The Buchanan County guardian. (Independence, Buchanan County, Iowa) 1858-1864, 1862-07-01
The BuIting Business.

We are getting back 10 first principals.
In the old days of naval warfare ir the
! galleys on the Mediterranean sea, when
the Phenicians, Greeks, Romans, Car
thagens and Venilans, in turn stroye for
/ supremacy, the prows Of their vessels
were the most formidable weapons they
employed. Prows were armed with iron
or brass, fantastic, perhaps grotesque, in
! figure but terrible to destroy. The
fighting TO large extents, was done by
butting, the galleys that were best built
and we'll handled, crushing the sides of
| those more clumsly constructed and
managed. Improvements in naval war
fare have succeeded each other, season
after season, age after age ; and at last
we fiud ourselves fighting again with
strange vessels, somewhat Of antique type,
armed with iron prows, which rend eac h
other like contending monsters of the
deep. The great improvement, after all,
is in the use Of steam, and, after a vast
cycle of experiments, we come back
nearly to the old vessels. Our mighty
galleys with threatening beaks, in stead
of being driven by banks Of oars, are pro
PEELED by steam. The machinery is of
iron, not muscle, and that is the main
difference between the ram of to day and
the galley of a thousand years ago We
may build vast ships and plate them with
armor ever so ponderously and arm them
with rifled guns Of the longest range,
and shell guns Of greatest callibre; but
if, in our anxiety to have them invulner-
able, we make them unwieldy, SO that
they cannot dodge ram at the first
blow amidships their armor and anna
ment will only serve to hasten their de-
scent TO the bottom. 1t is well known
that the great ocean steamer Vanderbilt,
armed with an immense iron PROV, and
prepared in front so that she coull not
be raked by shot, waited many weeks in
! Hampton Roads, in expectation of getting
blow at the Merrimac, and that it is
the undivided opinion Of men familiar
with naval matters, that the Merrimac
would have been sunk instantly if the
| Vanderbilt had struck her fairly. And
there is every reason to believe that the
boosted British ironsides, Warrior, could
be easily run down by first class stea
mer prepared to do service as ram
Tie rams conditions Of success are
great speed aud managableness prov
constructed to pierce vessels side, and
yet get away from the wreck, SO as not
to he carried down with it; and such
| defences in the forward part Of the vessel
as to prevent The decks from being swept,
and the machinery injured, when run
ming head on, by the enemy's guns. The
power of the ram has had several illus
iralions in our civil war, each of whic h
serves as a valuable lesson to tie stu
dents of naval science all over the world
and which, taken altogether, will make a
profound impression,
] The first demonstration in this new
style OF warfare was made by Captain
Hoins with his ram Manassas, AT the
head of the passes on the Mississippi
river last fall The ram was an awki
ward thing and had only delivered one
| blow when her machinery was out OF
order and she became worthless hulk
But nevertheless, her single effort fright.
ened our fleet out Of the river, and pre-
vented the erection OF batteries at the
head of the passes. The next affair was
that of the Merrimac in Hampton Roads,
in thrusting her prov into the side OF the
Cumberland and sinking her summarily.
The next was in the gunboat battle at
Plum Point on the Mississippi. where
some rebel rams, until hen lhoug httrihing
affairs, sunk two OF our formidable gun
boats in short action, aud escaped with
com paratively lille injury. Blu, the
battle in front Of Memphis was the most
remarkable illustration ever seen Of the
| prowess, of the rams. 1t was customary
TO rdicule Col. Ellet's feet of gentle
rams. Even officers Of our gunboals
looked upon them with contempt. and a
best treated the Col. ahd his implements
Of war, with good natured derision
But no sooner did the enemy come il
sight of Memphis, than the rams led the
way, and it appears that they actually
did the most OF the work in defeating
and destroying the rebel tlolila. Hence
iOfln, the rams, Win their long SnaTI
prows, their sharp shooters and hot waite
will be an essential part OF every fleet
As John Bull appears to enjoy panic
il is gracious to be able TO say 10 him
that there is another chance 10 get up
scare Of just such proportions as may b,
most pleasing TO him, There is quite al
much occasion for alarm concerning GU
rams, as there was for the fright abou
the Monitor. Let John Bull beware o
our Capricorns-for his iron sides ar,
vulnerable as glass before the prodigiou
} horns that spring from their foreheads,
UNANIMOUS VERDICT The most rio id
analysis by accomplished chemists ha.
tailed TO discover anything in the Chem
zeal Saleralus which can, when properly
used, be in The least degree detrime nta
10 health. While the women Of our
country enterta in sentiments widely diff.
erent upon other matters, all concur in a
verdict that the Chemical Saleratus is
The only article in use for Ugh, and sweet
bread. 1t is sold al retail by the procers,
and at wholesale at the Chemical Works
ht