The New York Herald Newspaper, June 19, 1859, Page 2

2 natare. Ho alono seomed a match for the olemoats, and ablo to mastor ‘Luis fortress built by nature for bersell,? Noiiuer impeded, mor turuad aside by immovable bar- riors, he smolo the mouutains with his iron glaive and made thom malleablo; cut roats there, trausported ar. mies over their r stoops, aud tho rocks nodded to him and did him obeisance.’” . ‘Tho conditions made by Austria after the fall of Napo Toon that 1ortresses should be built ia Savoy, commasd- ing the passes of the Alps through that regioa to guard Against Trench invasion, are of little value now, ng the King of Savoy is tho friend of tho nophow of the conqueror of the Alps. crossed by Mount Cenis and fortified tho pass on tho Tho French troops Ttalian gio, in grder to make It a base of operations by | land, as Genoa is by sea. By !ate nows from Burope, we learned that in the midst of the conflict with Austria, the great work of Sardiuia, the sub-Alpine tunnel, by which the Alps will be pierced betweon Piedmont and Savoy, was going forward; upwards of $70,000 bad been spant on it. At tho Savoy side 840 feet had been cut, aud at tho Piedmont side 1,160 feet—ia all 2,000 fect, It is expected that by 1860 one-third of the whole, viz: 0,800 foot, will have been accomplished, The Mount Cenis road is excel- Jent in the summer, and much of the traffls with France and Switzerland goos over it. But the tanne! will admit a railroad, and will keep open the communicution in the winter. THE THEATRE OF WAR. [Tranelated lor the New York Hsxatp from a pamphie writtea by Captain Vandovelde, of the Belgian army.) The (theatre of war, strictly speaking—tue plans of Piedmont and of Lombardo Venitia, the basta of the Po, surrounced by bigh mounsains—has almost the shape of an c)lipeis of eighty lesguee long by sixty wide. Tho river, ‘Which runs through the midst of that basin, resetves on its two benks numerous tributaries, severalof which are very ‘cousiverable, and are so many transverse obstacles for the armies of both parties. From tt is poseible to penetrate into that ‘basin by six different roads: by tho great road of Mouat Cenis, by tne passages of Mouat Gevevre and the mecks of Argenticre eud of Tende, by the road Of Corniche, which goes along the Gulf of Genoa, and emerges afterwards through the necks of the Apennines, fm the plains of Piedmont; and finally by sea, landing ab Genoa and crossing after warvs the neck of the Bocchota, which deboucnes near Novi into the plain of Alessandris. » Lyons, the centrat point of the railroad networks of the ‘Alps, is at forty leagues from S:. Joha of Maurienne, where tho railway ends, at thirty from Grenoble aad ‘eighty from Toulon, From St. Joba to Susa, through Mouat Conve, there are four torlsome marches ’ Towards the end of April that road iz often blockaded by the avalanches descending from the mountain poaks. From Grenoble to Susa, via Briancoa, across Mount Genevre, there are six marches still more to'soms than ‘by Monct Cenis. The crossipg of the mountaios by the maritime Alps and the Apentines on Coni pr less difficulties, Dut requires more time thaa by the other points. From Toulon to Genoa, by sea, tae journey may be made in eighteen hours, but the loss of iime required for the embarkation ant disembarkation of the trooys has to be taken into accoant. Geuoa, Coni and Susaare con- necied with the central netrork of the Pio tmoatese 'rail- Toads; that network hss not yet a single braaca tn com muvication with the Lombardo. Veustiaa railroacs Austria, 10 transport ber troops to tha basin of ‘the Po, posseeses an unicterrupied rail way from Vieooa to wlan, passing through Gratz, Lay Dach, Irieste, Vonitis, Verona acd Brescia, A iraia of troops runs Over tbat Ime of 250 leagues in about 73 hours. ‘There are besides several other good ordinary roids, atoending at first the basin of the Danubo by the high val” Lies of the Drave, of the Muar and tne Eas, 10 order to do- scend by the sources of we Piaue, tas Brenia and the Fieach, ip the valley of the Adige, which is ths mst ft- portant sirategic front of the theatre of the war in Italy. Ali those roads which silow of the rapid ieading of aa army into tbe midst of the pisios of Italy did hot appear puflicient to the Auatrian government: they have thought it necessary tw open one through tho moun. ‘tains of the Tyrol, communicating on obe side wth those Of the valleys of the Jan, theSalza and the Drago, and debouching on the other side by the upper valley of the Adige into that of the Adda, in the ducay of Milaa, which forms the most forward part of the Austrian posssssious. Works of the greatest difficulty have aot impeded the Austrian government im the butiding of that road, which, im the eyes of many miiiiary men, possesves a very higtt strategic importance. {18 road,-which nas taken ths Dame from the Stelvio, over which it passes, is, ia respect ‘of elevation, without a rival im the wort! Is leaves the upper ‘valley of the Adige at Prad to descond the Acda, after having crossed the Alps at a height of 9,100 feet above toe level of tho sea—tnat 13 to say, at More than 6,500 feet above the limit of eternsi-aow. ‘ite slopes are at s very bigh grade; the road adopted has re quired many bridges and several eubterranssa prnsag: i ie at times a curve of so sisep a slope aad sy short a Fadius that it creates a dizziness, and imauy travellers ‘refuge to dessend it in carriages. Ine exccasive aifticul ties which it bas been found ne: to overcome are a Quarantee of security for the defence of the territory, for it will atways be casy to cat up that road and prevent tae acccee by it of an invading army. —— = Toad bas beea completed same twenty years, experience proved that so high a, e 18 very ofven interrupted by the irregularities of ui ©. To obviate tbat inconvenience the Austrian military » which attach very great importance to the vation of a road in that dircction, ani always to Ears vurd communication, have opened arctber rozl, a ittle more southward, across Mount Tonale, by the valiey ‘Of the Nos (a small tributary of the Adige) aod by that of the Oglio, to join the Magistral road from Lombardy to Bergame, haif way from Milan to Brescia. Ls high than the Stelvio, Mount Tonsie is not withstan ting 6 590teet high. From that persistency to open direc; roaceon shilan, ‘one may judge of the importance which Austria attaches to reach that city without being forced to pass varongh countries in insurrection. Tne road of Sound Tomales, Commenced in 1850, is ecarcely yet ficished. ‘Tue railroads, the sousiructiva of whe! to that of most of the routes of wi spoken, bave also been traced with a strategic win in view. The first object hes been to connect wita Vienoa the defensive frout of the adige, of wich Veroaa is the pivot. Then, from that pivot, brancazs have Deen exvended towarss Bisa and’ Bytva, to ca ect with the luserack Ralevad via 2 Other branches will s.so soon conasct mva Tailroads with the secondary States of Tay. Pied mont, however, bas beew excluiss, ant “Aas not been allewed to connect its railroads with tore of Lom Daroy. Bat desirous of putting au end a: any cows to tue Temotevess in which the email network of Turin, Novara, Alertendria and Genox was left, Pieamoat nas been obliged to attempt the piercing of Mount Genis, a gigantic Work, the encuces Of WUISh le hoped fy. tbe Boner of ba man penius. Tne raiways may certaioly play a very important rd/¢ in the great eombinations of the War; Dd: vuv should 12% Tore night of the fact that tue ralwaye's: teat of the war, Will very often have but li 3D A military pot of view. For iastaa of April, the isst day of the famous ullig/iwe'u, w. small Fiedmoutese army was alone ia tae p Of the Austrian messes, General Gyula) bit taken vigoroas offensive measures, it is pretty certain t: tete saitrcad (nesworks would have b orga before the arrival of tho kre -Wou'd have been still worse, 1 taat th feated snd repuised in the numerous for-resses of wht ch they have possession, would nowhere have b-en sumsroae encugh te protect the arsty. a Then tke heads of the French columus, ¥ from the Aips avd faiiog in with tne 4 Would probably bave bad much to suit eat of War, may on the other han ttn extenoing in the rear of the line of operations Ww wards the centre of the from Verona, B deceive ‘or instance, Succeed in promptiy repuleing the Aust Adige, there, fora long time, their 6 checked, aud’ the rmiway counecting that r: Centre ci the Awstricn empire Would powe prolonging the reswtance en that }n> Art that Advantege would bs #0 much tue moro fa vorable to the Austrian army, as tte Kroucu aray could not make ues of steam to cry its troops and war material from Genoa to Verona It is truo Wat, with the sid of bor navy, France mgt throw a strovg landing force ou tome point of the coast of ths Adriatic; but such a diversion could onty take piace by, using powerful means aud wiih the siieat uf asco miedget consentof England, Rwlways are then strat hot tactical roads. logy applies to operat: Bight cf the enemy; tactics to oparutions in lis on Btrategy leads armies upon the decisive poia's of the ‘of operations, prepsres the clan and istla ences in advance i's resulta; the part of tactics is oa tay ‘Dattic field, and, united with coursge, gcuius aaa lortuae, Wits the fight.