The Florida agriculturist., 1889-05-15

moved round TO the DOW OF the gunOOaC,
and grasping the cutwater with its
forceps, reversed its engines and began
to back rapidly toward the British fleet.
taking with it the captured vessel as q
protection against torpedoes while in
transit.
The crab slowed up not far from one
of the foremost of the British ships, and
coming round to the quarter of the gun
boat. the astonished captain of that YES
sci was informed, through the speaking
tube, that if he would give his parole to
keep out of this fight, he would be
allowed to proceed to his anchorage in
Portsmouth harbor The parole was
given, and the dynamite gunboat. after
reporting to the flag ship, steamed away
to Portsmouth.
The situation now became one which
was unparalleled in the history of naval
warfare. On the side of the British seven
war ships were disabled and drifting
slowly to the southeast. For half an
hour no advance had been made by the
British fleet, for whenever one of the
large vessels had steamed ahead, such
vessel had become the victim of crab,
and the vice admiral commanding the
feet had signaled not to advance until
further ORDERS
The crabs were also lying to, each to
the windward of and not far from one
of the British ships. They had ceased to
make any attacks, and were resting
quietly under protection of the enemy.
This, with the fact that the repeller still
lay four miles away without any apparent
intention of taking part in the battle,
gave the situation it's eculiar character.
The British vice admiral did not in
tend to remain in this quiescent condi-
ton. 1t was, of course, useless to order
forth his ironclads, simply to see them
disabled and set adrift. There was an
other arm Of the service which evidently
could be used with better effect upon
this peculiar foe than could the great
battle ships.
But before doing anything else, he
must provide for the safety of those of
his vessels which had been rendered
helpless by the crabs, and some of which
were now drifting dangerously near to
each other. Dispatches had been sent to
Portsmouth for tugs, for it would not do
to wait until these arrived and a suffi-
cient number of ironclads were detailed
to tow their injured consorts into port.
When this order had been given. the
vice admiral Immediately prepared to
renew the fight, and this time his efforts
were to be directed entirely against the
repeller 1t would be useless to devote
any further attention to the crabs, espe-
cially in their present positions. But if
the chief vessel of. the syndicate's fleet,
with it's spring armor, and it's terrible
earthquake bombs, could be destroyed,
it was quite possible that those sea para
sites, the crabs, could also be disposed of.
Every torpedo boat was now ordered
to the front, and in long line, almost
abreast of each other, these swift vessels
the light infantry of the sea-advanced
upon the solitary and distant foe. If
one torpedo could but reach her hull, the
vice admiral, in spite of seven disabled
ironclads and a captured gunboat, might
yet gaze proudly at his floating flag,
even if his own ship should be drifting
broadside to the sea.
The line of torpedo boats, slightly curv-
ing inward, had advanced about mile
when Repeller No. II awoke from her
seeming sleep, and began to act. The
two great guns at her bow were trained
upward, SO that bomb discharged from
them would fall into the sea mile and
a half ahead. Slowly turning her bow