CINCINNATI, January 31, 1863.

Commission met pursuant to adjournment. All the members present; also the judge-advocate and General Buell.

General W. S. SMITH'S testimony continued, as follows:

By General BUELL:

Question. Do you know enough of the country between Huntsville and Chattanooga, or any portion of that district of country, to be enabled to speak in regard to its resources-its supplies of forage and provisions?

I have passed through the country lying between Huntsville and Stevenson, with the exception of a very limited section. There are little valleys somewhat productive, but generally it is a very sterile country, and it could not be relied upon for supplies of provisions and forage to any very considerable extent.

Question. Can you describe the natural features of the country between Decatur and Stevenson so as to indicate to the Commission its agricultural advantages? Describe the breadth of the Tennessee Valley at these different points relatively, the positions of the mountains, and so forth.

From Decatur to a point a few miles beyond Huntsville in the direction of Stevenson there is level country. We there reach the western line of the mountain rangers, which, running in a southwesterly direction, pass near Huntsville, and so on nearly to the Tennessee River. From that point to the northeastward is a mountainous region all the way to Stevenson, with the river running nearly parallel with the railroad, and is, as I have been told, a very narrow valley, scarcely producing anything. But what the breadth of the valley is I do not know, having never been there myself. It is a very flat country west of Huntsville, extending up into Middle Tennessee, and is very fertile.

Question. Do the mountains close in upon the river abruptly near Stevenson or a short distance above there?

At Stevenson they are but about 2 miles from the river. The direction of the range would seem to bring them into the river above.

Question. Do you know anything of the character of the country on the south side of the Tennessee River above Stevenson either from observation or from any other means by which a knowledge of the geography of the country is to be obtained?

I have heard that the mountains on the south side of the river between Stevenson and Chattanooga come right up to the river and that the mountainous country extends to a great distance to the south. I am familiar with the country from Chattanooga to Atlanta and farther south, and know that the whole country between Chattanooga and Atlanta is a mountainous country.

Question. Can you say anything in regard to the resources of the country between Chattanooga and Bridgeport or within a distance of 20 miles of that line?

The country within a distance of 20 miles of that line to the southward I suppose to be very barren. To the northward there would be a strip of country in the Sequatchie Valley within that distance of the line mentioned which is productive. The valley I understood to be of a width varying from 1 to 5 miles. With that exception I know of no fertile country within the limits mentioned, except perhaps a limited region lying immediately along the Tennessee River on the north side, above the point at which it is struck by Walden's Ridge, lying between the Sequatchie Valley and the Tennessee River and Chattanooga.

Question. Would the Sequatchie Valley be within 20 miles of Chattanooga?

It would not. A portion of it would be within 20 miles of the line connecting Chattanooga with Stevenson, the Sequatchie Valley running obliquely to the line.