—Ep, Haarp.} The sent of war, between farin and Verona, is 1 Ludipaliy cut by the I’o aua trauaversely by a yews Der of its tributaries, w' Laing and crossing the lair Tents, aud produce perwdicai jaundatious, occ vio tho melting of the suom, wish generally tics pla the end of April or in the beg'cning of Say, waen the ‘first warmth is felt, an’ towards the miadie of saa- Mer, during the great L Thoee tranverse river2. during the poriyis of ‘water, which, however, las: bata few dayy, our raat o Btacles to an army obliged to cross t) 1 preve c the enemy; but once back in their beds, they‘ sy. resent rocky ravines almost every where tur tayia, ss very indifferent lines of defence. Exper Rat even Shown that all those who have tried to use thors trang ‘vorse rivers to stop an enemy determined to take tas of fensive, have generally met with ili suczess. From al! the streams descending from the Alps tomacie , or the Adriatic, the Adige alse his % real military importance. Verona, which is the poin', Rowards which all the great va‘leys of the Wort, Carats Bnd Jolian Alps descend, iz the dasisive strategic priat. ‘At ig as that point that the Austrians hive estad!ished an feutrenched camp, waich can be used a Weil (or a basis operation in caze of a war in Lombardy as for a ples jap yertee te of manmayros to defend and guard The benefit that (in 1795) General Bonaprrt> was a Bo draw from the ruin of the fortidoations of Vero, ned She numerous fights which took place b-tw. Biscio and the Adige, have attracted the at‘eatin wf the Austrian officers to the Square inclated besweea Ghe two above named rivers, the Lake of Garda aut tas juat Po, and it ig in that eqoare that they bare srestod the | system which seema to mark tho termina. of the march of any army desiring to invade Lombar- Gy. Itis there that they have ao; elr re Rources, Sh caren that solence has meeeiod tet nat groand, 80 well propared and go cautioisiy studio’ 4) them, that Probably will try to sioo ier aueeny, Rhould bo chtaia a great eusces uf ths opening of the can’ fe vs from Lake Garda to tua is only ten wes long; and is between those two oodaes ‘that the froat at Operation of the invading urmios is limited. Tho Mincio 2 the snortost of all the tramsyorse fivers of upper Itaty; the marshes | charge.’ A mile it is therefore thought the ex: aiflioult to defead. It is fordable on different points low water mark; but as all the stroams come fro mountalne, the raia or tho salting of che suow qu iekly, and would often occasion deception to those wh) ebould rely on tue fords to cross it. Its two bamks bave | alternately the prepouderauce one over tae other, Tae: aro soveral stone bridges over it, and it offers several points favorable for the forced pasaege of an army. Te fortresses, Peschiera and Mantas, proseot the two ex'remi tlee of that line. Tho Adige, which is much longer, aud the volume of water of which i? cousiacrable, can only bo crossed in aa extent of about fitteen leagues, which separate Verous from Leguego. Above that towa the river is narrowly coatracted bet Weon heights, not crossed by any road; be low, it forms marshes which join with thos» ofthe mouths of the Po. Tho Adige is never fordabie; it carries verse! above and below V: » Where its width is from 85 to 108 yards, That river would oppose great diffultios to the passage of an army, end it is justly considered | the best line of defence of Italy, Towards Verona ihe ground is cut by viaoyards ani gardeus ; towards Manta and Leguago,{t is fll of rivers and irrigating cavals. The road Veroua to ago has been es. — tablished between ono of those canals and theriver, which helps the intercourse between the two cities. ‘One can easily understand how secure would be au army placed thus between two rivera and four fortified cities, | feariog neither to be turned at the north om account o° the mountains, nor atthe south where the marahes ex- fend as far as the sea. The army which would be piacod there to defend that chess board shoaid be able to zo ina very short time to the threatened points, only accept tl Datile at an opportune moment, and, iv case of defeat, withdraw ander tho protection of it cntreached camps. It was on that war spot that, in 1848, the success of King Charles albert was stoppod. After the capture of Poschic- | ra, he unfortunately went beyond the Miucio to catabliah | bitself on the heights of Rivoli; but soou perceiving the dungera of that isolated position, he wanted to retrace his | stepe. It was during that retreat that he lost part of bis | army. | | THE GREAT GUN OF ENGLAND. | former British Gurs and their Fatlures— Whe Lancaster and Whitworth Guas—Tne Armstrong Gun now tho Great Weapon of | Englund—Terrtble Things Threatened tn its Name—Good Authorities Adverse to the | Opinion about tts Tremendous Effeets— vot yet Tricd In Battle—The Best English Smooth Bored Cannon and the Amertean Dablgrea Gun. Wo have given an account of the French or Napoleon gun, a rifled cannon now playingits part ia tho Ital'an campaign. We have also given some account of the British great gun, which, perhaps, bofore the war is over may also have to play its part. We have giveaa de scription of the weapon from the London News, and alo from the inventor bimself—both highly eulogistic, bat ratber conflicting. We now sapply somo critisiems on tho gue, examining ita pretensions, and setting s much lower value on the invention than bas been claimed for it. The weapon which bas lately taken sach hold of the ublic mind in Eagland is the Armstrong gun, Before now we have read of other wonderful Bri'ish guns—the hage “Lancaster,”” “Welliogton”” and “Whistling Dick,” at Sa- of Sic William Peet’s famous frigate orduance; of Lord Paimerston’s colossal mortar; of General Jasod’s ‘vatters ; of the Whitworth polygonal gua, and of War. 26r’s mysterious “Long Ranga;"” the Armstrong canaoa—it appears to have eclipsed all theso terrible engives of destruction. But, a8 if not gatised with this, tho Eogilsh have invented other terrib'e machines of still Iater dato, and seem to be falling back also on former ones. The approach cf the Crimean war stirred up Kaglaud to the necessity of adopting the Minie rifle, ant @ board of officers was sent out here by the government to got our improvements on that weapon, and to purchase masuine- cy with a view to the establisument of the great Kadzid factory. At the same time ths Lavcaster rifled canuon was tricd for the saine campaiga, acd its success jauded othe skies by the English papers. It was seut.to tus Crimea and completely failed, after costing tho courtry An enormous sum of money. It was au elliptical bored gun without grooves. Ithad a great range, but throw sildy whatever sholis it did uot beosk before thez loft the muzzle, and several pioces burst. K& was flaaily re toved from the gervice. ‘The succeda of the Mintle nile startled and alarmed te English governmant, as it sid other governments, and the War Dapzrtment engage? the zervices of an eminent machinist, Mr. Whitworth, giving him $100,000 to experiment with to produce «rifle cannon, and if possible a better musket rifle than tie Enfield or Minle. According to the London Times he suc- ceeded im both objects, but particularly in the caunon. It rr pastopol fere there is at once a solution of the whole question which has troubled the brains of 40 maoy inventors, real or pretended, for years. Too artilieryman at ono stride resumes the’ relative position to the soldier of the lino which the Enfleld rifle had so