Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-03-16

sober judgment in America looked upon
 the affair of the crabs and the repellers
 as but an incident in the beginning of a
 great and disastrous war
 On the morning of the destruction of
 Fort Pitcher the syndicate's vessels
 moved toward the port. and the steel net
 was taken up by the two crabs. and
 moved nearer the mouth of the harbor.
 at point from which the fort, now in
 process of evacuation, was in full view.
 When this had been done, Repeiler No
 took up her position at a moderate dis
 tance behind the net. and the other yes
 sels stationed themselves near by.
 The protection of the net was consid-
 cred necessary, for although there could
 be no reasonable doubt that all the tor
 pedoes in the harbor and river h.a! been
 exploded, others might te sent out
 against the syndicates vessels. and a
 torpedo under crab or a re,,ells,r was the enemy most feared by the syEu!rate
 About o'clock the signals between the repellers became very frequent, and soon afterwards a truce boat went out from Repeller No. l. This was rowed
 with great rapidity. but it was obliged to go much farther up the harbor than on previous occasions. in order to deliver its message to an officer of the garrison.
 This was to the effect that the evacua- tion of the fort had been observed from the syndicate's vessels, and although it had been apparently complete, one of the scientific corps, with powerful glass, had discovered man in one of the outer redoubts, whose presence there was probably unknown to the officers of the garrison. It was. therefore, earn- estly urged that this man might be in- stantly removed. and in order that this might be done, the discharge of the mo- tor bomb would be postponed half an hour.
 The officer received this message and was disposed to look upon it as q new trick. but as no time was to be lost he sent corporal's guard to the fort, and there discovered an Irish sergeant by the name of kilsey, who had sworn an oath that If every other man in the fort ran away like lot of addle pated sheep he would not run with them; he would stand to his post to the last, and when the couple of ships outside had got through bombarding the stout walls of the fort, the world would see that there was at least one British soldier who was not afraid of bomb, be it little or big. Therefore he had managed to elude ob- servation, and to remain behind.
 The sergeant was so hot headed in his determination to stand by the fort that 1t required violence to remove him; and it was not until twenty minutes past Nl>e that he had been taken to the hill behind which the garrison was encamped.
 AS it had been decided that Repeller Mo- should discharge the next instan- motor tonb, there was an desire on the part of the opera tors on that vessel that in this, their first experience. they might do their duty as well as their comrades on board the other repeller had done theirs. The most ac- curate observations, the most careful cal- were made and renade. the 1 point to be aimed at being about the center of the fort.
 The motor bomb had been in the can- non for nearly an hour, and everything 1! had long been ready. when at precisely ! thirty minutes past o'clock the signal 1 to discharge came from the director-in- chief. and in four seconds afterward the l lnuex on the scale indicated that the gun was in the proper position, and the button was touched.
 The motor bomb was set to act the in- stant it should touch any portion of the fort. and the effect was different from that of the other bombs. There was a quick, hard shock, but it was all in the air. Thousands of panes of glass in the city and in houses for miles around were cracked or broken; birds fell dead or upon the ground, and people on elevations at considerable distances felt as if they had received blow; but there was no trembling of the ground.
 As to the fort, it had entirely disap- oeared. it's particles having been instan- removed to great distance in every direction, falling over such a vast of land and water that their de cent was unobservable.
 In the place where the fortress had 'tood there was wide tract of bare 'arth. which looked as if it had been craped into a staring dead level of gravel and clay. sThe instantaneous motor bomb had been arranged to act llmost horizontally.
 Few persons. except those who from a distance had been watching the fort with glasses. understood what had happened; 'ut every one in the city and surround ng country was conscious that some hing had happened of a most startling lnd. and that it was over in the same instant in which they had perceived it. Everywhere there was the noise of fall ng window glass. There were those 0ho asserted that for an instant they had leard in the distance a grinIing crash; nd there were others who were uite sure that they had noticed what night be called flash of darkness. as if omething had. with almost unappreci- ble quickness, passed between them and he sun.
 When the officers of the garrison nounted the hill before them and sur  :;az'z-E