Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-03-18

large number of large cannon and two dynamite guns. She was so heavily plated and armored as to be proof against any known artillery in the world.
 She was floating fortress, with men enough to make up the population of a town, and with stores, ammunition and coal sufficient to last for a long term of active service. Such was the mighty English battle ship which had come for ward to raise the siege of the Canadian port.
 The officers of the syndicate were well aware of the character of the Adamant, her armament and her defenses, and had been informed by cable of her time of sailing and probable destination They sent out Repeller No. :. with Crabs and K, to meet her off tho Banks of Newfoundland.
 This repeller was the largest and strongest vessel that the syndicate had ready for service. In addition to the spring armor with which these vessels were supplied. this one was furnished with a second coat of armor outside the first, the elastic steel ribs of which ran longitudinally and at right angles to those of the inner set. Both coats were furnished with great number of inn proved air buffers, and the arrangement of spring armor extended five or sixsfeet beyond the massive steel plates with which the vessel was originally armored. She carried one motor cannon of large size.
 One of the crabs was of the ordinary pattern, but Crab K was furnished with a spring armor above the heavy plates of her roof. This had been placed upon her after the news had been received by the syndicate that the Adamant would carry perpendicular cannon over her stern, but there had not been time enough to fit out another crab in the same way.
 When the director in charge of repeller No. 7 first caught sight of the Adamant, and scanned through his glass the vast proportions of the mighty ship which was rapidly steaming toward the coast, he felt that responsibility rested upon him heavier than any which had yet been borne by an officer of the syndicate, but he did not hesitate in the duty which he had been sent to perform, and imme- diately ordered the two crabs to advance to meet the Adamant, and to proceed to action according to the instructions which they had previously received. His own ship was kept, in pursuance of orders, several miles distant from the British ship.
 AS soon as the repeller had been uiO faI hn c{,., l. out had been kept for the approach of crabs, and when the small exposed por- tions of the backs of two of these were perceived glistening in the sunlight the speed of the great ship was slackened. The ability of the syndicate's submerged vessels to move suddenly and quickly in any direction had been clearly demon strated, and although great ironclad with ram could run down and sink a crab without feeling the concussion, it was known that it would be perfectly easy for the smaller craft to keep out of the way of it's bulky antagonist. There fore the Adamant did try to ram the crabs, nor to get away from them Her commander intended, if possible, to run down ono or both of them, but he did not propose to do this in the usual way. As the crabs approached, the stern jacket of the Adamant was let down and the engines were slowed. This stern jacket, when protecting the rudder and propellers, looked very much like the COW catcher of a locomotive, and was ca pable of being put to q somewhat similar usa. It was the intention of the captain of the Adamant, should the crabs at tempt to attach themselves to his stern, to suddenly put on all steam, reverse his engines and back upon them, the stern
 jacket answering as. a ram.
 The commander of the Adamant had 10 doubt that in this way he could run into crab, roll it over in the water, and
 when it was lying bottom upward, like floating cask, he could move his ship to distance and make target of it. Sc desirous was this brave and somewhat | facetious captain to try his new plan upon a crab that he forebore to fire upon the two vessels of that class which were approaching him. Some of his guns were so mounted that their muzzles could be greatly depressed and aimed at an object i'll tho water not far from the ship. But 1 these were not discharged, and, indeed, tho crabs, which were new ones of un- usual swiftness, were alongside the Ada.
 mant in an incredibly short time and out of the range of these guns
 Crab J was on the starboard side of the
 Adamant, Crab K was on the port side
 and. simultaneously, the two laid hold of
 her. But they were not directly astern of tho great vessel. Each had its nippers
 fastened to one side of the stern jacket,
 near the hinge like bolts which held it tc the vessel, and on which it was raised l and lowered.
 In a moment the Adamant began tc steam backward, but the only effect ot this motion, which soon became rapid,
 was to swing the crabs around against
 her sides and carry them with her. AZ the vessels were thus moving the great pincers of the crabs were twisted with tremendous force. the stern jacket on one side was broken from it's bolt, and on the other the bolt itself was drawn | out of the side of the vessel. The nippers then opened. and the stern jacket fell