parilously deprived hin of, and thia mechanical country, finding horsalf oa the level of France, Russia and other European States, is once more, as during the Peninsular campaigns, enevied to ascert her natural superionty in the maaufacture of caa- 00. by The wish was father to the thought, for the solution hi hardly come yet, If the quostion was then solved, whr, after such a flourish of trumpets, bas so long @ ailence been siuce maintained regarding it? and why bathe Armetrong gun been 50 eagerly promulgate1 as the solu. | lop, and the Whitworth “polygonal” article thrown into the chale Since the developement of the Armstroag gon, Mr. Whieworth, indeed, now revives dizsission about his gun, aud is making further exgerimeats. But there | is reason to believe that be has produced nothing rew and that "it is merely his old favention brashed up to | some of the gilding off a rival inventor's ginger. ead. Mr, Armstrong has been knighted for is invention, re- od a good government appointmoat, and his been prid in cash $100,000, though hia gun is a breech loader, a kiad ofeanrn which hag hitherto failed, aa which the be Judges teil vs can cever mcceed. Tho Secretary of War, General Peel, has, howover, youehed for #, and says he sim it red 1,300 | times without being injured—that the gun is only | ooethird the weight of other guns throwing the | same weight of shot—that the range of a 82-pouader, | wish 5 Ibs. of powder, was alittle more than 614 milez, while its accuracy was euch that at 1,000 yards it would hit fifty soven times when an ordinary cannon would only hit once, while at 3,000 yarde it wouid hit seven times for orce that other cannon would bit at 1,000 yards. We are not told, however, anything of the gua’s accuracy beyond | 3,000 yards (which is only abou; 124 miles); so that the long range of §3{ miles Is of very little conseqieace if the gun at that diatancs cannot hit the object aimalat, The ame authority tells us that “its dertructive effect ex- ceeded anything which had been hitherto witnessed.” It ie decided, a3 soon as practicable, to introduce the Arm- strong gun into the navai fervice, and that as soon as the now works in the old Lancaster factory are completed, Mr. Armstrong will be {na position to supply his gans ag | fast as they are likely to be required, A writer in one of the London papers suggests that no onls should the gun be manufactured in abundance, with all speed, bat that the ordinary gervice gun shoull be rifled, snd Armstrong’s projectile used with it—his inven’ | tion consisting in the nature of the hell or shot, as wellas | the gun. Bub the failure of Waitworth’s exporiment | sett.ca that point. | ‘As ia the case of the Lancaster gun, great expectations | are formed; buta trial oa service, such as took place at Sebastopol, ls the best test. M>. Armstrong’e own account of his gun’s performance, given long sivee in the London Times, and copied into » work on gupnery published last year, is, that he submitted his gun, in 186%, to the Dake of Newcastle, then Minister | «f War, aud with the Dake’s authority, under the official | inspection of Colonel Wilmot, he tried it on the coast of | Northureberlandshire, The resuit was, that at a target | ve fect wide and 734 feet high, and 1,500 yards distant, | and 4 degrees 2¢ minutes elevation, eight shotein succes. | sion hit the object, withoat previous gauge, and the mean distance of the shots, from a vertical line through tho cen- we, wae only 1134 inches. Tae projectile wae only five poands, Anordinary six-pounder {a useless at 1,600 ya aud very uncertain at 1,000 yards. Next, twenty-two | shells were fired at the target, and oaly ono missed. Tae Mecta wore ter Four were Ored at an clovation of Six degrees, at 1,964 yards; all fell ehort but one, which | bit the target, A® to range, the inventor eays:— With rospect te Deed exceeding 2,000 Jards,I may state that on pre- ons the gun had been tried up te 8,000 yarda— wich was reached with an elevation of elevon degrees and the urual charge of ten ounces of powder or one cighth the weight of the projectile. By augment ing the charge the ravgo is increased, but the acca. | racy is impaired, ant I therefore adhered to the tenoitace | 1,700 yards, and Mr, Armateong, there fore, doos not chim that this gan is effve payout ose and one seventh miles; but the gan of larger calibro — tho thirty two peamder—may of oourse if the breech wilt onby stand the necessary chirge and elovg im. Mr. Grecnor observes on (hia subject: Theo scientific world knows that a muca higher rato ot speed can be attained ia railway travelliog shac i Practiaod; Wut they also know thas it cau only bo 0 the same way as Jacob & Whitworch obtained. their range im gunnery, namely, by ao oxcessive expoaditare of fuel and & wear of the engine amounting to comparative , Whilst, at the same time, tis range is #9 Mauch increased that it would bo folly aud resklesaiess to Jersist ia sach # course, ‘Tho great gun of Commodore Stockton, which burst near | | the Britigh Secretary of War. | a8 for sea warlare, we believe our own NEW YORK HERALD, SUNDAY, JUNE 19, 1859. x, | Washington in 1844, was constructed, like Armstrong's, of | Wrought iron, and secured nearly on the same plan. Mr. Armatron , however, is very confident about the strength of bis gun, though it is worthy of remark he has changed the material from part steel and part ‘Wrought iron to wrought iron alone. He may havo to make other changes yet, of which he knows not now. The London Daily News speaks of a ninety-two pounder tried at Shoeburyness, capable of throwing a projoctile five miles with five pounds of powder, and that at a dis- tance of three thousand yards it hit a target of ten feet fquare every time in twenty-five shots, Sir William Armstrong himself, who speaks later than this article, oes pot claim so much. He says a thirty-two pounder bas been manufactured and triel, aud that we may soon hear of s ninety and a one hundred pounder, and that the thirty-two pounder had hit a target of nine fect squarc five times out of ten at three thousand yards, He relies, he seys, more on the shell used with his gua than shot, though to resist bis shot {t will be necesgary in future to case war ebips in iron, and at that game England can beat the world. He speaks of his guns being able to throw a Projectile mito 9 fortress at a distance of five miles—when that ts done we will believe it, not before, Many scion. tifle men, too, think that the delicacy and flnonoss of its construction will materiatly impair its effectiveness in actual warfare, and that opmion acems weil founded, Mr. Gosling, of Woolwich, in a communication to Gen, Sir W. Codrington, thus criticises the Armstrong gua:— Sir William Aymstrong’s gua is of wonderful coostruc- tion, but I believe 160 be unfit for the batile-feid, im Cotrequence of several discrepancies which I have digcd- vered in ite cetails, and which I beg to submit tw your no- lice, First, as regards the portable breecn: piece; and, secon (iy, the projectivg level. I dod that snouid the enemy make his appearance unexpectedly at the moment the breech piece 18 removed, the probapility is that it would be left on the ground, aud the gun would thos be- come useieas. sgain, ebould the breech screw, through heglect or absence ot mind, Lot be turned before’ Hiring, tt would be iromediately shattered, and the gun rencered woolly unserviceable. Tbe lever used for working the breech screw is also very objectionable, for shouid a well directed rifle ball strike the lever is would become 80 da- ranged that sie gua could not be worked, aud the couss- quences would be disastrous, And kere ts the opinion of a British scientific authority the Mechanics’ Magazine:— Viewed as a combination of various well known parts, stances, the Armstrong gue is both » beautiful and a wonderfu! proluction. Nothing like the fring mace with this gun at Shoevuryness has ever before been seen. To the artillerist it is a most pleasant sight to witiees Sir Wiliam peering through hue gins at a target 1,000 yards isiapt, and, us the shot atrikes, exclaiming with perfect cooiness, “Too low by three inches,” or wores equally indicative of niceiy. But this, bo it remembered, is on tbe practiving grovad, with catefully constructed sighis, and orber Celicate upplances—not oa board a ship in & seaway, bor in the field of battle. How will it work there ia the question. Now, we must say, although