The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1893-02-17
The vESUvIuS' GUNS

Further Tested ut Port Royal, :. c.
satisfactory Results Attained-rhe Aim
Perfect at Two Thousand Yards, b"t
the shots Fell Tribe short 81 inc
Target -Further Experiments 10 Do
Made.
PoRr Royal, =. c.. Feb. ia clear
day enabled the Vesuvius 10 resume the
tests of her pneumatic guns yesterday
morning. a stiff southwest wind made
the harbor rather lumpy In the early
morning, but before the first shot was
fred the breeze was no more than fresh
snd the water was fairly smooth.
Promptly ut ii:05 the Vcsuvius hoisted
signals announcing that she was ready
To fire the first shot, and would aim AT
the 2.0oo-yard buoy. The board had
gone aboard the Vesuvius early in the
morning. and watched the days expert
ments from her decks.
With her signals dying, the VesuvIus
steamed slowly up To the 2,ooo-yard
buoy. heading slightly To the north OF
the target line a momentary pause
followed. while she swung slowly into
position Then the signals dropped
and instantaneously there followed the
white cloud OF compressed air indi-
eating the firing of a shot.
The observers took mp the projcctile
before it had gone hundred yards in
its fight. 1t sailed gracefully through
the heavens. making curve OF per-
feet symmetry.
The first shot fell fifty yards short OF
the targets but exactly in line with
the buoy which marked the a.0oo-yard
range. The target itself had too much
stray line and had drifted about forty
or fifty yards away from the station
when IL was anchored.
The Vesuvius was signaled that the
shot had fallen short. and in twelve
minutes she was ready 10 fire again.
indicating by her flags that the same
range would be kept The Nesuvius
this time crawlcd close up to her buoy
before firing. The shot was as pretty
as its predecessor and more nearly at
tanned its target The shell fell but
ten feet short. A third shot was fired
n few seconds later. falling short Of the
| target. but practically on the buoy line.
An interval Of an hour followed, and
= then the remaining two proj-otles
were fired The fourth shot fell on the
| buoy line. but the fifth and the last shot
of the day fell so close to the target
that the spray thrown up by the
| projectile obscured the target. An in
| slant afterwards an explosion was
heard and the water behind the target
was disturbed.
So far as could he seen tie fifth shell
was the only one thatexploded, though
the officers of the Vesuvius and mem
hers OF the board said that they had
distinctly heard the explosion OF the
fourth shot.
1t was learned during the afternoon
that after firing the first three pro-
| jectiles the gun-cotton primers had
been replaced by gunpowdcr primers.
the supposition being that the gun
cotton had failed to detonate the pow
| der. Many officers maintain that this
was probably correct The fourth and
fifth shots fell SO accurately that they
would have fallen on an ordinary slooI
stationed for n target.
The officers Of the Vesuvius are greatly
| clated over the results OF the days
trial.
The vesuvius returned to the nava
station and took seven shells from the
lighter. The gun cotton has been re
moved from the projectiles, and will b'
replaced by powder, to enable the con
tinuancc Of the experiments to-day.