The Sunday herald. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1866-1887, 1882-07-23

Ir was very fine and appropriate for the
American Admiral on the Egyptian Coast to Inform
the "needless AeNandTincs - that they fired on
him he would return the re and the 'joint oCcupa-
tIon - Of Alexandria by sixty American marines and
six thousand British sent glow Of national pride
through every heart But the inadequacy Of the
means furnishe, to brave boys In foreign waters
for asserting the dignity Of the nag somehow recalls
the experiences Of she Navy In the last Rebellion,
graphically and veracOusly told by Mr.. orpheus q.
Kerr In his series Of letters, vol III, page IO7.
He says;
1t was very shortly after the victorious but dlsas-
tTOus blowing up Of the MackeTel iron plated squad
ron, the Secretary Peiies on Duck Lake. by tile In
fatuated Confederacies OF Pier No. lit was shortly
after this event, which duly recOunted at the time
that our unCOnqueTable old sea-dOg, Rear Admiral
Head, invented an entirely new irOncad after the
model OF Quaker hat the turret being Of solid iron
all through and arranged that It could be used to
cover the gangway amdships' In fact, my boy the
tuTret movable block OF Iron, with the swlyelgun
mounted top; 30 that n the tuIret happened to bo
hit the artillery would not he disabled, and N tho
artillery was disabled the tuIIe would sim he as
good as ever. (atent applied fOr) There was some
discussion as TO what name should DO given 10 this
formidable monster, nearly the whole slA .hdGIeed
Indian language having been almost exhausted by
national Navy but finally II was resolved 70 cali her
the Shocking gbaahdt-an old ChOctaw title Of much
simplicity, siguiiylng originally 'Ihe Head what
errs. - but now understood as meaning "Ihe Head
waters. -
There has also been great improvement IN the
swyel.gun, my boy, which has been reconstructed
TO remedy the evil Of immediate buTbtlng 30 COu-
mon to our heavier ordnance. select committee Of
mackeres having been appointed to examine our
national ordnance system and discover the cause Of
Its lueceney, stated Ia their able report that the
Of the frequent bursting Of our larger guns
are.
first. The power used in propeling the appropriate
missile against the enemy.
Second. The addition Of an lncendldry spark to
said powder.
II was farther stated In the report that. although
the barrel OF gun was frequently fractured when n
exploded, there record Of the touch -hOo ever
having burst; and the committee believed that this
curious fact should serve a8 valuable suggestion to
the manufacturers Of future heavy ordnance.
Acting upon this uply valuable suggestion our
stem old son Of Neptune caused his 6wyol-gun 10 be
reconstructed upon novel principle; the touch-h0e
was extended 10 the usual size of barrel, aud the
barrel was reduced TO the usual SIZE of touch mole
no that although the terrible weapon looked precisely
The same as ever II was, in reality, compbtHy fe-
rfTStd
But while tho Saoc1tagbddhat wag building aud
receiving her terrific new afmanenl the shameless
confcdeTacies on their Pier IN Duck Lake had been
iudustnously building Fort Plano and mounting It
with their ylaiuous hOrse-pistOs; 50 that when the
new mGckerel iIon-pated squadron was ready for
carnage and nshng there was hostile projection in
the way
"CGipmy turct o. says Rear Admiral Head, In