not out regret, that we have but litte ground for ig much of this gon #8 an instrament of actual , either on board ship or in tho field, not. witbetapding all tbat we bave heard res; Nor, in saying this, ure we in the least unmiad Los beea dove, and is stiil doiug, by the govern-acnt to inoduce its manufacture. Tue government have doae rometking, and mean to do muck more, in tis respect; but wo coubs af the laws of uaiaro will permit them to carry cutibetr designs. It is easy for the goverament— and especially for the govcrpment acting under a G tain ivfluence’—to knight an engineer, to build new fac- tories, to construct breech leading guns of the kind they sre pleased to prefer, and to promise great reguits to the pstion, But cat goverament prevent moisture rusting mvta!, or rust chcking up screw ter-adg, or lewd clingiog to rile grooves, or avy other of the evils to which guus of this kind gre liable? “It ie only by a bouutiful sapply of water during the firing that the new gua fs kept in gond condition; but pas Geld arsillery never to be used where water isscarce? Itisoriy by tue most careful attention, as every exg:nver knows, that screw threads and other close fiuting sarfacee con ve kept in good order when expose to the weather: but are chips at eva never so beset by gales and storms for days together as to render it impracticable for men 0 uaserew and gresse all the puns on board of thei. it bee been the habit of men in office to consider there Mma.sei 8 iwporiat; it is fashicaable now, for tue moment, to ig@pre them; but warm leag will cling to grooved iron, whutever cur whim tay be, and oxy gem wiil not lose its eppeute for any faetion of oure. We mention these thiogs os checks and warnings only, and not with a desire to de- tect from the res] tuerils of Sir William Arimstroog’s in- vention, Under some circumstances the light loug rang cannon will doubtless prove very uteful to us, aod 4 is peesible that tbe prumciples of its construction may prove applicable to guns of far greater power than the amall ex peritncutal canuons which aicne bay hitherto ben tested. Bot let us not indutgo in extravagant expectations, or sup- pore for a single moment that Mr. Whitworth and otier improvers of car artillery have any cause whatever to ba!t in their patriotic labors, According to these opinions, then, General Peel, the Britieh Secretary of War, went a little too far when ho said in the Bouse of Commons that “the Armstrong gun would supersede the whole existing armament of the country.” The truth is that General Peel haz very little acquaintance with artillery ecience. It is worthy of ro- mark that though there exiets at Woolwich a scientific ccramittes of artillery officers, whose special duty it is to investigate and report on new inventions of artillery, Gen. Peel, in bis statement to Parliament, was entirely si- lent as to thetr option of the merits of the naw weapon. He merely stated that ‘a committee” reported it was tho weet breech loading gun, which was not saying very much for it, as every other gun of the kind has hitherio failed, axd for this one it is only claimed that it as suc creded in picees of very small calibre. ‘There Ss realiy nothing new in the principles or the con- struction of the Armstrong gun, boih the gon and tho lead coated shot having been auticipated by other parties. How for it is a practical improvement remains to be seen, Al! the experiments made bave been with very smail guos, for though a large gun bas been made we have not yet beard cf its being tried. The most practical men are of opinion thst the material is yet to be discovered from which a gun of large calibre can be made on this princi- ple, which will etand for any length of time the excessivo strain of projecticg shot of eight or ten inches ia diameter toa distance of four or flye miles, and on this poiut hingos the whole merit of the invention. If only guns of thrce or four ixchea can be made, the invention is comparatively asclees, and Sir Wiliiam Armetrong must be regarded as a fortunate inventor in receiving the reward of bis invention before its value is fairly tested, For Seld guna excessive ravge is not required. Any sarge above two miles is practically useless, aad accuracy of Gre, the chief characterislic of tho Armstrong gua, will pot compeuzate for ite want of ability to fire grape, canis- | ter and shrapnel! ebella, for which purpoee it is mani- In the next piace, in naval oagagements ps would ght festly unscited. the object is not excestive range. No at three or four miles distance; but the obj aslargea hole as possible in asbip’s sido, and having made it, to prevent the micatie passing through the oppo- tite side of tae bul, instead of exploding in the chip's tim- bers or on its decks, Naval engagements are therefore fought with redneed charges of powder, tw give ehort ranges ovly. For ships chasing guns a rauge of four or fivé miles is also practically uselese, a8 0) Prevent the possibility of aufliciently accurate aim. The ae of the long range rifled cannoa ia, thorefore, practical. ly reduced to ite cmployment as a ewiy, boots, for arming forts, and for aloge servico. Guas for there purposes form but a small proportion of the arma ment of England, and they require to be of the largest calibre, aud to fire shalls as wel! as ehot; and ua the Armstrong gun can be made of large calivre it ta very evident dint it be extromsly limitet, and that is cannot accomplish the great wonders promised for is by For the battle del Louis Napoleon’s gnoe have cecidedly the advantage, avd Dabjgeen guns ptill maintain the first rank in naval ordnance. The fact of the au government arming ita newly launched frigate—the General Admical—aith two of theo gurs for the spar deck—one for the bow and the otter for the etere—showa what lta opinion ig of the Dahigeon gia. On the armstrong gun tbe Paris Munilewr de UArmés shrewdly obeerves:— ‘This new invention is interesting in every point of view, but we will make oue remark, {0 the Ballis aud Crimean campa'gn the English produced a niflet cantion known a8 the Lancaster gun On the praciice ground tavew ty a giestcistance, and witu precision; 1 launel fulminating projectiles of terrible effect; but ka tue del and in activo war it did mot realize tho advantages which hai beeo promised by the experlinouts at home, (tthiew toa lester Cistanve tian hed b Precision. Aa for the vrojectil at it never buret. gua for gun er Meve that the newc ater gun, must be definitively jadged on the field of battle, There have been ‘oiher rifle! gone and tmp'ements of Cestruction lately brought before that ou whiok the gov owing i@ au acco a + Smortl-boret gonever made in Eng'and—that which hae mate th: engest range in ‘The Arst ebep in the vast improvements abn: fected in gonnery has beem succerstnily tn Mouk, of Woolwich Arsenal, who hag induzed t tien to allow gun to be matte from drawings m tions of his own, The dimensions of tbe gua ar follows:—Lengih from cascabel to mazz's, 1 weight, 87 ewt. 3 ars ; bore, 7 7-10 inches; weight of cous shot, 65 Iba.; shell, 43 Iba; cburge, 10 tbs. pow ing & range, at 32 degrees elevation, of 5,327 yan cernpound ebot (a eboil Giled with teal) wee praje 6,520 yards, or viroo miles and a quar Gurtog the firet second of time 2,400 feet, and occupy. daring the wuole fight only twenty-nine and a Secon’s. A course of experiments extending over teon year has firmiv oetabilshed tuia gan ag tae bent ever yet Constructed. Many auermpts havo beea mate to excel it, but all bave failed. ‘Bighteon, twenty-four and thirty two pounders aro now conetructed on this model, which are reprossnted as out. stripping everything brougut into competition with them. ‘The greatest range yet obtained by any United States army ordnance is by the experimontal pieoo—a colum- diad—whose calibre is 12 inches in diameter—a 230 pounder, This enormous gun threw a shell of 180 lbs. weight a distance of 5,761 yards, or 8 3-11, or 4 little over 834 miles. Tho elevation was 39 degress, and the charge, 28 ibs. of powder. Tho sholl took 86 seconds to perform its flight. Oaly one gun of this kind has been manufactured, The same gun, with 20 Ibs, of powder, threw a 172 Ib, ebell 2,770 yarda, at 10 degrees elevation; but at 89 degrees, 5,064 yarda. But at such elevations the chances of hitting are very small indeed, Half a century ago the French cost large howitzors at SeMMle, which threw shells to Cadiz