The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1896-03-25
DEMON OF THE DEEP.
Something About the Terrible Monster at
Port Royal.


Something About the Terrible Monster at
Port Royal.
PORT ROYAL, March 20.-While
Spanish students are burning Ameri-
can flags, and Amerlca's congress is
undecided as to whether the exercises
of courteous magnanimity of irreslstl-
BILE force would be bestin dealing with
the effete descendants Of the once all.
powerful Spaniards in securing a fair
fight in Cuba, must not the bones of
Lucas de Ayllon, resting somewhere
hereabouts, tura in their grave at the
significance OF the demonstration here
for the past day or two. And the shade
Of that doughty Spaniard, the fore
runner of all Europeans to this coast,
must tremble with chagrln that the
port which he first entered three and
three quarter centuries ago in search
of Indians to use as slaves, should be-
come the scene of jolli6cation for the
people of this new nation who hold the
power Of his old country in so little
dread. Out upon the bosom of tals
grand harbor lies a grim leviathan
bearing aloft the colors OF this new
country and before whose angry breath
the most powerful ships of Spain S
navy would shrink as men OF old did
from fiToJm the fire. breathing dragon of my
thology. Within the range OF vision
is also the accomplishment of engi-
neering skill backed by natures smiles
and a rich country's gold-or silver.
The largest dry dock in America Is on
Paris island, and the astronomers tell
US that on March % these two stars OF
naval architecture, the one on sea and
the other ashore, will be in conjunc-
ton.
By the time the keel of great war
ship is laid the magazines of the coun-
try give accurate technical descriptions
of the ship as she will be when COM
pleted, with a representation of her as
she will be some years later cleavlng
the green waters of the Atlantic: SO
such a description of the Indiana
would now be out of date. The ship
must be seen to be realized, and 1t
would probably require several days
devoted to close inspection to enable
one to fully comprehend her many
wonderful parts.
On approaching the Indiana l was
impressed by the smallness OF her ex-
posed surface to the guns of an enemy.
Lying low in the water and painted a
light brown stone color, she IS not
conspicuous at a miles distance. Her
great steel military mast with fighting
tops-or round armor-protected' plat
forms in which are mounted machine
guns 80 feet above the decks the
most conspicuous part OF the ship at a
distance. This mast is, of course, hol-
low. the communication with the
fighting tops being by ladders up the
interior. At the deck the interior OF
the mast is about Is feet in diameter,
tapering up. Its weight, with the
fighting tops, is 1000 tons.
On the Indiana are the largest guns
ever mounted on an American ship
and the most effective of any cannon
in the world. She mounts four can
non that fire steel projectiles 15 inches
in diameter and weig Ching 1, 100 pounds
each. These guns protrude their long
black bodies 2O feet beyond the steel
turrets which protect them: These
turrets look like huge brown dishpans
turned upside down over tie guns and
with Sits cut in them through which
the muzzle may peep out, as it were,
to sight an enemy. But they are pans
made of the hardest steel known to
man and u inches thick. The me-
chanism is so perfect that the gun and
turret revolve to the pressing of but
ton which sets electrical powers IN
motion. The 13-inch guns are loaded
by hydraulic power; all the others on
the ship are loaded by hand. Each
turret with its great guns weigh 500
tons.
There are eight s-inch and four g.
inch rifles, each protected by turrets
similar in construction to those of the
13inch guns. Besides the machine
guns in the fighting tops, the ship also
mounts 90 3-pounder rapid fire Hotch-
kiss rifles. She is also supplied with
six torpedo tubes for projecting into
the sea the terrible Whitehead torpe-
do, loaded with 500 pounds Of gun
cotton, and supplied with storage
battery, propeller and steering appara-
tus. They can be so adjusted as to
run at any desired depth under water
and in any direction for 500 yards.
Steamiug up between TWO ships OF
an enemy and delivering simultane-
ously a single fire from all her guns
this demon of the deep will hurl forth
II, 900 pounds of steel and with force
that makes pale into insigni6cance the
most terrible stroke of a thunderbolt
ever recorded. No other ship in the
world can cause such destruction at a
single blast, and no other ship is so
securely protected by such tremen.
dously thick steel armor from the as
saults of an enemy.
Down in the interior there are Won
ders to behold. The many uses to
which electricity is applied is astonish-
ing. A big room, full OF dynamos OF
the most improved description, would
be an hours paradise for an electric
ian. During battle these dynamos
furnish auxiliary power in many ways.
All of the ammunition is brought
from the depths below and supplied to
the firing squad at each gun, the tur-
rets are revolved and sll the minor
machinery kept in molten by electric
ity.
The quarters Of the crew and mar
ines are exceedingly neat. There are
43O of them, including several negroes.
I saw a couple Of Chinese, but they
seemed to be in the laundry business.
Each sailor has workbox furnished
by the government. They also have
library supplied with standard
works-many being on subjects of
war.
No hotel can boast of better appoint