Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1889-04-09
srcrios II.

~ soon as thrcc Of the spring arnorcd
vessels and fivc crabs" wcrc completed.
the syndicate felt itself ready 10 bcgin
operations II was indeed time Tho scas
hal tsrcn covered with American and
llritish merchantmen Fastening home
ward. OF 60 friendly ports. bcforc the
actual commencement of hostilitics. But
all had not bccn fortunate enough 10
reach safety within the limits ~ time
allowed. and several American mer'
chantmcu had hccn already captured by
fat British cruisers.
Tho mCmb,rs II the syndicate well
understood that u war was o. b. car.
ricd on 90 thoy desired. they must strike
tho ilni ral blow. Comparatively spcak.
iug. a very short time had elapsed since
tho declaration of war. and ih, opportu.
uniiy o. take the Initiative was stlll open.
IL was in order to tako thil initiative
that. IN the early hours of july morn.
ing. two % the syndicates armorcl
vessels. each accompanied by a crab.
steamed cut of New England port. and
beaded for the point CA the Canadian
coast whCrc ii had bccn decided % open
the campaign.
Tho vessels oi the syndicate had no In.
diyilual namcs Tho spring armorcd
ships were termed ''rcpcllcrs. and were
numbcrcd. and tho crabs wcrc knownby
the lc,icrs % the alphabet. Each rcpcllcr
was In charge u a director % naval
opcrations. and the whole naval forc ~
the syndicate was under the command
Of dirccturin chief. On this momcn.
t0u. occasion this officer vas on board u
Rcpcllcr No 1. and commanded tho little
noci
Tho rcp,llors had never bccn vessels of
great spcc,l. aud their present arInor of
steel strips. the lower portion u which
wasfrcIucnily under water. considerably
retarded their ppgrcss. bat each of them
Vas taken in tow by ono 81 the swift and
powerful crabs. and with this assistance
they made very guod time. reaching tho,r
destination on the morning ~ thoeccOnd
day
II was on brcczy day. with a cloudy
sky. and the "a moderately smooth. that
the little ficct % tho syndicate lay to oil
the haTlor ~ one u the principal Cana.
dian scaportA About fyo miles away
the hcadands CA either side of the mouth
Of the harbor could plainly h. sccn. IL
had bccn decided that Repcllcr No
should begin operations Accordingly.
that vessel steamed about mile nearer
tho harbor. accompanied by Crab a.
Tho other rrrcllcr and crab remained In
their int position. rcady 90 act In cas-
they should H. needed.
Tho approach of two vessels. evidently
mcn-oi.waT. aud carrying the American
Hag. was perceived from the forts and
rcdoub,s az the mouth u tho harlor.
and the news quickly spread 90 the city
and 10 tho vessels In port. Intense cx.
cltcmcnt cnsucd on land and water.
among the ci,izcns % the place as vel
As H. defenders. Every man who had
post u duty vas instantly at Il: aud In
les than half an hour tho British man
of.war ScarabHus. which had lccn lying
al anchor a short distance outside the
haIbor. came steaming out 10 meet the
enemy There were other naval vessels
In port. but they required mOrc time TO
b. put IN readiness for action.
a. SON as tho approach Of ScarabUus
was Isruciycd by Repcllcr 40. l. a boat
bearing a white nag was lowered from
that vessel and was rapidly rowcd To-
ward the British ship When the latter
saw tho toai coming she lay 20, and
waited L. arrival A note was delivered
o. the captain Of the Scanhru-. in which
IL was stated that the syndicate. which
had undertaken on the part of the United
States the conduct of the war bctwcen
that country and Great Britain. was now
prepared TO demand the surrender of
this city. with IT, forts and dcfcnscs. and
all vessels within it, harbor; and, as
lrst step. the immediate surrender %
the vessel TO the commander Of which
this note was delivered.
The overwhelming eiirontery Of this
demand caused the commander of the
ScarabUus 10 doub, whether he had 10
deal with raying lunatic or buster
ing fool bat ho informed the person In
charge Of the ilag of truce boat that he
would give him fifteen minutes In which
10 get hack 10 his vessel. and that he
would then open fire upon that craft.
The men who rowcd the little boat
were not men-of.war's men. and were
unaccusiomed TO duties Of this kind. In
eight minutes they bad reached their
vessel and were safe on board.
just seven minutes aftcrward the first
shot came from the Scarabsus- IL
passed over Repeller No !. and that
vessel. instead Of replying. Immediately
steamed nearer her adversary. The
director. In chief desired 10 determine
the effect Of an active cannOnade upon
the new armor. and therefore ordered
the vessel placed In such a position that
the Englshman might have the bsst
opportunity for using II a. target.
The Scarabnus lost no time In ayailing
herself of the facilities offered. She was
a large and powerful ship. with heavy
armament; and. soon getting the range
Of the syndicates vessel. she hurled ball
after hall upon her striped side Repellsr
No. l made no reply. but quietly sub
mitted 10 the terrible bomhardment.
Some Of the great shot Jared her from
bow Ia stern. but not one Of them broke
q steel spring. nor penetrated the heavy
inside plates.
After half an hour Of this work the
director.in-chief became satisfied that
the new armor had well acquitted itself
In the severe trial 10 which IL had been
subjected. Some Of the air buffers had
been disabled. probably on account Of
faults In their construction. but these
could readily b. replaced. and no further
injury had been done the vessel II was
not necessary. therefore. 10 continue the
experiment any longer. and besides there
was danger that the Englishman perceiv-
ing that his antagonist did not appear TO
BE- affected by his fire. would approach
closer and cndeavor TO ram her. This
was 10 IL avoided. for the scarabsrus
was much larger vessel than Repeller
No. 1. and able 10 run into the latter and
sink her by mere preponderance Of
weight
II was. therefore. decided 10 now test
the powers Of the crabs. Signals were
made from Repeller No. TO Crab A.
which had been lying with the larger
vessel between IL and the enemy. These
signals were made by Jets Of dense black
~ A. II. q Ill