from Trocadoro Point—a distance of more than 5,000 yards. The sholle wore filled with lead, and flew at 2,000 feet por second; but they produced no effect whatever, Iron shells flilod with lead are called compound sbot, aud go further than solid iron, for thoy are heavier in proportion to their size. ‘The heavivat piece of United States land ordnance is the ten inch columbind, weighing 14,838 pounds, and designed to get a range of 4,800 yards. But it has been found re- cently that thia is not sufllciently strong to fire solid shot, and that even for shell the charges must be reduced from tweity to fourteen pounds, or thirty per cent below what ie prescribed in the Orduanco Manual. It is now doubted whetber the ten and eight inch columbiads will stand a continued firing with heavy charges. Of all that have beon tried none have hitherto borne the test without bursting. ‘The greatest range claimed for this gun with shot, even with the heavy charge of twenty pounds of powder, aud an elovat on of thirty: flve degrees, is 4,825 yarda—not 23¢ miles, The maximom range of the thirteen toch mortar, ‘0 throw a shell of 200 pounds, is 4,326 yards. These are Seacoss} Orénance—beither intended for the field ndr for Lips, The maximum range of United States naval ord- nenes (eight inch pleces) is 2,600 yards—not quite a mile and abalf, Very ‘ong ranges seem to be of little practical valu at sea. for most naval battles of which we read have been decided within 200 yards, The American columbiad is a modification of the famous Paixhan (French) gun, a amooth bore long cannon, with a chamber for firlug both shot and shells direct into a ves sel. Mr. Dab)grea’s invention is an improved colambiad, [ts ranges Lave never been publiahed. Great reliance is placed upon it, for all the new steam frigates are armed with it and with shells alone. So powerful was this form of gun hitherto believed to be, that it was called “the neWnrm,’’ But it socms there is a “newer arm’—the rifled canon, News from Northern Mexico. GOV. VIDAURRI NAMED COMMANDER-IN-CHUEP-—INDIAN FOSITIONS OF HE CONSTITUTIONAL. MMACTIONABY MOVEMENT IN O@IMUA- Ere. (ftom the Boletin Oficial of Monterey, May 14 ] The government yesterday received an extracraimary deepateb, rect from Aguascalientes, on the Bia inst , by General Zoxcua, in which tho intelligence which we lore. sfter supply was conta‘ned. Tho nomination made of his Excellevey Don Santiago Vidacrri, for the command-ia ch'cf tue forces of this State and cf those of Sem Luis, Aguascalientes, Guana: Jukto end Zacatecas, according to official communica- ueps which be has received from the Governors ot the three priucipal States, baé been accepted «ith many maikaof satisfaction, The Governor of Z1catecis, senor Gonzaiez Ortega, has also given his reply, which han pot been yet received, to be remityed throogh the Soverror for the time beirg, who is now discharging the notice of the office in the cavital, but it ougat to de ia © fame Spirit, Decauge be bas placed all the forces which he bae at bis command at the orders of the Gensr i Second In command, Don Iguucio Zaragoza. Senor zoe is, then, the chief of the army of tay interior, “and for the game reason that he hae accomplished unity of command in such solema moments, which rome days ago would bave been ro- sented by evils go grave that Couble sacrifices would be necessary to repair them; but th: circumstances are very eressieg, az our readore will infer from ube facts which we Continue to extract. Tce goverment bas received a multitudes of deepatshos which announce the incuraious which bave been recently wade by the barburiaus in diferent parts of tha Stato; bus that which hes attracted the most attention is the one that tok place on the road from this city to Ssitiilo, waich at tackea the train of cara of the youag Dan Eugenio Sycra @ previously caused the death of oa Lorenzo Coachman, who with a servant bad chargs of his qragon and equ'page, who was captured by the Indians, a3 wel! as two of hie eg, of whom oae was xilted on tne Spot and the other seriously wounded fhe authorities of Villa de Garcia and Santa Catarina, iu compliance with repeated orders which they havo re- ceived on this subject, sent forces in pursuit of the ene- my as soon as they receive information of the occur- rence, and the same thing was done in this capital; bat as the areauit was accomplished with a secure means of ro- treat in the Sierra, it will not be easy to teach a lesson to these rvfliace, who, perhaps, may be now reuring with the eypoils which they Lave made. The government has eetublished at conve- nicut points some armed forces which are mak- {og movements to watch for the advance of tho barba- 1iaps; but this is not auilicient, because go astute au eno- my eludes their vigilance, casting themsolves upon other pointe which could only be garrisoned by means of tho execution of @ combined plan with a greater force; ant for all thie resources aro wented, of which the govern ment tow stand in need. Novertheless, tha activity with which the suthoritics of ths cities procosd in the cates mentioned shows that the barbarians will Lever go totaliy unpunished; and, although this is not. very eatisfactors, it is easy to kaow that under proceat cireumetances More cannot be demauded from the go yerument or the people. On the 4th instaut, in the bacionda of Barras, the Z1- ragoza division, while seeking for ths Iadian Moja, fovad bim in Celaya, with 5CO men and ten plecca of artillory. Gepveral Zaragoza proposed to attack him i! he ad- vanced without imcorporatiog himself with the Givieion of the rcbei Marquez, which bat msde a move- ment on Morelia, accordmg to geome by Paruaatiro, tn Lhe qirectice of Guanajusto, and according to oshors by Perrjamo, to aseist at Guadalajara. Gi toe bth mat, the Zacatooss brigade occapied Lagos and Leon, and had made & movement to incorporate itself with the forces of Zaragoza, with the view of operating in cotformity with the plan prop.aed by this geatieman and Chet, Doa Jusa Zaszua, origede, with + hupdred mea and a battery, arrived at Aguascalioutee on the Sth, to oparate aecordwg 10 the instrcctions of the Gener: the army, who only sou to provide on tat deg ani the foltowmng for some resnarcesto mike # movemedt in the direction of Guanajuato. " tutional Governor retia, evacuated the expital on the 28ch, om the 22- prowoh ut the rebel Marquez, with torcas very supario: £2 thore at his commend On retiring he took out ail the materinis of war, inciudwg the iastraméu ot tLe artillery park, which with greai ta and Jor gely Jooreared expenzes had heen saccsssially 8 tabliched.” “He was accompanied py toe employes. the prixerpal families and a multitade of peop'e, leaviag very few ipbabitants in tue capital, Marquez ina few diye aa Wo have sate, made 8 ovement in tos direciton of Guana- jnuto or Guscalajara, and Geuecal Huerta ought tw bare remurped to Morelia on the bth, acvord'tg to # talographic commun cation to Scor 6: Ortegs. According to the ea: graphic messags, tho brigade of Poctiita wag in fucarbato, to operate ia combiaation with Gev. Zaragoza Hie Excellevey Dou Santos Degoilado was et Zapotlan on the 20'k with Btcssrs Ozazen and Rocha, who hat apa. which they had taken fiom Coliata, besides They were waiting for the forcas Gf Scneres Peequieia and Corenade to op2rwte on Gaxsa ra, thove forces paving left Mazatlan with that object Schor Deroliado bad repeated extraordinary directions for hastening their march There has been a reactionary movement in Caihualaa, headed by the Jefe Politico of Corralitos Annet Da riva era four other neignbora, and by ait nnderstan ting Wilb the sicenvate, Lon Jnaa N, Barceaas, who also raised the stucdurd of insurrection ta another place. Lae follow ere of the Jat mentioned wore ulmos, attogecuer made privoners by the chief of ths secon of Maciquiya, cud "oo tencing the —prisonera v9 the capital, the Aleaise of Concepcion — certided that ony two of them had not been ioma_es of the prison which 6 under biz cherge,and that there is evidonca acaiust tho rest who have lived 19 tat place tor punteh- mext os robbere, gumblers ona drunkards, Sach are tha good citizona whom Barcenas, the licentiute prisoaer, who was n thie city, bad at hand to cefend rengion. Forccs of sufficent atrength have lett tac capital to pursue them, and the varicua letters we have seen which make mention of this occurrence assure us thet there 18 in