r first
encounter with the Rebel battalions. Colonel Blair was less
demonstrative than the officers of his regiment, but was evidently
much elated at the prospect of doing something aggressive. General
Lyon was in the cabin, quiet, reserved, and thoughtful. With Colonel
Blair he conversed long and freely. Few others approached him. Outside
the cabin the soldiers were ardently discussing the coming campaign,
and wishing an early opportunity for winning glory in battle.

To one who travels for the first time by steamboat from St. Louis in a
northerly direction, a curious picture is presented. The water in
the Mississippi above the mouth of the Missouri is quite clear and
transparent. That from the Missouri is of a dirty yellow color,
derived from the large quantity of earthy matter which it holds in
solution. For several miles below the junction of the streams, the
two currents remain separated, the line between them being plainly
perceptible. The pilots usually endeavor to keep on the dividing line,
so that one can look from the opposite sides of a boat and imagine
himself sailing upon two rivers of different character at the same
moment.

Sometimes this distinctive line continues for fifteen or twenty miles,
but usually less than ten. A soldier wittily remarked, that the water
from the Upper Mississippi derived its transparency from the free
States, from whence it came, while the Missouri, emerging from a slave
State, was, consequently, of a repulsive hue. As Missouri is now a
free State, the soldier's remark is not applicable.

Steaming up the Missouri toward the State capital, we found the
sentiment along the banks of the river strongly in favor of the Union.
Home Guard organizations had been hastily formed, and were doing their
best for the protection of the railway. Most of the villages along
the Lower Missouri contained a strong German element, which needs no
question of its loyalty. The railway bridges were thoroughly guarded,
and each town had a small garrison to suppress any rising of the
Secessionists. The conduct of the people in these villages was quite
different from the course of those residing above Jefferson City.
Where the inhabitants possessed no slaves, there was outspoken
loyalty. In the most populous slave districts it was the reverse.
Slaveholders declared that their interest lay in secession. There were
a few exceptions, but they were very far in a minority.

Our triumphal entry into Jefferson