Sherman went back, at the request of the admiral, to clear out Black Bayou and to hurry up reinforcements, which were far behind.  On the night of the 19th he received notice from the admiral that he had been attacked by sharp-shooters and was in imminent peril.  Sherman at once returned through Black Bayou in a canoe, and passed on until he met a steamer, with the last of the reinforcements he had, coming up.  They tried to force their way through Black Bayou with their steamer, but, finding it slow and tedious work, debarked and pushed forward on foot.  It was night when they landed, and intensely dark.  There was but a narrow strip of land above water, and that was grown up with underbrush or cane.  The troops lighted their way through this with candles carried in their hands for a mile and a half, when they came to an open plantation.  Here the troops rested until morning.  They made twenty-one miles from this resting-place by noon the next day, and were in time to rescue the fleet.  Porter had fully made up his mind to blow up the gunboats rather than have them fall into the hands of the enemy.  More welcome visitors he probably never met than the “boys in blue” on this occasion.  The vessels were backed out and returned to their rendezvous on the Mississippi; and thus ended in failure the fourth attempt to get in rear of Vicksburg.

CHAPTER XXXII.

The bayous west of the Mississippi—­criticisms of the northern press —­running the batteries—­loss of the Indianola—­disposition of the troops.

The original canal scheme was also abandoned on the 27th of March.  The effort to make a waterway through Lake Providence and the connecting bayous was abandoned as wholly impracticable about the same time.

At Milliken’s Bend, and also at Young’s Point, bayous or channels start, which connecting with other bayous passing Richmond, Louisiana, enter the Mississippi at Carthage twenty-five or thirty miles above Grand Gulf.  The Mississippi levee cuts the supply of water off from these bayous or channels, but all the rainfall behind the levee, at these points, is carried through these same channels to the river below.  In case of a crevasse in this vicinity, the water escaping would find its outlet through the same channels.  The dredges and laborers from the canal having been driven out by overflow and the enemy’s batteries, I determined to open these other channels, if possible.  If successful the effort would afford a route, away from the enemy’s batteries, for our transports.  There was a good road back of the levees, along these bayous, to carry the troops, artillery and wagon trains over whenever the water receded a little, and after a few days of dry weather.  Accordingly, with the abandonment of all the other plans for reaching a base heretofore described, this new one was undertaken.