The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1889-03-29

ing rSrCi3l, tscpcllCr no. my 10 Win
tho sunkcn net between her and the
shore. and prepared To project the first
instantaneous motor bomb ever used In
warfare.
The great gun in the bow Of the vessel
WAL loaded with one OF Tie largest and
most powerful motor bciaba. ard the
spot To he ainitd IL was selected. This
was point in the water just inside OF
the nouth cf the harbor. and nearly a
mile rroni the iand On either side. The
distance of tlis poiI; from the vessel be-
ing calculated. the cannon was adjusted
at The ANGLE called Tor by the scale Of
,listance,, and levels. and the Instrument
in,icatins rise. fail ami direction was
then pat il connection with Il.
Now Lac director in-ciiiei stepped for
ward to IN ruttoi. by pressing which
thu power df the MOOR WIS developed.
The cbNf oi the t.eicnli.c corps then
shaved him the exact .roiat upon the
scale, which would b. ia,.i'.ii;d when
ths SIN Was IL its proper position. and
the pipce was then slowed ip,n its bear
lngs SO us to approximate as nearly as
possible this direction
The how al llc sesS'l ~" rose upon
the suyil of The ,aa. an,l IA" instant that
the index upon he se.siv reached the de-
sired ,uint. The dircc.or-in-chni touched
the bntton.
There was 40 report. no st:0ke, no
visible sign that the motor had left
the cannon, but at chat instant
there uppcared. TO tiiose who were
on the lockout, from q fort about
"a mile away. vast aperture ,n
the waters Of tn way WHICH was
variuusly described IA from i0t yards to
500 yards in diameter At that same In
slant. in the nc,ghboring headlands and
islands far up the shores OF the bay. and
in every street and buii..ins Of the city,
there was felta sharp sloclS as II the
underlying rocks had been struck BY
gigantic trip hammer
At the same instant the sky above the
spot where the motor had descended was
darkened by'a wide spreading cloud.
This was formed of that portion Of the
water of the bay which mad been in
Simultaneous raised 10 the height Of about
a Thousand feet The sudden appear
ance of this cloud was even more terri
BILE than the yawning chasin In the
waters of the bay, or tho startling shock,
but it did not remain long ia view. II
had no sooner reached lis highest cieva-
| ton than it began TO descend. There
was strong sea brecz" blowing, and in
| its descent this vast mass Of water was
| impelled toward the land
1t came down, not ~ rain. but as the
| # fhnp,oh A
mountain lake, 10y IN earthquake shock,
had been p.ccipitated ia :. body upon q
| valley Only one edge of il reached the
| land, and here the Ucething flood tore
away earth. trees and rocks. leaving be-
hind il great chasms and guilies as II
descended TO tho sea.
| The bay itself, into which this vast
body of the water tell. became q scene
of surging madrcss The towering walls
of water which had stood up oil around
the suddenly created aperture hurled
themselves back into the abyss, and down
into the great chasu ut the bottom of
the bay. which had been made when the
motor sent it's shock along the great rock
beds. Down upon. and into, this roar
ing. boiling tumult fell the tremendous
cataract from above. and the harbor be-
camo one wild expanse Of leaping, mad
dencd waves, Kissing their whirling
spray high into the air.
| During these few terrific moments
other things happened which passed un-
noticed in the general CONSERVATION.
| All along the shores Of the bay and In
front of the city the waters seemed to
be sucked away, slowly returning as the
sea forced them to their level, and at
many points up and down the harbor
there were submarine detonations and
upheavals Of the water.
These wcro caused by tho explosion, BY
conclusion Of every torpedo and subma-
rine battery in the harbor; and il was
with this object in view that tho instan-
taneous motor bomb had been shot into
tho mouth Of tho boy.
The effects Of tho discharge CT tho mo-
tor bomb astonished and even startled
those OH board tho rcpcllcrs and tho
tho crabs. At tho instant Of touching
the button q hydraulic shock was felt ON
Repeller No. 1. This was supposed to bc
occasioncd by tho discharge Of the mo-
tor, but it was also felt on tho other YES
sells. It was tho samc shock that had
been felt ON shore, but less in degree.
A few moments after there was a great
heaving swell Of the sea. which tossed
and rolled the four vessels and lifted
the steel protecting net 80 high that for
an instant parts Of it showed themselves
above the surface like glistening sea
ghosts.
Experiments with motor bombs had
been made in unsettled mountainous dis
tricts, but this was the first ono which
had ever cxerted its power under water.
On shore, in the forts, and in the city,
no one for an instant supposed that the
terrific phenomenon which had Just oc-
Cured was in any way duo to tho vcs-
sells of tho syndicate. The repellers
were in plain view, and it was evident
that neither of them had fired gun.
Besides, the firing of cannon did not pro-
duce such effects. 1t was tho general
opinion that there had been an earth