Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1889-04-23
SECTION ".


craft ~ every description having takeI
refuge In the upper part of tho haTbo
near and above the city Therefore a
scon a. IL was light enough To mako ob
scryations Rrpcllcr No | did not hcsitat,
10 dischargc a motor tomb into th'
hartof. a mile or morc above wltrc th'
frst one had fallen. This was done IL
order 10 cHplosic any toupc,locs Whicl
might have bccn put into position sinc'
the discharge % the tst tomb.
There wcrc very few Icoplc In tho ciiy
and suburbs who were at that hour oul
OF doors. whcrc they could - the gr,al
cloud ~ water fise toward tho sky. and
bchold Il descend like a mighty cataract
uron tho harbof and adjacent shores
bat the quick. sharp shock which ran
under the town made people spring FROM
their hc,ls. and although nothing va,
then 10 - syn. nearly everybody fell
SURE that the syndicaies forces had b.
gun their days work by exploding an.
other mine.
A lighthouse. tho occupants of which
had bccn or,lercd 10 leave when the fori
was evacuated. a. they might H. In dan
ser In ca=o ~ a toIElardment. was ~
shaken by the explosion u this motor
bomb that u Tell In ruins on tho rock.
upon which II had stood.
The two erals now took tho steel net
from iis mcoringS and carried II up the
harbJr This was rather difficult on ac.
count 81 the Islands. rocks and sandbars,
bu, the lcading crab had on board pilo,
acquainted with those waters With tho
net hanging letWccn them. the two sub
merged vessels. one carefully following
the other, reached point about two
miles below the city. where tho net was
anchored across the harbor II did no,
mach from shOru to shore. but In the
oour.o ~ the morning two other nets,
designed for shallowcr waters. wcrc
brought frum tho rcpellcrs and anchored
AZ each cnd - the main net. thus form
Ing line Of complete protection against
submarine toUc,loos which might h.
scnt down from the upper harbor.
RcTrllcr so. now steamed into the
hArboT accompanied by Crab A. and
anchored about a quarter of a mile "a.
ward % the net. Tho other vp-llcr.
with her attendant crab. cruiscd about
the mouth ~ tho harbor. watching a
smaller entrance 10 the port a. well a.
the larger one. and thus maintaining an
effective blockade. This was not n difli.
cul, duty. for since tho news u the cx-
traordinary performances Of tho crabs
had bc,n spread abroad. no merchant
vessel. large OF small. oarvd 60 approach
iha, port. and strict orders had bccn
issued by the British admiralty tha, no
vessel u the navy should. until further
Instructed. engage In combat with tho
peculiar craft ~ the syndicate. Until a
plan % lction had lcCn determined
upon. u was very desirable that English
cruisers should not h. eIpo-cd 20 useless
injury and danger.
This bcing tho state u aIairs. mos
sage was sent from tho Office q
the syndicate across the border to
the llominion government. which
stated that the seaport city which
had bCcn attacked by tho forces Of tho
syndicate now lay under the guns of It's
vessels. and IN caso of an overt act q
war by Great Britain or Canada alone.
such ~ the entrance % an armed force
FROM British territory into the United
States. OF a capture Of or attack upon an
American vessel. navel or commercial.
by a British man -of.war. or an attack
upon an American port by British vos-
sels. tho city would b. bombardcd and
destroyed
This ricssage. which was Of course In.
Eantly transmitted 20 London. placed
the British government In tho apparent
position u icing held by the throat by
tho American War Syndicate But II
the British government OF the people of
Engl-nd 90 canada recognized this posi.
tin & all Il was merely ~ a temporary
condition In a short time ,hc most
powerful men-of.war of tho royal navy,
as well ~ fleet 81 transports carrying
trOops. would reach the coasts u North
America. and then the condition of
Affairs would rapidly H. changed. IL
was absurd 10 suppose that a few me
dium siEed vessels. however heavily
armorcd. or few new tangled subma-
rinc machines. however destructive they
might he. could withstand an armada of
the largest and finest arnored vessels In
the world 4 ship or two might bo dis
abled. although this was unlikely. now
that TIC new method OF attack was un.
dersiood. but IL would soon 10 the ports
Of the United States. on both the Pacific
and Atlantic coasts. which would Ito
under .ho guns OF an enemy.
But II vas not In the power Of their
navy tlai the British government and
the people of England and Canada placed
their greatest trust. but In the incapacity
Of ti,,ir petty FOO 10 support Its ridicu-
lous assumptions Tho claim that tho
city lay under the guns Of the American
syndicate was considered ridiculous. for
few people believed that these vessels
had any guns. Certainly therehad been no
evidence that any shots had been fired
from them. In the opinion OF reasona-
bic people the destruction Of the forts
and the explosions In the harbor had
been caused by mines-mines OF a new
and terrifying power-which were tho
work Of traitors and confederates Tho
destruction Of the lighthouse had
strengthened this belief. for its fall
was similar TO that which would havo
been occasioned by great explosion un-
der its foundation.
but however terrifying and appalling
had been the results Of the explosion OF
these mines. II was not thought probable
that there were any more OF them Tho
explosions had taken place at exposed
points distant from the city, and tho
most careful investigation failed to dis
cover any present signs Of mining opera
tions.
This theory Of mines worked by con-
federaies was received throughout tho
civilized world. and was universally con-
demned. Even In the United States tho
feeling was 20 strong against this sppar.
ent alliance between tho syndicate and
British traitors that there was reason to
believe that n popular pressure would 10
brought to bear upon the government
sufficient to force IL TO break Its contract
with the syndicate and to carry on the
war with the national army and navy.
The crab was considered an admirable
addition TO the strength Of navy, but q
mine under fort. laid and fred by per-
hdious confederates. was considered un-
worthy an enlightened people.
Thl msmbsy Of thl sypdicAtS n0H