oxville Road.
The weather is excessively dry and dusty again.

Gen. Jos. E. Johnston, Morton, Miss., writes that such is the facility
of giving information to the enemy, that it is impossible to keep up a
ferry at any point on the Mississippi; but he will be able to keep up
communications, by trusty messengers with small parcels, with
Lieut.-Gen. E. Kirby Smith's trans-Mississippi Department. He says if he
had another cavalry brigade, he could make the navigation too dangerous
for merchant steamers between Grand Gulf and Natchez.

Two letters were received to-day from privates in North Carolina
regiments, demanding to be transferred to artillery companies in the
forts of North Carolina, or else they would _serve no more_. This is
very reckless!

Ordnance officer J. Brice transmitted to the Secretary to-day, through
the Ordnance Bureau, an OFFICIAL account of the ammunition, etc. at
Vicksburg during the siege and at the evacuation. He says all the
ordnance stores at Jackson were hastily removed to Vicksburg, and of
which he was unable, in the confusion, to get an accurate account,
although he accompanied it. He detained and held 9000 arms destined for
the trans-Mississippi Department, and issued 120 rounds to each man in
the army, before the battle of Baker's Creek. Much _ammunition_ was
destroyed on the battle-field, by order of Gen. Pemberton, to keep it,
as he alleged, from falling into the hands of the enemy. During the
siege, he got 250,000 percussion caps from Gen. Johnston's scouts, and
150,000 _from the enemy's pickets_, for a _consideration_. There was
abundance of powder. The ammunition and small arms turned over to the
enemy, on the surrender, consisted as follows: 36,000 cartridges for
Belgian rifles; 3600 Brunswick cartridges; 75,000 rounds British rifled
muskets; 9000 shot-gun cartridges; 1300 Maynard cartridges; 5000 Hall's
carbine cartridges; 1200 holster pistol cartridges; 35,000 percussion
caps; 19,000 pounds of cannon powder.

All this was in the ordnance depots, and exclusive of that in the hands
of the troops and in the ordnance wagons, doubtless a large amount. He
says 8000 defective arms were destroyed by fires during the bombardment.
The troops delivered to the enemy, on marching out, 27,000 arms.

The Governor demanded the State magazine to-day of the War Department,
in whose custody it has been for a long time. What does this mean? The
Governor says the State has urgent use for it.

Gen.