renlity nothing to fear, because good feeliog avd atta :bineut to the constitutional cause absand in the ¢ Bat will condiga punishment bo applied to the guilty by the legal withorilics? We hope eo; aad wo co not wiah that the excessive imdulzence 0’ the Jefe Po- liste, in acceditg to the aupplicetionn ef two of the prin 16 of the proweding at Barconas, permitting them, on cit word of houor, to present ine agelves to the gorera- met, Will be repented, These iudividua's laughed at the compromises, and went +) swell tho ragks of she revolu hopists. Verbaps the eonduct of these two pera that of the beentate, Barcenss, the government of Unih Vinge ib that altaoagh in ulpen neds Me attributes of eroien'y, impunity is a dangerous causer, waIca oats y toe.ety —On the Xo jest. a man oomed Jacod Weisacr, was keops a boarding house and gatoon in Palmyra, arrived in Rochester in pursuitof his wife whom he 'saspected to have oleped in company with one Michael Lotter, a gaa Site, residiag in the same place. After a search of some hours tue gussing wite 6nd bet male companion wero for Jotter, who bas s wife and two sbiidren in Pal myra, hos for a conelderable time past been quits futimat mm the family of Weisoer and improved his opportuaitia 40 well that he enppianted his friond tn Mrs. Wiesner’ affsctions. On Tonesday morning, without notifyiag be bueband of her incention, ehe took ihe stage for Macedon Where rhe met a train from tho east on which Lotter Was a pasecnger, Together they went to Rochester, fod took @ som at Lawronce’s Hotel, where Lotter regieterod their names ag man and wife. Ia the eveuibg they visited tho theatre in company, and a(ter the perlormauce returned to the hotel. Thoy’ocsu pied the eawe apartment during the might. At the Police office the guilty partier appeared to be perfectly composed. Tho wOopan, WHO i i Aad quite good looking, was re- her husband's oye without flinch. toe coupation of the same room by heraolf ave Litter during ruursday night, ber story was that ho flept 00 @ lounge and eho on tue bed. Lotter was not at ell commanicative on the subjoct, but was vory anxious not to be exjored ia the pagers ‘They woro hold as dia. orderly pereous, Sotter gave bait, and the iudalgent hus- poe Cos gee pee for hie wife pi me havior. then revurnet wome, st i ‘the mat ter as of Iittle momunt, i a ier | began to be gre | ekilfs, to cach of which were allotted seven men and two j passers Sketches of Life on the Amoor and in Eastern Siberia. Description of the Amoer Coun. try—Its Towns Md Bivers—Oharacter of its People—Life and Travel in Eastern Siberla—Count Moura- vief’s Opinions of America, Kee, &e, ke. VI DEPARTURE FROM BEAGOVESTOHENSK — DIFFICULT NAVIGATION-—-THE KAMARA RIVER—THE MANEGUS— THE ZAGAGAN—-ARGANSKY—SLOW TR4VELLING— HISTORY OF ALBAZINE—WHAT RUSSIA 1148 DONE IN THB WAY OF ANNEXATIO! We left Beagovestchensk in excellent spirits, hoping te reach Vost-Strelka, about 850 vorste distant, in a fortnight. Our eailors were as merry as grigs, and our former tavelling companions, Russian civil and military officers with their families, looked upon us as the most fortunate of beings, their chances of getting up the river being indeed much worge, as they would be towed by ragged Cossacks, whose labor is not worth one half of that of sailors, Our mon were divided into watches of five each for towing, but as mony volunteered out of their turn, we bad often seven or eight at the rope, while others kept guard on board, armod with long poles to push the vessel over shallow places, or keep away fcom rocks, The difllculties in thus ascending the river became soon apparent. The cutter, though pulled by strong men, frequently got hard aground, and could uot be got off again without sendiag the mea into the water to apply their shoulders and poles to the body of uhe veeeel itself. A man placed forward to call oat soundings did not do away with this difllculty, ay thesha!- lows occurred very suddenly; wherever @ stream too deep or rapid to be forded flowed into the main river, or arms or sloeghs interrupted the channel, the mon had to ‘be taken on board, and as we had so smail a boat for that purpose the outer had either to run ashore or the mea to walk through tho water up to thoir breasts. Bat tho greatest difficulty occurred at every sland, sandy bar, or epit, around tho lower and shallow part of which the water rushed with furious violeuco, making it dan- gerous to pay ont much tow rope, and obliging all ‘the men to get into tho water and work the cutter clear over the shallow point. At first, the water boing ptca- santly warm, the men jumped overboard without any heeitation, some keeplag undrossed for the purpoao; but the cold September nights set in, and walking through the water for hours became a bard aud unhealthy task. They etood it, however, Very manfuliy; we had svidom more than two on the sick list, and extra rations of tiquor worked an infallible cure, except in tho case of oae ian, who, having suiferced from diarrhoa already on board the eteamer, came #0 near dying that wo left nim ine stow'l village to be taken care of, The river, still wide, aud with a powerful curreet, now closed inon the right bank by mountain chains, at times terminating in abrupt clifls like palisades, or reved- ing in graceful tines with beautiful grassy veles at the feot. The left bank still presented extensive p! live ovl and birch trees being prominent, bat geaduatly sup- planted by spruce and fr. We noticed on the rigat bauk a apot where sione coal, of an iaferior quality, was lying on the suriace, wad toox samples of it with uz. The gravel on both bunks contained inege psbdies of coraelion, agate and jazper; the rocks were granite, an rose eometiaies 80 abruptly from the waver that wo were compeliea to crose over W the over shore in order to have a towpath for the mon. We always lost a verstgr two by crossiug sho wide and rapid current, and our mon prefé:red olim»ing like cats over the stoepest, overhanging and daagerous places, bauding the ropa caretuily from one to anosier, rather than ccost the river by rowing. We hatalzo « littie sail, but the wind bow right tn our teeth at this sox- gon, and it was but seldom that we ga‘ned aaytuig by it. On the 7th of September wo reached tho Kamera (Juu- mar Bure) river, 230 yerste distant from Zeya, a con- siersbic stream flowing into the Amoor on the right band It 18 navigable several hundred yersts from its mouth, and importaut oa accouut of tts beng the piace where the nomadic trides of Maucgres, Orotebones and Davoes meet in the wiuter seasou, aad & military post of Mantchoos is stationed for tuo coutrot of theee tribes, who are eabject to them. — The population on both banks 18 quite sparse; the Ma- negres live in buts of conic shape, constructed of slender les covered with bark; they are great fishermon and unters, and this part of the coautry is rich in sablea, aquirrels, wild goats and clk. They possees a fow horses and cattlo, but being sitogether nomadic, they do uot cul- favate the j Bae ‘They are a harmleas, peaceable wot, unéer the rule of the Mantchoos, to whom they pay a yearly tribute in sable skins. ‘The water in the river falling rapidly, our cutter touch- ed constantly, and was aground more than hal’ the time. It was, of course, impossible to travel after dark, as ‘the men could neither see to keep the cutter clear of the sbaliows nor to climb along the steep and barrow bapks, and had also to sleep on shore, there nor being any room whatever for those on board. ’Frequeut- ly the darkncts made it necessary to stop in places where ‘bank presented a wall of bluif rocks, with a narrow ledge around with sharp pointed stoues, Wood belog kcarce here, the men lay down on the stovy ground, with- outa fire to dry their wet garmovts; aod the evld at mghts getlivg more sovere, as we now kept traveling duo north, their hardships were continually on the increase. Oa the Sth September we passed the circular white tand hitis, calted Zagagan, about 250 feet higit, with biack colored strata about half their height from tho water, from which issued out of funnel like noles a black smoke. Tue natives believe in aa evil spirit, dwelling im these mountains, and nggert that the smoke appears whenever a human beiog approaches the pot; but tae Mantchoos osc. pied here ta cuuing timber and splitting boards, tes Uify that tbe saoke can be seen at ull times It ed that it is caused