From The Mississippi Squadron

Anchored off Pauucah. Ky , ) Nov. lst, 1864. Fjiiknd Bun : - We are under sailing orders for tbo Ttronesaea. The robels up the river have impeded navigation so that transporta aud guuboats cannot pass, and in short old scows either. Two aro on tbe otber side of some fort, I do not retnember the Damt', now, and cannot come down, and we are going out this anemoon, if possible, to silenee the j bntteries, aud opeu the way for the guni boatg. We expect hard fighting, have loaded very heavily with shot, shell, and shrapnell, this forenoon, but whether wo shall be able to raze the tort, is a matter oi serious doubt in nij mrnd. Any one can talk about irou-sideu boats going up to a pile of dirt, briok and stono, and tumbliug it into ruins; but if one gets upon a gunboat, the p'ate of whierh is only a quarter of an iuch thick, h haa a decidedly different view, and is only too glad to have the storming postponed. Well, tho Fairy is a boat of that chai acter ; shot aud shell would pnsa through her ia any place, and I eipcot, if we undeitake to pass tbe fort, that the Fairy's crew will namber a few less. Well, such is war. A few men amount to but little in the eyes of the world. They read daily of thousand slain, a sigh is heaved by a few. and then the excitement passes away, aud perhapa they never again take thought of those who quietly sleep underneath tbe sodL The weathcr is Tery mild for this time of the year. I suppose up in Michigan you are having cold, raw, wiudy, disagreeable wother, while we are blessed with the genial raya of the " bright luminary." How I pity you "sturdy northern boys," shivering beside burning oak, Pittsburgh coal, poor, sad, foisakeu beiugs ; why don't yo enlist and corae down here, where guerrillas are thiek, and all the women are secesh. I suppose that politics occupy the at tention of the people to a great extent up there, we hear very little of politics here ; its all about Fokkest, the everlasting pesv of tbe Southwest. We have been on numerous acares, but thia one that we will soon pass through is no scare, but a stern, armed, sober realily. Fohhest has kept this boat running up and down the river for about two weeks, and we have laid awake on our arias a nuuiber of nights. lts hard euough for soldiers to lie ou their arma, utidur the canopy of heaven, but barder still to lie ou deck with no biankets to eover one up, aud be obliged to keep awako I expect this tin-tlad will be blown out of the water before long. Steamino down fkom Paducah ) to Cairo, Nov. 6th, 1864. Well, Ben", this is the first opportunity I have had of adding anything further to this squib. We have been constantly on tbe move, and it was utterly impossible for me to write or do auything for myself; but baviug a few leisure momeuts this rainy Sunday forenoon, I will embrace tbe opportuuity profTered of finishing what I have to say in a very few words, though I might string it out to make whole columns of Primer. We started, according to order, ó'n the afierDoon of tho lst, and sïeamed leisurly np the Tenoessee,, tbe guuboat Paw Paw taking the lead aud acting as flagship. The reasou of this was, the Peosta, the fltig-ship of the Tennessee, drew too much water to pass up, as tbe Tennessee river is very low at tho. pies ent time. Majestically we walked the waters on thu afternoon snd evening of the first, meeting with no guerrillas, but rilling uomoleBted Ihrough tbe deep chanuels and curving bayous of the river. We dropped anchor about 10 o'elcick, when all hands of the starboard watch were piped to muater. A close loukout had to be kept that night, as we were only four miles below Fort Henry, a place already recorded in the history of the present struggïe. Cautiously we feit our way in the the morning, each and every man stationed at bis post, expecting every minu'e to get a shot froin some iuasked battery ou the ahore. We had hardly got the boat under way, when, upon lookiog down the rivor, four guuboats were seen coming to onr relief, much to our joy I assure you, au the report was, that the rebels had both Fort Henry and Fort Hindman. We opened