Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-01-31


other name than Sergeant Fritz, and although
he had had many years of training in the Ger
man army, he delighted in the use Of French
terms In his greetings. possibly because the Ian
guage sounded more polite in his ears. as he
was the pink Of politeness and all the ethics Of
military etiquette radiated from his every &C
ton when in the presence of his superior Off
GERS. Poor Sergeant Fritz How little did
dream that / should never see him or any part
of him again. I shall never forget him a. he
stood there with little ''tally book" in his
hand, apparently waiting for me to pass across
the deck Of the barge which was my route to
the wharf.
HANDLING FIXED AMMUNITION.
I saluted him in the same cordial manner and
while doing so glance showed me that he was
engaged in discharging q cargo Of ammunition
from the barge and storing it in the warehouse
which stood at the end Of the wharf. This am
munition was packed in wooden boxes, about q
foot square, and was being handed up from the
hold of the vessel by gang of colored laborers
| to a similar gang who stood around the hatch
way to receive it, while still another gang
| would place the boxes on trucks and wheel
them to the point of storage in the warehouse.
Although pressed for time, for some reason to
myself unex plainable. 1 turned for moment to
| ask the sergeant as to the character OF the ord
nance he was handling. He informed me that
il was what was known as fixed" ammuni-
ton, in the form of shells so constructed that
obstacle explosion was sure to follow. As he
made these few explanations he was almost con-
stantly warning the men, both on deck and in
the hold, to be careful Of the way the boxes
were handled and remarked to me that the drop
ping Of one of these boxes back into the hold
would probably cause n terrific explosion. as
there were a large number OF shells in the cargo
and an enormous quantity Of powder also on
board. The men were doubtless as careful and
circumspect as they could well be, but to me,
rrat1 s,aI "a 20 he hun "
plosives. 1 felt some sense Of relief when had
hidden Fritz good morning and retreated to o
distance which shut off the apparently sense
less iteration of the tally zone, two, three,
'.four'' or "five," as the case might be. uttered
by the black stevedores, accompanied by a
rhythmic sing-song lingo which, while not un-
musical, is to an On-looker more or less tire
some.
THE REPORT WRITTEN UP.
I was in the harbor masters Office in q
moment where / had decided to write up my
report in order to avoid the interruption incl
dent to the main Office. had a herculean task
before me, and although hopeless Of executing
it in time for the mail, went to work with q
will and became SO absorbed in my task that
was surprised to hear the ''all aboard whistle Of
the steamer, with some pages OF the report yet
unwritten. Relaxing my efforts against time
proceeded in more leisurely way to finish the
work. At II 80 am l had the extreme salts
termirable list Of names of vessels and de-
scription Of cargoes and at once arose from
my chair. leaving the sheets Of the report on
my desk, and, stepping into the suffers near
by, obtained glass of lemonade. This sutler
was q man named Lamb. and, as now remem-
Der, came from Alexandria, Va. Poor fellow!
He was among the great number who lost their
lives a few moments later.
Returning to the Office made q cursory in
spection of my work, with the prospect before
49, ~ g. ~.x~rr.
tiers when again presented myself at the main
Office for not complying with the injunction to
present the report in time for the mail But
congratulated myself on the fact that had
been assigned to an impossible task. No man
could perform it in the time allotted. I had
worked since daylight and knew was not
classed among the snails Of the Office. I had
done my best and would take the chances as to
reprimands l carefully attached the sheets
together in their proper order, folded them in
the regulation manner and dipped my pen in the
ink preparatory to inscribing the regulation
Endorsement.
A TERRIFIC SHOCK.
Up to this point my recollection Of the events
of the day are as clear as il they had occurred
but yesterday. Just here, however, there is Q
very short interlude. and for about the time it
would take grandfather's clock to check off
three beats experienced q complete stasis of
mental methods and all evolutions Of thought
were suspended. There was, it seemed, about
one second of time occupied by a terrible
shock. In quarter Of the time came the roar
of thousand cannon, and with it the terrible
force which ground the front and end Of the
little Office which was in to atoms, carried the
roof no one ever knew where and laid the
back. shattered, broken and splintered, prone
on the earth. My first recollection was Of
being on the floor in sitting posture and see
ing nv desk in dismembered condition before
me. Self-preservation seemed to demand ac-
ton, and without any well-defined reason did
what we are all most likely to do in a moment
sprang to my feet and ran.
RUN FOB LIFE.
As the house was down had no obstacle to
impede my path A few bounds brought me
to the foot of the stairway heretofore men,
toned, which led up the bluff, and / would
sacrifice good deal to know for q certainty
just how many Of these stairs / touched in the
hundred feet had to climb, for at the instant
! reached the stairway realized that / was
menaced with fresh danger. Cannon balls.
huge planks. muskets, saddles and nearly all
things imaginable were beginning to fall about
me and as l assembled the stairs the shower Of
missiles increased, but, i escaped
to the top OF the bluff. To cover the distance
from there to the main Office was to one in nv
condition of mind but the work of moment, but
stll the rain of materials continued and at about
midway (the whole distance not being more
than twenty rods) felt swish Of air in my
face and the conclusion of what afterward
proved to be a solid bali strike the ground Just
in front of my feet / afterward exhumed and
preserved it for q time as one OF the mementoes
of the event.
PARALYZINd SIGHT.
Passing rapidly on to the Office here met .
sight that was sufficient to paralyze any one who
had sufficient nerve power left to fully COM
prehend the terrific power of the shock to
which we had ali been subjected. The gate in
front of the house was torn from its hinges,
the roof and door Of the veranda were perfor-
ated in many places where solid shot had
dropped through both and buried themselves
in the ground beneath. The windows were
blown to atoms, the doors torn from their
hinges, desks upset. ink, pens and papers,
chairs and all the paraphernalia of the office
thrown into a confused heap. But what
amazed me most of all was the presence Of a
section of what appeared to be the keel Of q
canal boat, about fifteen feet in length reeking
with mud and slime, lying peacefully on top OF
a mass of Office wreckage in the large Office
room. 1t had evidently come in through the
window. 1t was clear to us afterward that ID
came from either the barge from which Sergt.
Fritz was taking the ordnance stores or the
one Immediately alongside Of it.
A GENERAL STAMPEDE.
The Office was entirely deserted and passing
through to the verandah in the rear discovered
all the clerks and officers from the various ofic es
making fast time toward the base hospital II
anything could ever be expected to excite
laughter at such q time as this the rear view