The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1893-02-17
THE vEsuvIus' GUNS


Further Tested at Port Royal, $. Co.
satisfactory Results Attained-The Aim
Perfect at Two Thousand Yards, but
the Shots Fell Trine short OF tho
Target-Further Experiments to be
Made.
PORT ROYAL, s. c., Feb. 11.-A clear
day enabled the Vesuvius to resume the
tests of her pneumatic guns yesterday
morning. 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
and the water was fairly smooth.
Promptly at 1t:O5 the Vesuvius hoisted
signals announcing that she was ready
to fire the first shot, and would aim at
the 2,0O0-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 flying, 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 shot.
The observers took up the projectile
before it had gone hundred yards in
its fight. 1t sailed gracefully through
the heavens, making a 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 2,O00-yard
range. The target itself had too much
stray line and had drifted about forty
or fifty yards away from the station
when it was anchored,
The Vesuvius was signaled that the
shot had fallen short, and in twelve
minutes she was ready to fire again,
indicating by her flags that the same
range would be kept The Vesuvius
this time crawled close up to her buoy
! before firing. The shot was as pretty
as it's predecessor and more nearly at
tanned its target The shell fell but
ten feet short. A third shot was fired
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 projectiles
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 obscpred the target. An in
slant afterwards an explosion was
heard and the water behind the target
was disturbed.
So far as could be seen the fifth shell
was the only one that exploded, though
the officers of the Vesuvius and mem
hers of the board said that they had
distinctly heard the explosion of the
| fourth shot.
It was learned during the afternoon
that after firing the first three pro-
jectiles the gun-cotton primers had
been replaced by gunpowder 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 sloor
/ stationed for target.
The officers of the Vesuvius are greatly
' elated over the results of the days
| trial
The Vesuvius returned to the naval
| station and took seven shells from the
lighter. The gun cotton has been re-
moved from the projectiles, and will be
, replaced by powder, to enable the con
| tinuance of the experiments to-day.