Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1896-07-01
THE AIR SQUADRON.

said, pushing the box across the table
tow ard him.
"No, thank you," he replied. "But,
with your permission. I'll fill my pipe
from your bowl Indeed, when came
up to your room, it was only fer a lit
tie tobacco-ran out mysclf-cigars all
gone. And here it is already 10 O'Clock.
My, my, how time flies when one gets
notwithstanding But to continue'-
Now, when my gocd friend Lieuteii-
ant Swash takes possession Of me and
my room at IL p. H., do not always
consider it my duty to listen to him.
He has been such q frequent visitor Of
mine since be has been staying at our
boarding house, and then be is enc OF
those individuals who 50 lcso them
selves in their own narrations that they
even forget they have al audicEce So,
when the lieutenant said, Nov, to
continue" sank deeper into my big
chair and gazed ;bscntIy into The fire.
He was talking warfare Of TIE future.
What cared for that, who possessed
neither stocks that cuid sc down Gor
food products that would 60 up? Ny
eyelids closed wcarily. How wished
he would goI Then he made . statement
so absurd that laughed.
sit took place on July 16, 1896"
heard him say.
Eighteen forty-six," I corrected.
''Now, see here, )" said the naval man
testify. "How old do yen think anl--
80? Pshawl was SO thon. Ltwas 1916,
and, please don't contradict me. 1t was
so years hence it all happened. -
eff you will have it SO, all we'll. !" =!
said
''Now the date is settled and you
thoroughly understand the cause Of the
war. Great Britain claimed the atmos-
pheric covering Of the earth to /. height
Of 10, 900 feet, basing the claim Oh the
fact that as far back as 1899 an English
balloonist had disappeared from view
at that height. He was never seen
again. Such a claim as this, had it been
recognized by other nations, would have
given her too great a control over man
kinds supply Of breath. We claimed up
to an altitude CT LEGO over the United
States, but she would not recognize this
and refused to arbitrate The result was
war-terrible war. -
took my pipe from between my teeth
and fixed a cold eye on the speaker.
"Lieutenant Swash, l said i'll a low
but distinct tone, you have explained
one cause of the war five times have
always swallowed your dates and may
be able to gulp down ycur facts, but l
ask that you desist from repetition. %
well, we'll, if you'll have it SO, I'll
go ahead. Having the cause straight in
your mind, yen will remember that it
was July 1G, 1916, that the fight occur
red. There were three battleships in our
feet-Adlnirdl Wad IS flagship, the Swal-
low, carrying Is tons of dynamite and
2 machine guns; the Lightning. Cap
tain Blower, 10 tons CT dynamite and
two 6 inch rifles; the Hawk, Captain
Wood, II tens of dynamite and pneu-
matte gun, used i'll throwing explosives
at the enemy in case she got above u.s.
We We're accompanied by two small tor
pedo boats and the swift unarmoled
cruiser Kalamazoo, which we expected
to be Of little service, since bullet
could have punctured her and sent her
to earth forever. We lay abcut 500 miles
east Of New York for fear deys await
ing the approach Of the enemy's flying
squadron It was 10 O'Clock on the
morning Of July 16 when we sighted
them, about goo miles away, running
toward Us at q rapid rate. They must
have seen Us at about the same time, for
| they sheered Off a little toward the north
and began to rise.
Admiral Wad at whose side I was
standing OH the quarter deck of the
| Swallow, at once understood their ma
neuver. In modern warfare it's the fel-
| low who gets above the other and drops
| dynamite on him that wins invariably
! We were then at an altitude of about
5000 feet and did not lose any time
getting higher. can see the grand old
admiral now as he stood at the switch
board coolly putting his cigar as if he
was at his club down in New York.
There was not & tremor observed on his
long thin finger as he pushed the button
marked up Then we began to ascend.
"The other two battleships followed,
End as we arose we cleared for action.
1 The Kalamazoo and the torpedo boats
were left behind. as it was not deemed
advisable to expose their frail structures
b the enelny's fire.
! L confess, as stood beside my brave
leader and felt our ship mounting higher
and higher and shooting on toward the
enemy at speed Of 80 miles an hour
watched the crew Of ten men coolly
placing dynamite bombs in the mos
| convenient places; saw the three grea
steel balloons Of our enemy's squadron
glistening in the sunlight as they. sho
toward US, felt that strange inward
I sensation that heretofore l believed
could only be caused by a Welsh rabbi
/. at 2 a. m.
"You must drink good deal Of ali
vyr..,,, XNr.aur .kSts,