on the forts with the two bow guns, 30-pound Parrots, rifled, and as the shell whizzed through the woods, I tboughtthat if Forkest had aay regard for bis men, he would be making tracks for some other quurter. We sbellod the woods pretty effectuaily, and sailed alongside the forts ; but not a shot was firud froai thetn, aa tho rebels liad evacuated. We espied a man on the sbore) mounted on a horse, and waving rt white handkerchief. Tbe Paw Paw sent the cutter ashore and took him on board. He stated that the rebels had captnred the . transport Venice, of which he was Captain, and after rifling the boat of everyihing valuabtu, burned it to the waters edge, the huïk of which wecould p'ainly see in front of Fort Hindman. Hete, too, they captored the guuboat Undine, and started up the river toward Johnsonvilte. He told a pitiful ! tale, how the rebels had kft our 1 ] Dg sailors by the wynide, aftcr having ! i robbed them of everything valuablor 8oon we wera uuder way again, QIX the river, following iu the wake of j FoRKKSTj ourguuboats all the wbile shB ing tl woods, and end ing rebu! aimbi, latorB, iu the bap of li apnell, tlruUgl) stispteious looking bouses. We siw aoy Dumber of guerrillas, hut they never returned a shot with ibe exceptioO Of j few buHets. The.-o we passed by witj irapuuity, not appearing t uotice tlieawe were looking for largor game, bul were happily dtsappoiuted until Tbur. day, wben we werb about five miles fron, JoliBionville. Then iré saw a batter blazing away at three gunboats anchor in the bay just below th town. t lired away at the battery, bat they did not desigD to notice us, but kept pourinj iuto our ganboats up the river. pur some rea.son or otber we did not g0 („ tbeir assistar.ee, but sluggishly swaveil to and fio on the wuves, about fivu m( below. Here I witnessed one of the aublimcst spectaeles tbat it bas ever been my for. tone to beliold ; two gunboats and ons fort playing uto a battery. 'TwasjMt íd tbe edge of evening, the fog had beguj to gather upon the river, but the vapor was not yei thick eoougb to conceal ib gunboats; and as I observe the fl3sb and report of the guns on both sidei, and saw tbe little tiu-eíads sail up an(j give the rebel ba tery a broadside, 1 thought to iuyself what can be the matter with the eommander of the expedítion, Captain Fircu, to let us Je 0D„ five miles off from such a con&ict sn4 not move up and engage them. All the crewa of the expeditio were cxeited mad, and I must gay when I saw the light of the btfrniug boat, said to be the guuboats, whiit littla figbttug material [ had, began to riae wtbin and I, too thoüght it u eowardly part on the part of the cotamander, and woold illicg't have volnnteeFed as one to run the bat teries. But tbere we laid, and obserred tbe fight UDtil night elosod iu upon ui, Occasionally tbe boom of FoiiREST'ssiegj guus, that he had planted upon tlie sbore, oould be heard belching forti) in tones of thuiider. „ Afttr sending out scouts and ÜDdiiii the positions of the enemy too stroop, ve steamed down the river and ancW ed under the lrowniag earthworks ƒ Forts Henry and Hindman. After tv king coal from off our boat, aud filiitg the buDke: of the gonboal Fair Plij, we, the Fairy, starled dovvn ths riwr for Cairo. On our way down we eau across a party of guerrillas that want work iu a house close by, killing ni plundering tbe inmates. We' etopped aud sent out pickets, but they, hearing ti.-ï coming, had skedaddled for parts uir kiiOwn. We took th wouuded on bosrJ the Fairy, includiDg the womeu, aud at bringing them down to Mound City, where we have juf t landed Could I 8ee yon, I might teil jou much more of tbe sigbts ; but heing II huny, in order to mail th8, I cannot give you a description of our irip ofa bundred and oue miles up the Touuessce. The scenerv is most beautiful, sud t!i iiuerrillas courageous and deterraiued. I f orgot to nitntion that the reüiaiuMfl fiye boats left tbere were to ma ths blockade last mght. The west her is very mild. AH As boys are well, and I bib in staTiug health. Write soon, give me tbe neff, seud ïau the Freí Press oecasionally, Youra, forever.