The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-08-20
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sick, causing a posponement of drills
for a time. Now, however, with the
Dupont in good condition, the fleet will
proceed on it's Southern journey with
out any graf delay. 1t is the present
intention to proceed down the Atlantic
coast to the Gulf of Mexico, and thence
to New Orleans. From this latter point
the fleet will ascend the Mississippi as
far as st. Louis, anyway. Perhaps it
will proceed further up the river, but
that will depend upon the depth Of
the water, which is always an uncer-
tain quantity in the Mississippi It is
quite likely the boats will steam some
distance up the Ohio, but as these de-
tails will be governed by circumstances,
no positive statement can truthfully be
made.
Most Of the officers and nearly every
one Of the ordinary seamen, who man
the torpedo boats, are new to the task.
It is not at all like serving upon any of
the other vessels, which wear the eagles
Of Uncle Sam at their Bows. 1t is like
learning the methods of the navy over
again, and Jack Tar, who has slung his
hammock between decks for twenty
years, has almost as much to learn as
the most recent graduate from the mer-
chant marine. 1t is no light task be-
fore these salts. There is no sea
poetry about being a member of the
Lieutenant Commander William W.
Kimball has been detailed by the navy
department to take charge of the
naneuVers, and the programme of
evolutions and drills, largely of his de-
vising, is within the ordinary limits of
the department rules, but initiates to
some extent the maneuvers of foreign
flotillas of the same class. They con-
sist primarily of torpedo practice, which
corresponds to gun drill on the big
battleships. Torpedoes are necessarily
the principal weapons of these swift
little craft; when they attack a monster
battleship this weapon must be used
with deadly precision. or the chances of
the little David in combat with the
Goliath Of the seas are very small in
deed. Consequently the principal
emphasis is laid upon torpedo drill.
Then there will be fleet maneuvers,
speed tests and practice in approaching
and getting away from an imaginary
enemy, for your torpedo boat is built
to fight and run away" in order that
it may Tive to fight another day."
Whether there will be any after dark
drills, practice in blockade running,
such as was tried at Charleston several
months ago, has not been definitely de-
cided on, but in such maneuvers the
public would have little interest, since
they could not be seen from on shore
LIE SpeCldCl0 VI These IluUlG boats,
not much larger than the ordinary
steam yacht, would not be imposing,
except for the terrible potentialities of
the fiotilla. Every one OF these little
boats has the power, if properly placed,
to blow clean out Of the water the big
gest battleship ever built Both in size
and destructiveness they may be COM
pared to the terrible "thrasher,'' the
one fish in the seas which can kill a
whale
The fact that the daring little torpedo
beat and all on board would probably
follow the vessel it destroyed to the
bottom of the sea, only increases the
interest in and admiration Of the men
who willingly accept such frightful
odds. Their crews are small-two Off
GERS and not more than twenty five
men to each vessel-but every man is
hero, in that he volunteers to meet
the fate of the brave Cushing provid-
| ed he can inflict still greater DANA ge
on the enemy. To learn how to do this
| eXpeditiously and unerringly is the
purpose of the maneuvers at Newport.
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