New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-07-19
MANNING THE BATTERIES.
AMATEUR SAILORS HANDLE THE BIG GUNS.
LOTS OF DRILLING-coMPLAINTs ABOUT WAIT.
FRs-TARGET PRACTICE TO-DAY.


ERs-TARGET PRACTICE TO-DAY.
II was day of drill and drill again all day
Yesterday with the aspiring sailors OF the Naval
| Reserve, and never were more delshlul DAYS
| TO drill on land sea. SO far every morn
ing the sun climbing up over the oceans rim
| has brought cool breezes and sparkling seas
whose waves jumping about the cid yellow hull
| Of the New Hampshire seemed to say Oood
boys work hard and be sailors
| The breaking in of the Rochester men has been
! one which they never will forget Coming from
| an interior CITY they were absolutely ignorant OF
n shin and twenty of the Naval Reserve men
were told off to instruct them in the mysteries
| Of the New-IIampshire. They got along well
| enough until it came time to turn INTO thelr NAM
mocks and then began the tempest 10 'hen Sou'S
The New-York men had ackled the deep mys-
| tcrv of a sailors hammock the night before, ana
throuch sad experience had learned all about It,
! Now they turned to and instructed the Rochester
men and when one crawed in on one side OF ms
| hammock only to fall out the other, the New
York man looked sternly rcproving, as II he had
| never done such lubberly thlnS hhSoh In
his long and well-spent life.
| The Rochester men experienced another time
Of trial Yesterday morning when the bugle sang
| reyeilIe They had been instructed In getting
into hammock but not in getting out of it.
| There was left but to fall out as gracefully
| "a possiblc and this most OF them accordingly dld
| Rut the Rochester men are learning rapidly, and
will 20 back to their beautiful city so salt that
| Lake Ontario will cease TO be a body OF fresh
! wafer Aboard the war ships to-day they all
acquitted themselves nobly, and they are learn
| ing all the ins and outs of naval life with
great rapdity
| There was the usual routine this morning on
| board the old New Hampshire. The sleepy cooks
greeted the rising sun with an incense of cofee
from the ships galley, and later the bugle awoke
the ship to the life and animation of day full
Of sunlight, invigoratng breezes and healthful
| toll.
At o'clock launches from the Chicago and
Atlanta towed long lines Of boats loaded with
| the men Of the Reserve to the two
ships. where they went for instruction In the
manning of the batteries. The Reserves had not
been aboard ten minutes when on both ships the
bugles sounded to general quarters and the ships
companies manned the guns The Naval Reserve
furnished first and second captains Of guns and
the others looked and received an oblect-lesson
Ii was evident at once that there were too
| few ships for the proper instruction oiNhe re-
serves There are about 300 OF them al
| tached 10 the Ncw-lIampshire, and this makes
l5O, by simple mathematical computation, for
| each man-of-war. Now $50 extra men on board
a man-of-war. carrying her full complement OF
men, are in the way of each other. and In the
way Of the regular crew. More ships should have
been sent, they were last year.
The drills of the morning ended at !
O'clock and the reserves returned board the
Tew-IIampshire for dinner At 10 they were
again aboard the war ships. This time. when
the buglc sounded TO quarters, the officers and
| g 10 all tho batteries
II was as If an actual engagement were taking
| place The magazines were opened and pow
| der division formed and the movements of hoist
ing up ammunition and placing it in the guns
| were gone through with, and everything was
done except the actual firing of the guns The
drill was excellent in every respect, and the re-
serves proved that even with the limited oppor-
tunitics afforded them, they could, in case Of
need. serve the batteries Of modern man-of
war in an effective manner.
! At I o'clock the reserves went back aboard
the New-Ilampshire. we'll tired and well pleased
with the days abors There boat drill
in the evening, and that ended the work of the
day
4 slilht accident occurred on board the Atlanta
in the afternoon while the reserve men were drill
ing at the great guns Somehow wrong screw
WAS turned or something els" wrong was done. no
seemed 10 KNOW tNdctlN WIldt, anu lHt 'Idiu-
inp levers went flying around with great rapdity.
throwing the two naval reserve men who had
hold Of them to the deck One mans shins were
barlcd" and the other man was doubled up by
blow in the abdomen Neither of the two was
injured seriously, and the men Will e on du'y
to-day.
There is "A real old sailor growl going up among
tbc sailors of the reserve The real sailor al
| WAYS grumbles at his food. and would grunble at
nate de- fos gras but the amateur sailor, on this
| occnsion grumbes only at the way his food Is
served The State pays for the food of the men,
and they have hired their own caterer. The cause
| of complaint is the men the caterer has hired TO
serve rs walters The men say that the walters
are uncvil in speech and ravcnous in the matter
| of tips The man who does not tip literally gets
little to eat and naval men require plenty
Of food Yesterday they resolved To make COM
plaint TO Captain Miller and have the obnoxious
ones Of the caterers forces put ashore.
To-day the members Gf the Reserve will go
aboard the Chicago and Atlanta. and those
sells will steam outside of Sandy Hook for targrt
nractice The batteries of the ships of war will
be manned by the officers and men of the reserve
Admiral Walker issued Ills order for the target
practice to-day. II says
| Main Battery Fifng-rhe shots shall be fired half
from the ssrboard aud half from the port battery
he target shall bear between southeast by south and
southeast by east; distance between l,400 and 1to0
yard, The red flag will 10 hOlsed at the fore while
within the firing angle. The Chicago will move into
uosition and fire her starboard shots the Atlanta
manning 500 yards to the southward and westward
When the Chicago hauls down the red hag the
atlanta will at once forward into position and
lire her sarboard shots. The Chicago having steamed
70 the northeast and turned, will into position
as soon as the Atlanta hanls down the red ra9, and
fire her port battery. and the Atlanta will follow her
motions.
secondary Battsry.-The Atlanta will her
hoat ND TO COO yards from the target the same
hearing The boats colDrs will be unshipped when
she wcishs her anchor and shipped agan when she IL
in her new position The first half OF guns crew
Of the Naval Battalion Will fire the starboard guns
nnd the second half the port guns. The target shall
hear between southeast by south. and southeast BY
east distance between 300 and LOO yards The
programme and method Of firing will be the same
ns thai pres,-ibed for the main battery. AS soon
after the practice as possible that OF both main and
| - tarp recently pt ed