Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1893-10-21


board the slips were taking advantage
bf the earthquake, and supposed that
they could induce British soldiers to be-
lieve that it had been caused by one of
their bombs. then were they idiots in
deed. They would fire their second shot
at Fort Pilcherl This was impossible,
for they had not yet fired their first shot.
These syndicate people were evidently
very tricky. and the defenders of the
port must therefore be very cautious.
Fort Pitcher was very large and I'M
finished fertilization, on a bluff on the
opposite side of the harbor. Work had
been discontinued on it as soon as the
syndicate's vessels had appeared off the
| port. for it was not desired to expose the
builders and workmen to possible
bomhardment. The place was now,
therefore, almost deserted; but after the
receipt of the syndicate's message, the
commandant feared that the enemy
might throw an ordinary shell into the
unfinished works, and lie sent a boat
across the bay to order away any work
men or others who might be lingering
about the place.
A little after o'clock p M an instan-
taneous motor bomb was discharged
from Repellcr No into Fort Pitcher
1t was set to act five seconds after i'm
! pact with the object aimed at. 1t struck
in a central portion of the unfinished
fort, and having described high curve
in the air, descended not only with its
own motive power. but with the force of
gravitation, and penetrated deepinto the
earth.
Five seconds later a vast brown cloud
appeared on the Fort Pitcher promon-
tory. This cloud was nearly spherical
in form. with an apparent diameter of
about thousand yards. At the same
instant shock similar to that accom-
panying the first motor bomb was felt in
the city and surrounding country, but
this was not so severe as the other, for
the second bomb did not exert its force
upon the underlying rocks of the region,
as the first one had DONE
The great brown cloud quickly began
to lose its spherical form. part of it de-
scending heavily to the earth and part
| floating away in vast dust clouds borne
inland by the breeze, settling downward
as they moved, and depositing on land,
water, ships, houses, domes and trees an
almost impalpable powder.
When the cloud had cleared away
there were no Notifications, and the bluff
on which they had stood had disappeared
Part of this bluff had floated away on
the wind and part of it lay piled in great
heaps of sand on the spot where its rocks
were to have upheld fort.
The effect of the motor bomb was fully
observed with glasses from the various
Notifications Of the port and from many
points of the city and harbor; and those
familiar with the effects of explosives
were not long in making up their minds
what had happened. They felt sure that
a mine had been sprung beneath Fort
Pitcher, and they were now equally con-
fident that in the morning torpedo of
novel and terrible power had been ex-
ploded in the harbor. They now disbe-
ieved in the earthquake and treatea
with contempt the pretense that shots
had been fired from the syndicate's YES.
sci. This was merely q trick of the
enemy. 1t was not even likely that the
mine or the torpedo had been operated
from the ship. These were in all proba-
bility under the control of confederates
on shore, and had been exploded at
times agreed upon beforehand. All this
was perfectly plain to the military au-
thorities.
But the people Of the city derived no
comfort from the announcement of these
conclusions. For all that anybody knew
the whole city might be undermined,
and at any moment might ascend in a
cloud of minute particles. They felt that
they were in q region of hidden traitors
and bombs, and in consequence of this
belief thousands of citizens left their
homes.
That afternoon a truce boat again
went out from Repeller No. and rowed
to the fort, where a letter TO the COM
mandant was delivered This, like the
other, demanded no answer, and the boat
returned. Later in the afternoon the
two repellers, accompanied by the crabs
and leaving the steel not still anchored
in its place, retired few miles seaward,
where they prepared to lay to for the
night.
The letter brought by the truce boat
was read by the commandant, surrounded
by his officers. 1t stated that in twenty
four hours from time of writing it, which
would be at or about O'Clock on the
next afternoon, bomb would be thrown
into the garrisoned fort under the COM
mand of the officer addressed. As this
would result in the entire destruction of
the fortifcation, the comEiandant was
earnestly counseled to evacuate the fort
before the hour specified.
Ordinarily the commandant of the
fort was of calm and unexcitable tenn
permanent. During the astounding events
of that day and the day before he had
kept his head cool; his judgment. if not
correct, was the result of sober and earn
est consideration. but now he lost his
temper. The unparalleled effrontery and
impertinence of this demand Of the
American syndicate was too much for
his self possession. lie stormed in an
GER
Here was the elimination of the knay-
ish trickery of these constituencies pi-
rates who had attacked the port. A tor
pedo had been exploded in the harbor,
an unfinished fort had been mined and
blown up. and all this had been done tc
brighten hinl-a British soldier-in com
mand OF strong fort. well garrisoned
and fully supplied with all the MUM
tons of war. In the fear that his fort
would be destroyed by mystical bomt
he was expected to march to place OF
safety with all his forces. If this should
be done il would not be long before these
crafty fellows would occupy the fort,
and with its great guns turned inland
would hold the city at their mercy.
There could be no greater insult to sol
der than to suppose that he could bs
gulled by trick ike this.
No thought of actual danger entered
the mind Of the commandment. 1t had
been easy enough to sink a great torpedo
in the harbor, and the unguarded bluff;
of Fegt Pitcher offered every opportu
nifty to the scoundrels, who may have
worked at their mines through the night:
of several naoniha But a mine undel