Evening star., 1895-09-14

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possibly get a peep
at II. system of submarine mines is
tnereln provided for every important har-
DOR ana every weapon available is located,
from a bomb-throwing mortar to dyna-
mite gun Here are all the details for the
construction of the superb system of forti-
ncat1ons which few years hence will eff
ciently protect the shores Of the United
States against any foreign invader
The forts comprising this system will be
wonders in their way. The modern type
OF fortifcation differs not less from the
style of quarter of q century ago than
does new steel warship from its obsolete
wooden prototype. 1t is no longer the
lasnion TO construct big fortresses with
mlghty walls Instead great guns are
planted at considerable distances apart as
II each were in little fort by itself Each
gigantic weapon is mounted upon what is
called disappearing carriage. AS quickly
as f1 mas been fired it is lowered beneath
.he ieVei OF the parapet, SO that it is ex-
posed only for a moment Reloaded it
rises again to deliver it's projectile, sinking
out Of sight as before.
Ia Boston Harhor,
Entering the harbor of Boston from the
sea, the first thing that strikes the eye of
the observer is a white glare on the surf zee
OF the masonry of a new fort on an island
near the Boston light. This is a fine spec
imen of the modern type of fertilization.
Ihere is a thickness of thirty feet of ma
sonry and further thickness of thirty feet
or earth for protection. both forming
plane sloping toward the shore. ANY pro-
Jectiie striking would glance off; penetra-
ton would be out of the question Serjous
damage could hardly be inflicted saye by
a smell that might chance to burst fmme-
dlately over the works. Behind the barrier
described are the huge steel rifles, each of
which In battle would be supported by
half dozen rapid-fre and machine guns.
oischarging continuous shower of explo-
sfve shells.
To damage badly such structure it
would be necessary actually TO batter down
the landscape, one might say. Its capture
would seem to be almost out of the aues-
ton. Suppose that one of the little forts
composing the fortftlcation We're taken by
an enemy. Immediately 1t would become a
target for all of tine guns of the other
forts, and it could not be held On the
other hand. ships attacking from the sea
would be plain marks. The harbor being
all dotted over with buoys the exact loca-
ton OF each of which would be plotted Gu
chart in the fortress, the range of each
i,1stie aE ne vessel would be known precisely.
All this, too, without considering the SUBJ
marine mines. which could be exploded by'
pressing button on shore whenever a
ship happened TO be over one of them.
Mines OF another kind would be arranged
to go off automatically when struck by a
keel. ~
Large Force Necessary
Each big gun, with It's rapid-fire and ma
chine auxiliaries, would require the ser
vices OF from fifty to 100 men, The present
plan is to afford additional protection to
the men by means of so-called gun shields
Of steel. This idea, however, is likely to
be done away with, owing to lessons afford
ed In the recent war between China and
Japan. In the great sea fight of the Yalu
gun shields were repeatedly struck and
penetrated with disastrous consequences
81 els bursting inside of them so as to fill
the inclosed space with flame and frag-
ments. In the previous engagement of july
%, on board of the Tsi Yuen, a projectile
t-ius burst and Kill ed seven men and wound.
ed fourteen. disabling every person behind
the shield. If there had been no shield, the
sfell would have gone clear and done no
damage. In the same fight the coming
tower Of the Tsi Yuen was pierced, and the
occupants were shattered into shapeless
mass"
Such is the account given by the Ameri-
can, McGifhn, who commanded one Of the
Chinese battle ships at the Yalu. He says
that during the latter part of this engage
ment there was an omnous silence in the
military foretop of his vessel. A modern
warship has masts not for sails, but to sup
port elevated turrets from which machine
guns are operated. In this case the foretop
was not silent for lack Of ammunition. but
because a shell had entered through the
steel wall and killed every one Of the SIX
men inside. Accordingly, military critics
are now inclined to think that light steel
protection is a failure. On the other hand,
the recent war in eastern waters proved
the great value of armor. The ten-inch
coming tower of McGiffn's ship at the
Yalu was struck by such showers of pro-
jectiIes that he was almost deafened by the
banging of them upon the steel walls from
behind which he directed the movements of
his vessel. Yet not one Of them penetrated.
and the fourteen-inch armor belt that pro-
tected the vital parts of the man-of-war
was practically uninjured.
Solid Shot Abandoned.
The use Of solid shot in warfare has been
practically given up. The projectile Of to-
day Is a conical shell Of steel, hollow, and
sometimes loaded with powder SO as to ex-
p.ode or by time-fuse. 1t Is wonderfully
different from the shell Of twenty-five years
ago In those days one could watch the
pcojectile as it sailed through the air In q
graceful curve, at length bursting. There
was even time to get out of the way, under
favorab g circumstances. But the now style
Of shell moves at the rate OF little over
half a mile a second. On striking metal
target, it's energy being transformed In
simultaneously into heat, it becomes red
hot, and a fame is actually seen to burst
forth from the point struck. Such pro
iectiIe moves, one might say, In g straight
line, and its impact at distance OF mile
seems almost simultaneous with the dis
charge Of the gun.
Such q shell, passing near a man, will
tear his clothes off, merely from the wind
age If 1t comes very near, though with
out hitting him, it will kill him. He drops
dc ad without a sign Of wound. Whereas
an old-style shell would burst into few
pieces, the modern projectile flies into
myriad Of small fragments, each Of them
moving with tremendous velocity. 1t may
easily be imagined that half a dozen six
pound Hotchkiss shells finding their way
into a vessel would scatter death and de-
struction in every direction. Protective ar
NOR. owing to It's great weight, can be
placed only over the ships vitals-that Is
to say, along the middle part OF the hull
near the water-line. SO as to cover the ma.
cIinery in future battles gunners Will
direct their fire against the unarmored ends
of an opposing vessel
Effective Firing of the Japanese.
Commander McGiftin speaks of an ex-
tremely effective method Of gun fire adopt
ed by the Japanese at the Yalu fight. Every
gun on board Of ship being aimed at an
euemy's vessel, the entire battery, Joined In
one electric circuit, was fred by the press
ing of a key. The shock of SO many pro-
jectiles striking simultaneously is fearful,
and fires are started at once in many places
by the exploding shells. But the most
thrilling incident described by the American
captain was where Chinese ship. mortalfy
wounded by shot beneath the water line,