Throwing down trees.
The
Enquirer says that in some places below, the river is so narrow that if the trees on the banks were only torn up by the roots and tumbled in, they would prove an obstruction very difficult to remove.--This is true enough, and it should be tried.
A raft like that on the
Red River could be formed from this city to
Westover, with comparatively little difficulty.
The river is so narrow that men stationed along the banks with rifles could pick off every Yankee that dared to show himself, and without showing themselves they cannot remove the obstacles.
At Presquile it is many miles around, and only half a mile across the land.
By proper obstructions, and the proper distribution of marksmen, the passage might be rendered impossible for a gunboat.
The panic with respect to gunboats, arising out of the disaster at New Orleans, seems to be fast dying away.
These gunboats can shell a city, and burn it down.
But when they fire on troops on land they have not proved themselves by any means for midable.
A dozen sharpshooters on their decks would do far more execution to a column on shore than a dozen gunboats.
Such, we hear, is the experience of this war. Cannon placed on a bluff; so as to fire down on them, is more than a match for them.
They cannot reach them with their guns, which have only a horisontal range.
Mortar boats alone could attempt it, and they could not succeed.
We believe there is no danger to be apprehended from the enemy's boats ascending the river to this city.
Still we hope nothing will be left to chance.
Let us go on adding obstruction to obstruction until there shall be no longer any room for obstructions.
