h was that the
admiral decided to run his gunboats and transports right through the
fire of the Confederate guns.

[Illustration: Dummy Gunboat passing Forts on the Mississippi.]

But, before sending a vessel through, Porter thought that he would
test the accuracy of the Confederate gunners by giving them a dummy
to fire at. He took a large flat boat, and built it up with logs and
lumber until it looked like a powerful ram. Two huge wheel-houses
towered amidships, on each of which was painted, in great, staring
letters, "Deluded Rebels, cave in." From the open ports, the muzzles
of what appeared to be heavy rifles protruded; though the guns that
seemed so formidable were really only logs of wood. Two high
smoke-stacks, built of empty pork-barrels, rose from the centre of
this strange craft; and at the bottom of each stack was an iron pot,
in which was a heap of tar and oakum that sent forth volumes of black
smoke when lighted. One dark night the fires in this sham monster were
lighted, and she was towed down to the Confederate batteries, and set
drifting down the river. She was quickly discovered, and the batteries
on the bluffs opened on her with a roar. There was nothing about the
dummy to be hurt, however; and it was impossible to sink her. So she
sailed majestically through the plunging hail of solid shot, and past
the terrible batteries that were thought to be a match for any thing
afloat. The Confederates in the trenches looked at each other in
astonishment and dismay. Word was sent to Gen. Pemberton that a
powerful Yankee iron-clad had passed the batteries unhurt, and was
speeding down the stream. The General's first thought was of a
gunboat, the "Indianola," lately captured from the Federals, and now
being converted into an iron-clad ram. She must be saved from
recapture, even if it should be necessary to destroy her. Word was
hurriedly sent down the river that a formidable ram was bearing down
upon the "Indianola;" and, if the latter vessel was not in condition
to do battle, she should be blown up. Accordingly, while the dummy
ram, caught in an eddy of the river, was whirling helplessly around
just below Vicksburg, the Confederates put the torch to their new
war-vessel, and she was soon a heap of ashes. Porter's little joke was
a good one for the United States.

But all the time that the Union navy was making these futile attempts
to get the better of the wily general who held the fort at Vicksburg,
a const