It is said that he advanced within two hundred yards of the enemy’s gunboats; but to understand the exact nature of this heroic deed we must enter more into detail. On the inner side of the Spit of Arabat, opposite the town of Genitchi, were several guard-houses, in front of which four gunboats were moored, in such a position as to cover the entrance of the straits, and to bring under their fire any vessel that attempted to force its way. Setting aside these gunboats, it would have been a most hazardous undertaking for any boat to have attempted to pass the town so as to reach the Sivash, as the passage is not more than three hundred yards broad, and the whole of the heights which command it were lined with troops and field-pieces. Any boat that attempted to run the passage would have been within range of the fire of all these field-pieces, and exposed to almost certain destruction. Still it was of the last importance that the passage should be made, as it was only in this way that the supplies which were poured into the Crimea and enabled the Russians to prolong the contest could be cut off. These supplies were conveyed from the mainland by the Chingan bridge, and the great object of the naval expedition was to destroy this bridge. Still the undertaking, as we have said, was most hazardous, and another plan had been attempted. To Captain S. Osborne belongs the honour of having first discovered the position of this bridge. Captain Osborne is, doubtless, known to all our readers as a charming writer as well as a brave sailor, and he had recourse to an ingenious expedient to obtain the desired information. He caused two light boats, which he had transported across the narrowest part of the Arabat spit at night, to be launched on the Sivash, and approached near enough to the bridge to ascertain its exact position. It was a work of great difficulty to get even these light boats pushed through the mud, and Osborne narrowly escaped being captured. It would have been impossible, of course, to navigate heavily-armed boats on the muddy straits, supposing that our sailors had succeeded in getting them across the spit. Several experiments were made, but the attempt was given up as impracticable.