The Hawaiian gazette., 1875-03-10
Artillery Review.

A review of the artillery of the o. S. war
vessels in Port took place on the 26th of last
month, before His Majesty, on the Esplanade.
As we were not present on the occasion, We
are indebted to the officers in command for the
particulars of the review, which by those who
witnessed it are said to have been very in
teresting.
On the 26th ult, the eighth battery of ar
tillery, from the U. S. ships in harbor, was re-
viewed by His Majesty the King, on the Es-
planade. The battery, consisting of five field
howitzers and one Gatling gun, was landed at
one O'Clock, and drawn up in line awaiting the
arrival of the King and suit, upon whose ap-
proach a salute of twenty-one guns was fired,
the band playing the Hawaiian Anthem. The
battery was then prepared for inspection, and
His Majesty and suite, accompanied by Capt
Gherardi and staff, passed through the ranks,
receiving the usual salutes from officers and
men. After this the battery passed in review,
marching both in quick, and in double time,
with precision which did great credit, both
to the officers commanding, and to the men in
ranks, and which showed that the instructions
of Lieut.. Mason, under whose supervision the
drill took place, were carefully carried out.
After the review, with which, His Majesty
expressed himself highly pleased, several
rounds of cartridges were fired from the CAT
ling gun, in order to exhibit the rapidity of its
fire. This, to a stranger, was the most inter
esting part Of the exercise. BY the simple
turning of a crank, this wonderful piece scat
tered its shot with extraordinary rapidity. AT
first the iron buoy at the left Of the Lighthouse
was the mark, and the shots fell on it for a
time like hailstones. Then the rotary motion
was given to the piece, and it moved over
radius of perhaps twenty-five degrees, scat
tering the shots into the water, which was dis
turbed as if a shoal of fishes was moving
through it. Some months ago, the Friend had
an item about this gun, from which we clip
the following:
Having occasion to visit the Portsmouth we
made enquiry for the "Gatling gun" Much to
surprise, Captain Skerrett remarked that there
was possibility Of its dischargng 400 charges per
minute. he furthermore stated upon the authority
OF the First Lieutenant, Mr.. Clark, who witnessed
the experiment, that "Gatling' had been found
capable of hitting a target at 500 yards 500 times
out of 400 shots. After the first shot, the gun was
carefully adjusted, aud this result followed Such
are the facilities that the gun can be worked by
three men, and in it's working the gun moves back
aud forward so that the bullets will NOW down
regiment Of soldiers, when in line at a half mile
distance. Not being skillful at manGuvering gun
or describing the working OF "Gatling," we may
not haye conveyed a very ineligible IDEA to the
reader, but we must add, that we hope 4" Gating's"
and other kinds Of gunnery will become so perfect
aud destructive that nations viii be afraid to 20 10
war, and will resort TO Geneva TO settle their dif-
culties rather than to the battlefield The inventor
Of this famous gun, DR.. Calling, was, We believe,
volunteer in the late civil war, and citizen of
Indiana"
The following is list of the officers, en-
gagged in the artillery review:
Lieut. T B. NJ Mason, Commanding; Lieut. c.
". Jarboe, right half battery; Master l. p Jouett,
Ell half battery; Ensign J. C. Burnett centre sec
ion; Midshlpmen C. R. Miles, T. H. Holmes, V.
L Cottman, Nos. !, . and pieces; Gunner Samuel
Cross, No. piece Gatling; Midsbipmen W. Alder
lice, B. A. Fiske, Nos. and pieces; Mldshipman
". II. II. Switzerland, Adjutant
The battery turned out 100 rank and file.