The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-07-04
A K BY GREAT GUNS.
WILL ELS POINT IN TINE TIfI0ES OF
TARGET PRACTICE

Great Neck Farmers Nay Their MIN IL uoured
ana Their Matching Eggs lenlned by tho
Batteries - Three Shots AIIewed q Each
Snttcry-Gencrai senconrt I.rncJice.
Big guns have boon booming from The ram
parts OF the fort at Willets Point In Long ISL
and Sound recently, and nll the country in
Great Mock has boon 80 shaken UP by the re-
vorbcrations that tho timid were frightened.
Tho ground was shaken rs IL by earthquakes.
and tho farmers declare that tho cgRs under
setting hens have been ruined and that milk
has been soured rs II by thundcrstorma.
Perhaps rs farmers, like sailors, arc pro
verbal grunblers, the worst of those effects
were imaginary, but thorc Is no doubt that the
houses in Great Mock which are near Long
Island Sound were shaken and their glass and
crockery set TO dancing, for tho guns in uso
were OF 1O.inch bore, and they were fred with
full service charges Of nearly 400 pounds Of
powder for each Yhot. Persons In the neigh
borhood of Sandy Hook hnvo grown uecd TO be-
ing shaken up by Uncle Sans hig guns, but
those on Long Island havo not had many such
experiences Willcts Point is usually as quiet
as a country village, except for the 1rc-cracker
effect OF the morning and evening guns that
the raising and lowering Of tho
garrison flag, or the strains OF music from tho
post band.
Willcts Point fort is provided with q lot Of
big guns mounted in the latest style on disap-
pcaring carriages. but these are not used or
dinarily by tho soldiers posted there, for the
point is much more OF a scientific school than
a military post 1t is the Governments post
graduate school Of engineering. and tho Corps
of Engineers holds sway there.
Tho school is under the direct control Of the
Secretary of War, and tho Military Department
of the East, which comprises all the general mil
itnry posts on or near the Atlantic soaboard,
has no control over II. The engineers are SOL
dicrs, but their duties are the bailding OF forti-
flcations, the digging and laying of mines on
land and under water, and the sapping and
mining of an cnemy's works. and tnoy never
fire cTcn Il pistol, let alone n big gun. One of
the most important of tho works which this
corps conducts is the purely civil duty OF de,
signing and carrying out the improvements OF
rivers and harbors which the Government does
aud the building, of dry docks and. such things
peaceful engineers who threatened the milk and
eggs OF the farmers md shook up their best blue
coast artillery that were making the rumpus.
These batteries were scnt TO Willcts Poinl 10
get some target practice with guns bigger thar
were available at their home stations.
cum at David's Island. They did their firing on
June q. Away Off down the Sound. on a limo
with the main channel which the fort at vii
let's Point is to protect, but to the south otit,
OF these was u little more tnan 6,GO0 yards, or
about 3 % miles away, and the other WAS more
thitn 5000 yards away. Each battery was 10
guard passing vessels from danger, signal men
We're, posted on each side of the narrow neck OF
lot OF these was at Hewlctt's Point and others
at Harris Island. With wig-wagging flags
snV Shot s.s Was ar when The Ene W Sisgns GA m eieI als soG n saed
where, the shots struck and told this to the Of
iicers by means of their flags. Some OF the bat
terics fired all OF their shots at tho lonG-ranse
target, and some fired ono at the closer spar and
the other two at the longer range.
Six shots were fired on Juno n, and then
tho farmers had quiet for a week. On June %
three more batteries were ieady, for practice.
a awo OF tb these sonn were .,d from rom ,r Fort E SShuyreT, J uS
ut New London. Conn. The same arrange
lncnts were made for them, and on tho one day
shots, md as many great showers of spray were
sent skyward from tho Sound whore the shots
more shooting at David's Island. where the bat
terry men were practising with modern long
rAlgc mortars.
1t is understood that every scacoast battery in
the service is to have a chance 10 try the new big
guns somewhere along the coast and that this
is to go to Willets Point some time early In
this month and fro three moro shots to shake
u small number for practice, but Il must be n
memoer ~ that IT costs money to shoot big
for each charge, and IA projcctile weighing 575
pounds and costing perhaps more dollars than
1t was said at Willets Point on Wednesday
that the target practice had been very ~satisfac-
tory to the officers OF the batteries.
Whitcstone is much nearer ,Willots Point
than the greater part of Great Neck, but it
docs not feel the firing Of the big guns so much.
This Is probably because when the guns are
trod in target practice they arc pointed awny
from Whitestone and tho principal part Of their
OF air. which start from the muzElos OF the guns
and spread out, fanlikc, in the direction OF The
shot. The line of firing just escapes tho
IninfS Df trn1f Neck and "a IrNl' Inrt nf the
territory OF the neck lies well within the di-
rect influence of tho air waves from tho guns.