by self iguition of coal within I$ ot the mouulaizs, or, whica is more likely, thai the hills coutain caves, from which warm atmospho: es in the form of steam wherever the exterior temperature is colder than that within. Ou the following day, the 10th of September, we roacb- ed @emaali Vilinge calle, Argaueky, Whence we had yeb 250 verets to Albazin. Tt became evideot thit our cater would not answer vy longer: for some days we had travelled ouiy ten versts, instead of forty our mea ‘atyued. We therefure got four small as 78, and the jeurdey continued with renewed hop. Of reaching the head waters before the ice should int fere. Heavy rains and cold nights made us raiter uo comfortable oa b of a skiff e'guteea fest loug aad Uhice wide, npon which were, besides us, three of four ors not towing wt the time, and one cook, exercisiog ne able professiou from moraing till night, and covering us wit soot aud ashes, Nevertheless, oar new metbod of navigation wat a great Improveront; we ran aground less frequently, ant if the head skiff got’ into a Dad place, the others could keep clear of it, aud the de- lays were much lees than beiore, We reached atbazia (Jackson) en the 19th, baving passed Barings (called at present Toibacinsky) on the 15th. Albazin was a Russiaa fortress, erected about 1640, a which ums the sLvuichuos galoed the covercignty of China. Several huadred adven- turous Corsacke, under Poyarkol! (1644) and Kha aro (1651) chose this delightful spot, upoa a high bank, pro- tected on a'l sides against hostile attacks, as well ag against wind and weather, with beautiful prairie lands, wood and water (the river Albazikba, or Smuri, flows into the Amoor 4 littie above Albazin). hey soon oame into collision with the Mantchoo-Cainesa, wao, 1a 1658, des- troyed the place, which was rebuilt in 1684" and 1665 by the Russians, but a secoad time takoa aad dea- troyed by the Chinese, whd appeared before it 16,000 strong, crested batteries (tho remains of wiich we eaw on en islaod opposits tue mouta of the Emuri) aad vetiegead the Cossacks aad their families, some Six hundred sonjs in all, for many months At last the latter currendered, being reduced by starvation, aud the eurvivors were taken to Pekin, where thelr descen- dante resi‘e at the preeent day, partly amalgamated with the Chinese, bat partly distinct and retaining the Greek Catholic religion, whicb accouuts for the Russia. being allowed to bave & monastery with @ clerical missioa ia that city. In the year 1689 a treaty was concluded at Nertchiask between the two natioas, Which gave w the Chinese tae entire Amoor territory bordered on the north by the mountain chain, from the ridge of which spriag the rivers flowing into tue Amoor. At present the Russians are in undigpated possession of the entre country, from the left bank of the river to the mountains {a the'rorth, a slice of land not less than 200,- 006 square miles, or twice as large as the whole of Grout Britam. In addition to this, however, they possess the right bank also as far as the river Ussury, 1,000 verets from the mouth; all the territory lying between it and the Tartaric Guif and main Asiatic shore down to 43 deg. north latitude, the right to navigate and trade on tho mighty river: jury and Songari, aud in fact auy other right aud litle they may choose to appropriate, VIL. ‘TORS OF THE OLDEN TIME—A DISAGRERABLE TURE—CURB FOR THE DYSPEPSIA—PORT STRELKA—THE SHILKA RIVER—THE FIRST SNOW— DRIFT ICE—GORBITZA—RUSSIAN HOSPITALITY — STKETZINSK—ARRIVAL AT NERTOHINSK. Near Albezin the Amoor is again very wide; the moun- tains on both sides stretch far away from the shore, lear” ing beautiful fields and level land at their base, and thé surfoce of the river is dotted with hundreds of islands of all shapes, extending in every direction acroes its immense width, and forming an archipelago of the most labgriathine character, Wo visited the fortifications erected by the Cossacks upon the stesp bank, went into and through the deep trenches, mounted upon walls (in a woll preserved stato), saw the epot where once stood the homes of the oll war- ri ind discovered where their fireplaces and doorsills bad been situated. We purchased from ® soldier somo grapeshot, about two inches in diameter, of coppor, thrown by the Chinese daring the siege, and now dug out ia our presence, and looked at some small siver crozses, also dug uphere, which two hundred years ago must have hung on tho neck of fair Cossack damse!s, but hoemod much older, even, insemack as the half-moo, or crescent, which Is always at the foot of the cross (a sign of eubjection), was placed right in the contre of it. ‘The woather had bpcome so cold that it was impossible to ait oF lio tn our amall ekifts; we preferred, therefore, to walk along the beak from early in the morning till late ta SL te, the afternoon, and towards mark wo started come distance ahead, in order to dad a proper camping place. Wo some. times left the river to look after game, of which there Wore ducks and geese in plenty; buy the s’oughs aad branches, some with a deep and raptd cunsont, trough which we constantly had either to wade or swim, mato this rather disagreeablo, as the water had got very cold, ‘The health of ovr crew, who waded for hours ia the wa. tor-—4he tow rope not being long enough to draw the ckill otherwise—Kept tolerably good, in spite of the lask of wodka, of which none could be obtained, even at Albariud where the government magazine was well guppies with other rations, Although the channel of the river had overy whore at Teast two and a half to three fect depth, and our skills ouly drew three. quartors of a foot, we nevertheloss got fre quently aground, as wo bad to be towed close to the Dank, or at most to the full leagth of the ropo. Wo tuus ‘Wore often obliged to quit the rope altogether, and inake headway with ours and poles; but the strong current go- nerally rendsrod our exertions fruitless. Tuen the men had to jump into the river, push tho ekiff forward, and having got over the shallow place, kept cither walking along the bank $e get warm again, or remained til! ovo- ming shivering in their wet garments, Upon « fine but cold morning wo had started far ahoad, thinking to reach & station which afterwards proved to be some twenty miles further distant, and towards evening found our progroas jatercepted by an arm of the river, deeper and with a swifter current than those we bed forded during the day § To undress, in spite of the bitter cold of both water and air, to tie our clothes aud arms together in a bandle, were the work of an instant; bul as we cerefully slid down the bauvk into the water, we feund not only no bottom, but ao repid a ttream that it seemed unsafo to cross it- We tried the experiment seo distance above and below, ‘but the water everywhere was rushing along like ing millrace; it had got completely dark by this time; our tecth kept up a chattoring in unison with the sounds of the water dashing and running along the bani, and moth- ing remained but to dress again aud run as fast as the darkness and the unevenness of the ground: would permit. of, in order to put our chilled blood iu circulation. This achieved, we picked out a spot ina small birch wood, built a large fire of dead branches, which are quite piensi- ful, and in our thin garments pasaed the night comfortably enough, consitering circumstances—though both hungry and thirsty. With daybreak we ¢tarted back upoa our track of the previous evening, forded the stream which had given vs all this trouble, near the mouth, where it was shallower, but still flowed rapidly, and towards noow reached our party, who had felt great’ coucern about us, having made signal fires and shot off guus during the whoie night. after this adventure, wo thought it more advisable to walk along the bank withia sigot of the river, and wa geverally footed not less than from tea to ficteca miles 4 day, climbig over bigh clils, wading through creeks, swamps and gullies, and, worst of all, stepping on sharp pointed stones, and acrces sandy and rocky bara extead- tog many versts aloug the river. read thid are affected with Joss of dyspepsia, or similar compiaiuta, to Amoor, and it wil care the: Hh the physic Mako auch a more eftectually went medicines they, papers. ot September we arrived at Vost Strotke (arrow Point), stoated in the jancuon of the Shika and Argova sivers, which united form the Amoor. Fora fow days we