The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-06-14
THE POWDER MONKEY.
ACTIVE DUTIES OF A NIMBLE BOY
ON BOARD A MAN-OF-WAR.

Admiral Farragut's Experience Under
Commodore Porter-The Powder Boys
Duties-Some Examples OF sharp Work
by Boy Crews-Ons Boys Enthusiasm.
The word monkey is diminutive often
attached by sailors 10 another word TO de-
note smaller object of the same kind
Thus we have monkey jacket, short pea
jacket; monkey yard, small yard with
the sail bent, crossed on one of the mssts a
few feet above the deck, for the exercise
and instruction of boys; monkey reef, a
short extra reef formerly put in topsails
and shaken out in free wind A monkey
tail was short iron bar used in training a
carronade, and so on
So the smallest and youngest member Of
. guns crew was assigned 10 the duty OF
bringing the charges of powder from the
magazine TO the gun, and WAS sometimes
called a powder monkey, but more gener-
ally powder boy.
It is interesting 10 know that Admiral
Farragut was once an amateur powder
boy. When httle less than thirteen
years of age he served under Commodore
Porter on board the United States frigate
Essex, in her memorable fight with the En-
glish frigate Phoebe and the sloop-of-w war
Cherub, off Valparaiso, in 1914
He tells his own story with characters
tic simplicity. During the action" he
says, Twas like Paddy in the catharpings,
a man on occasions performed the du-
ties of captains aid. quarter gunner, pow
der boy, and in fact did everything that
was reouired of me y
He then goes on TO describe the 'horrid
impression made upon him By the sight
of the first man he had ever seen killed,
and continues:
when my services were not required
for other purposes / assisted in working a
gun; would run and bring powder from
the boys, and send them back for more,
until the captain wanted me TO carry a
message, and this continued to employ me
during the action"
THE POWDER BOYS DUTIES.
The part of powder boy, though some
what subordinate, requires activity and
Judgment; for while he must keep his gun
SO well supplied with powder as not to
lessen the rapidity OF fire, he must not
allow the cartridges 10 accumulate on
deck, lest an explosion take place and
cause more destruction than the fire OF
the enemy.
The powder boy must exercise great care
also, to prevent sparks or fragments of
burning cartridges from getting into his
passing box-the leather box in which the
cartridge is carried. As a preeaution, the
passing box on being presented for fresl
cartridge must be carefully shaken over Il
tub Of water, TO empty it of anything that
might communicate fire.
An explosion at the magazine passage
would be likely to communicate TO the
magazine itself and blow up the ship.
History furnishes a number of instances
of ships blowing up in battle. The case Of
the L'Orient, the flagship Of the French
feet at the battle of the Nile, which took
fire and subsequently blew up, gave rise TO
Mrs Hemans' beautiful poem, "Casabi-
anca."
The experiment has been made OF sta
tioning crews of boys at the great guns OF
a vessel of war 10 ascertain how far by
careful training they could be brought up
70 a high state Of efficiency. The results
were very satisfactory.
RAPID WORK FOR BOYS.
The pieces TO be handled were the Dahl
gren smoothbore, 9inch gun, weighing in
round numbers 1900 pounds. The iron
carriage weighed POO pounds. the car
fridge 10, and the loaded shell 73 pounds,
making total weight Of the gun to be run
out to battery-not counting metal sights
and side tackle blocks-more than 10000
pounds Each Of the IS boys who form the
crew Of a 9-inch gun had 642 pounds to
handle. This estimate does not include
the powder boy himself
After a few months instruction at the
battery a series Of competitive exercises
was instituted and the result demonstrates
the potency Of the drill. The first day Of
the series, the ship being at sea and the
battery properly secured for heavy weather,
on the drum beating to general quarters
qinch gun was cast loo ia in. load
ed. run out and fired in ne minute and
seconds.
On the day following, for a test Of ar
curacy, combined with a rapiGity Of fire,
9-inch gun was fired four times at a
target The time Of the first
fire being recorded, the gun WAS loaded and
fired three more times, and the time called
at the fourth fire, the interval being one
minute and forty eight seconds.
The first shot struck and completely de-
molished the target. distant from so 70
], 60 yards The remaining three shots
were fired without much regard to aocu-
racy.
On the third day Of the series, the guns
being secured for sea, the ships company.
without previous warning. was called TO
quarters little after midnight. when
9-incn Cln-haudled, as IN the previous
cases, entirely by boys-was cast loose, run
In, loaded, run oat and fired THE she'll *
plodingj in two Minutes and eight sec
onds. counting from the first tap Of the
drum
AZ ENTHUSIASTIC TOrNGSTEE-
Now. the statement that the call 20 quar-
ters was without preysors warning"
must lie taken with some qualification.
The crew knew that night quarter" vas
one Of the exercises belonging 10 the series.
but no one, save the commanding officer,
knew what night or At What hour of the
night the summons would come.
Every one was on the gni v5ve OF coarse.
Moreover, the powder boys knew that sue
cess in the competition depended IN great
measure on the prompt supply q powder.
Thas idea was 50 fully impressed on the
u I'd q one powder uloakey, g. xe shall
cal him. that when Il Ssas his watch below.
instead OF repairing 70 bis hammock, a.
any veil ordered powder monkey would
Dr should do. be preferred rather 70 PICK
pat soft plank On the lower deck, near
he entrance 70 the magazine passage. 80
mat when the hour Of trisi came he would
b on hand 70 rsce.ye the Cartridge first
naDde3 Gus.
lie slep: there for Two nights, and part
81 tie third On tie third night Be wa
20 rap the reward q bis devotion. though,
u the event proTed, in part only. On the
irurn sounding for nigt; quarters. ouE IL
.le hero Wa a. his pos. poassessed himself
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