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.

As early as the 4th of February I had written to Halleck about this route, stating that I thought it much more practicable than the other undertaking (the Lake Providence route), and that it would have been accomplished with much less labor if commenced before the water had got all over the country.

The upper end of these bayous being cut off from a water supply, further than the rainfall back of the levees, was grown up with dense timber for a distance of several miles from their source.  It was necessary, therefore, to clear this out before letting in the water from the river.  This work was continued until the waters of the river began to recede and the road to Richmond, Louisiana, emerged from the water.