The morning times., 1896-05-17
GLIMPSE OF A BIC ENGLISH WARRIOR IN DRY DOCK
Dot in the Ocean, the Island Something
GUNS NEVER FIRED, BUT SHE is THE GAGE OF WAR

ceive some trifling pay Ia time OF pea ce
as retainer There are also three com
panieS OF volunteer infantrymen white
and unpaid. There are two companies or
regular engineers, of which one is always
wise in the ways of tOrpedCes These,
with the signal me n, surgeons. telegraph
operator and the like, make up a total
OF about 300 regulars and 400 volunteers,
more OF the former, fancy, than are gath
cred at any military POst.in the United
states. There Is no telegraph lice on the
island except the military line
l take it for granted that no one in the
United States cares very much about the
Bermuda forces They would be hard nuts
to crack, but no one is Obliged 70 break his
teeth on them. Nobody need feel the least
desire 10 do so, except the United States
Mexico or the Central American States.
and the latter may be discarded in this
connection As matter of fact, the Ber-
muda outfit Is a mosquito TO the United
States; andit is nothing else. and intended TO
be nothing else. IL is for this that the gov
ernor general is always a general in the
British army, and combines the civil and
military command II is for this that IN
the council which be appoints the army ele-
ment is strong, although the military HEM
berS are scarcely residents in the ordinary
sense OF the word. II is for this that for
100 years money has been spent Ike water
neers.
The flagship. H g NJ Crescent. is a
twin screw cruiser of the first class. TOO
tons, thirteen guns. The Tourmaline g
a third-clasS cruiser OF 2.12O tons, the
| COrdelia, .. $50 tons: the Mohawk, 1,7TO
tons, and the BuzZard I. 10 tons There
is also a coast defense tuFret ship. the
Scorpion, About 5000 tonnage Of small
ships are on the West Indian station within
call, and there are n Bermuda four OF five
torpedo boats, good fer nineteen or twenty
knots an hour, besides a receiving sh!n
and other trash. OF al these the Cres-
cent Is the only craft OF consequence, and
she is not the equal Of some of the crack
American cruisers But the anchorage
would hold as many more ships as the
admiralty cared 10 send here
The number of sailors in the British war
ships in Bermuda, varies, OF course, much
more than docs the number of soldiers on
shore. Probably when the squadron Is al
here they may considerably Outuumber tina
soldiers. There are never less than 200 OF
800 dOCkyard labnreFs. Strike an average
between tile two-Tegiment garTisnns and
the smaller Ones and bet weeU the fleets GF
various sizes, and it will doubtless be
fair 10 put the allarOund avera ge at ., 500
men, one tenth as many as OUrregular army
numbers.
The dockyard is IN one way q meIan-
choly sight, speaking of a wanton sacri-
flee OF human toll Much OF the work OF
construction was done by convicts, who
heaped up those great stone walls which
time has rendered obSUlete, who laid the
sea wall OF British granite and put in
place the freestone blocks from Nova
Scotia, who Ieveled bills 10 plains and
heaped up hills where none had been after
the manner OF ants. They are dead and
gone now. and their work seems as one
looks on il today as pathetic in its waste
fulnesS as that Of the very coral insects
who, through uncouHted years. reared these
islands from the sea only 70 topple, at the
end, back into the sea again
Bermuda, after nearly 800 years. has
never Yet fired a gun 10 a serious fight
1t has never been the gauge OF battle It
exists only as q naggiDg 70 a nation 70
whose people a war uICn Great Britain
seems now so impossible that nature might
herself cry out upon it, powder mutiny
against the fuse, and lead sulk in the harm
less barrel.