In reflecting upon the dangers of the proposed expedition it came upon me, as by inspiration, that the sailors--the pilots--might offer some suggestion. I knew that the military leaders would never avail themselves of this humble source of information. I thought the pilots, of all others, should know the strategic points. Sending for the proprietor of the hotel where I was stopping, I asked him how I could get into contact with any of these men. He told me that the wife of a pilot named Scott was then in the house. I called on her at once and, finding her well informed, I questioned her as to the harbors, coast defenses, etc. Mrs. Scott was just about to leave the city, but she promised to send her husband to me. I could not wait for this chance, but wrote to him for the information I desired. He called upon me in response, and during our conversation he said it would be "death to every man who attempted to go down the Mississippi." Yet no other route had been dreamed of. I then asked him, "What about the Cumberland and Tennessee rivers;" whether they were fordable for gunboats? He replied, "Yes, the Tennessee especially." Of course, he did not at first know of any ulterior purpose in the questions which I was asking, other than the information of an ardent lover of our country. As he mentioned the Tennessee it flashed upon me with the certainty of conviction that I had seen my way to the salvation of my country. I left the pilot and sent immediately for Judge Evans, of Texas, who was stopping at the same hotel. I was almost overcome with excitement and shall never forget the moment that I rushed to him exclaiming, "What do you think of diverting the army from the Mississippi to the Tennessee!"[24] [Footnote 24: Judge Evans himself, describing this eventful scene, said "that for a moment it seemed as if a halo of glory surrounded Miss Carroll, and that she looked like one transfigured." One hesitates in these matter-of-fact days to repeat such words as these, but as my reliable informant, to whom they were addressed, assures me that such were his words it seemed worth while to record them. In all times it has seemed that the human countenance wholly possessed by a great idea could assume a radiance only to be described by the spectator by some such words as these, and the fact was so symbolized in ancient art. The human soul is no less potent in these days than in the times of old.] I waited breathlessly for his reply. It came in measured tones. "It may be so. I had never thought of it."