lake Providence is a few miles south of the 

 boundary line between Arkansas and Louisi- 

 ana. It is situated in Carroll parish, Louisiana, 

 about one mile west of the Mississippi river, 

 and about seventy-five miles above Vicksburg. 

 It is about six miles in length. Two streams 

 flow out of the lake to the south, Moon bayou 

 and Tensas river. The former, after running 

 about a hundred miles, unites with the latter. 

 The two continue south, and unite with the 

 Washita, and are called after the junction Black 

 river, which empties into the Red river, as is 

 stated on a preceding page. By cutting a chan- 

 nel from the Mississippi to Lake Providence, 

 Gen. Grant thought a communication might 

 be had through that lake down the Tensas 

 and Black into the Red river, and thence 

 through the Atchafalaya, with Gen. Banks at 

 New Orleans. This route avoided the batteries 

 at Vicksburg and Port Hudson. The canal to 

 the lake was finished so as to let in the water 

 on the 16th of March. The flood was so great as 

 to inundate a large district of country, some of 

 which was fine land for growing cotton. Some 

 boats passed into Lake Providence, but the un- 

 certainty of the channel of the Tensas river, 

 and the interest which was now excited by the 

 Yazoo Pass expedition, together -with the un- 

 important results to be anticipated by remov- 

 ing a large force to the Red river or below, 

 caused a diversion from this route to others 

 presenting more certain prospects of success 

 against Vicksburg. 



Eight miles below Helena, in Arkansas, and 

 on the opposite side of the river, is a little lake, 

 known as Moon Lake. The passage from the 

 Mississippi across the lake to the mouth of the 

 Yazoo Pass is about eight miles ; thence through 

 the Pass proper to the Coldwater river, twelve 

 miles. The Coldwater, a narrow stream, runs 

 south, empties into the Tallahatchie, which con- 

 tinues to flow south, and unites with the Yal- 

 lobusha, forming the Yazoo river, which emp- 

 ties into the Mississippi, a few miles above 

 Vicksburg. By opening a wider channel from 

 the Mississippi into Moon Lake, it was the 

 opinion that the inner streams would be ren- 

 dered more easily navigable, in consequence 

 of an increase of water, so that some smaller 

 gunboats and a few troops could destroy the 

 enemy's transports in the Yazoo, and their 

 gunboats which were building. In ordinary 

 stages of water, steamboats could ascend the 



