t steamboats pass down the Mississippi
from St. Louis, and down the Ohio from Louisville and Cincinnati, with
thousands of troops on board, with the flags and banners streaming, the
bands playing, and the soldiers cheering. It was pleasant to stand upon
the levee, and behold the stirring scenes,--the gunboats commanded by
the brave and good Admiral Foote, the great eleven-inch guns peeping
from the portholes,--but Paul longed for active life. He rejoiced when
he heard that his regiment was ordered to leave the Ohio River and go
down toward Columbus on a reconnoitring expedition. The soldiers were so
happy that they threw up their caps and gave a loud hurrah.

With their haversacks full of hard-tack and cold boiled beef, carrying
their tin cups and plates, their cartridge-boxes full of cartridges,
they embarked on one of the great steamboats, and floated down the
river. They were exhilarated with the thought that they were to have new
and untried experiences,--that perhaps there would be a battle. They
paced the deck of the steamboat nervously, and looked carefully into the
woods along the river-bank to see if there were any Rebel scouts lurking
behind the trees.

Six miles below Cairo is a place called Old Fort Jefferson, where many
years ago the white settlers built a fort, and where they had a battle
with the Indians. The Essex gunboat, Captain Porter, was lying there,
swinging at her anchors in the stream. A sailor paced the deck in a
short blue jacket, who had a spy-glass in his hand, and kept a sharp
lookout down the river, for there were two Rebel gunboats below in the
bend.

The regiment landed on the Kentucky side, where a narrow creek comes
down from the hills through a wild ravine. Suddenly there was a cry of
"There they come! the Rebel gunboats." Paul looked down the river, and
saw two dark-colored boats.

"Heave anchor! Put on steam. Light up the magazines. Pipe all hand to
quarters! Lively!" were the orders on board the Essex.

The boatswain blew his whistle, the drummer beat the long roll, and the
sailors, who had been dozing about the decks, were instantly astir,
weighing the anchors, running out the great guns, bringing up shot and
shell from the hold, and clearing the deck for action. The great wheels
turned, and the Essex swung out into the stream, and prepared to meet
her antagonists. What an exciting moment! Paul felt the blood rush
through his veins as he never felt it before. One of the approa