tad been traveilivg through a mountainous coun- try, covered wita denge pine aod spruse forest. The bod of ‘the river was more confued than heretofore, islands had become scarce, and ekirted the shore oa one side or the otber, sua tho aspectof tho scenery was wid aud be The oflicer in charge of this station, Captain Bardonoff, received us #ith great politeness aad hospitality. Ha been informed that we were coming a fortnignt ago by ol. Sha'ekotf, who had lett us "wt Zoya ou the 28tn Al guet, travellivg thence on horeeback as a courier of Go nor Mouraviet!, and the slowuess of our progcess be- came puinfully evident to us, as 10 his opinion the courier would be by this timo in Irkutsk. (We did not reach that city till the 26th October.) Tuis being so much more urgent a reason for uste hurry, because if the winter surprised we here we should be detained at least three weeks, wo tovk leave of our polite host on the next day, looked a final farewell at the Amoor, whose black and rapid wators we were now going to Jeave benind us, aad embarked with fiest courege on the Shika, which here at ita conflucaca with the purest rier ia quite a powerful stream. A Greaching raip—the last we were to have ia this testo, for notuing but Faow fell afterwards—had (allen during the ding night, and our poor sailors were without ‘a, not a drop having been obtained at Vost Strelka. » however, continued cheerful and willing to work, the feet of some suffered severely from walking with the tow rope ou sharprocks. Two daysatter, on the 29th September, the first suow fell two inches deep, sod reasinet cn Deed, Is was very cold, and we and the men all crowded together round a largo fire, eat- ig our eas se while standing up, the snow beat- ing in large into our faces and, tea cups, covering ug with a thick white coat, which, in spite of the large fire, did not melt go fast gs it came down on car silent group. Everybody, eceing winter in 80 decidedly, no count felt a little disheartened; looked serious as he peered into the blazing fire. We thought of one of the great Napoleon’s retreats, and the picture of his snow covered guards, freozing ‘to death uround tho exptring embers of their bivouac fires, pre- sented itself to our eyes in lively colors; but this recollec- tion at once restored our courage, for our chances wore infinitely better, und our situation enviable compared te theirs, On the Ist of October we some stone pillars, inese as Doundary marks, tough at present the Argoon, and a slice of territory south and oset of it, the size of which would be difficult te tell, but which we Will call the hindquarters, close up to the shoulcer bone of Mantchooria, is considered the fro! tier line between the two empires. On the 2d October the first drift ice, called Siberia sbooga, get in and interfered greatly with the progress of our frail skiffs. It proved at once from three to four ipebes tbick, and tbe rapid current carried it down with such force tbat it chafed through the planks of our bow, apd required great vigilancg in steering through it. Atike samo time the shallow water near the banks om both sides froze into a gold mass, and our men were now partly walkiog and creeping on all fours upon th: slippin ico, Partly wading through the yet open rivuleta | crecks which lay acrows their path. The temperature stiti getting lowor, both drift and sold ive increaged, the channel appearing sometimes entirely blocked up. "The work of our men—an4 we ourselves fre- quently wok hold slong with themn—-became more and more dfiiculs, A umber of sircams and ravines had to be passed, now frozeaover witha surface smoot aad shiowg like & looking gtats. Betweea Vost Stralka and Shikiceky Zavod are four large streams emptying theméelyes futo the Sbilka, aud caticd the Joitukla, Live Gorliizs, Tcheraaya, aud Kara, on the banks the government has some rich The men having no foothold bore, vii COMM VpON the slippery ice, and the skits giving way to toe powerful current, were often cragged back by the tow rope, which ig fastened by a girth round thelr body. Tuey would thus clutch in Yainat tho ground under them, or uy to get on their feet again, the strain ou the rope. drasging them backward pell mell in their prostrate porition, til they would puli up against a large boulder or upright cake of ice wbicv afforded them goms hoid. No stations are established on tho Shilka above Vost Stretka tli Ger bitza, about 240 versty distance, which wae reached at jast on the Sth of October. There are a num- ber of stations and villages ou the banka of the Argoon; and loops, carriergeor government convoys, go up that river and cross the ridge at Bolshoy Zavod, of higher up ut Nertchinsky Zavod. We noticed particularly the formation of the left bank of tho Shika, being granite, mica, glace and quartz, in veins. very similar to that of the California veing, and found the same auriferous indications, especially near the gulchts and ravines. It is well known that gold existe everywhere on the Shika, Argoon andtheir tributaries; but we are told that the governmont did not wish to open any mines uotl 1860, in order t» have the country what gettled first and to avoid the scarcity of provision: want of communication aud otuer disadvantages, Gorbitza, called after the river which flows into the Shilka on toe left side, is » Coseack station and village of larger size than we had seen swe we left Kisi. Major eral Demetricvitch Skobeltzyer, who commands this post, received us with open erms, and seemed proud to vail us his guests, The steam bath attached to his house having been heated, another iarger ono in the village was got ready for our satiors; and, mmving submitted to the interesting operation of shampooing, & , we were pre- sented to the Indy ef the house, who threw open her lockers and cupboards, ani weleomed ua in real patri- ual styie. Major Skobelizyer was realty glad to bave nder big roof, and would not bear of our departure. We had been alreasy three daye with him, bad each day eaten six times, elepttyree times, and reated ourselves 80 that ali the hardships and fatigues of the last two months were entirely forgotten, when the Major advised ug to Btay One day longer, promising to give us and our gallos horses to proceed farthar, as the drift ice would get eo thick thas the skiffs woud not be able to force thole way alctig, and wo might have the horces changed at every stot.on to Shilkineky Zayod. Who could refuse such disinterested offers? We the skiffs, whose bows w nearly worn through by the ice, drawn ashore, our bag- gege put cn horses, ourselves mounted in Cossack and Mongol siddies, and ‘takiog a hasty leave of our amiable host and hostess, commenced this new and far more expeditions mode of travelling. The horses in uge here are of native and Mongol broed, by no means handsome or spirited, but may be made to g0 by the conatant application of the whip and spur. Wo rode on the firat day thirty-six verats—iwenty to Tcher- neyaand gisteen to Konlaska station, over a rough aad mountainous road, guided by eome Cossacks, and felt com- pleteiy tired out by the unaccustomed exercise on eaddies made of wood only, and that of tho hardest, and in stir- ruye of Asiatic fashion, which brought out feet nearly up to the animal’s back. Aftor arriviog at Shilkinsky Zayod—once ronowned for its rich silver mincs, which do not yield any ore at present—we continued our journey on the same day, and on the 11th of Ostover reached Stretyinek, a small vilinge, but intended to become a town, with a harbor for all go- vernment vessels, on the Amoor waters. Our sall had not obtained apy more horses at the different than sufficed to carry their trunks, had been walking for the last fow aays, but arrived at Stretyinsk on tho same day a8 we did, The long desired vodka could at length be obtained, and if it flowed in abundance it wil be found but natural, ag the men were entitled to receiv rations for not lees than @ month. To this may be added a number of gallons which we gave them for their good behaviour und hard Jabor !n our behalf, knowing that noither money nor anything elie would be looked upon by them wit half as much favor, Some sore foot from walking and were to follow us to Irkutsk, not wit! ‘with such ag the inhabitants of the villages are obliged ta} fa: to governruent troops. ‘We are now ¥, change our mode of couveyance for th Russian post carriage, called (-lega, or rather pareklad