The Florida agriculturist., 1889-04-24


action with an enemy. Nor did he know
that the glass blocks under the armor
plates of the crabs, which were placed
in rubber frames to protect them from
conclusion above, were also guarded by
steel netting from injury by small balls.
Valiantly the boats beset the crabs,
keeping up constant fusillade and en-
deavoring to throw grapnels over them.
If one of these should catch under an
overlapping armor plate it could be con-
nected with the steam windlass of the
Adamant and plate might be rippedoff
OF crab overturned.
But the crabs proved to be much more
lively fish than their enemies had sup
posed. Turning, as if on pivot, and
darting from side to side, they seemed
to be playing with the boats, and not
trying to get away from them. The
spring armor of Crab K interfered some
what with it's movements and also put it
in danger from attacks by grapnels, and
it therefore left most of the work to it's
consort.
Crab j, after darting swiftly in and
out among her antagonists for some time,
suddenly made turn, and dashing at
one of the boats, ran under it, and rails
ing it on it's glistening back, rolled i&
bottom upward, into the sea. In mo-
ment the crow of the boat were swim
ming for their lives. They were quickly
picked up by two of the other boats,
which then deemed it prudent to return
to the ship.
But the second officer of the Adamant,
who commanded the fourth boat, did
not give up the fight. Having noted the
spring armor of Crab K, he believed that
if he could get grapnel between it's
steel ribs he yet might capture the sea
monster. For some minutes Crab K con-
tented itself with eluding him; but, tired
of this, it turned, and raising it's huge
nippers almost out of the water, it seized
the bow of the boat and gave it gentle
crunch, after which it released it's hold
and retired. The boat, leaking rapidly
through two ragged holes, was rowed
back to the ship, which it reached half
full of water.
The great battle ship, totally bereft of
the power of moving herself, was now
rolling in the trough of the sea, and a
signal came from the repeller for Crab
K to make fast to her and put her head
to the wind. This was quickly done, the
crab attaching itself to the stern post Of
the Adamant by pair of towing nip
pers. These were projected from the
stern of the crab, and were so constructed
that the larger vessel did not commune
cate all its motion to the smaller one,
and could not run down upon it.
As soon as the Adamant was brought
up with her head to the wind she opened
fire upon the repeller. The latter vessel
could easily have sailed out of the range
of a motionless enemy, but her orders
forbade this. Her director had been in
structed by the syndicate to expose his
vessel to the fire of the Adamant's heavy
guns Accordingly the repeller steamed
nearer, and turned her broadside toward
the British ship.
Scarcely had this been done when the
two great bow guns of the Adamant
shook the air with tremendous roars,
each hurting over the sea nearly ton Of
steel. One of these great shot passed
over the repeller, but the other struck
her armored side fairly amidship. There
was a crash and scream of creaking
steel, &nd Repeller No. rolled over to
windward as if she had been struck by
heavy sea. In moment she righted,
and shot ahead ana flIrninp presented