Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1898-04-30

~ SeiectinS place Tor the proposed
demonstration OF the American syndicate
occupied but little time. The task was
not difficult. Nowhere in Great Britain
was there fortified spot of SO little i'm
portance as Caerdaff, On the west coast
of Wales.
Caerdaif consisted of large fort on a
promontory and an immense castellated
structure on the other side of q small
bay. with a little fishinr villaoe Mt the
He'io oI sald pay. Ine caSteilateu Struct-
ure was rather old, the fortress some
what less so; and both had long been
considered useless. as there was 10 prob
ability that an enemy would land at this
point on the coast.
Caerdatf was therefore selected as the
spot to be operated upon. No one could
lor moment imagine that the syndicate
mad mined This place. and il it should be
destroyed by motor bombs it would prove
TO the country that the government had
not been frightened by the tricks of a
crafty enemy.
An hour after the receipt of the note
IL which it was stated that Caerlaff had
oeen selected, the syndicates feet start
ed for that place. The crabs were Gle
waited to cruising height, the repeller
taken in tow, and by the afternoon of
the next day the fleet was lying off Caer
DALI. a note was sent on shore to the
officer III command, stating that the
| oomDardment would begin at 10 o'clock
IN the morning of the next day but one
and requesting that information of the
hour appointed be instantly transmitted
TO London. When this had been done,
the fleet steamed six or seven miles off
shore, where it Law to or cruised about
for two nights and day
AS soon as the government had Sc
| lected Caerdaff Cor bombardment iInme-
dlato measures were taken to remove the
small garrlsons and the inhabitants of
the fishing village from possible danger
Nhen the syndlcate'S note was received
by the commandant of the fort he was
already in receipt of orders from the war
Office to evacuate the Notifications and
to superntend the removal Of the fisher
men and their families to point of
safety farther up the coast.
Caerdaif was place difficult of access
by land, the nearest railroad stations be
ING fifteen or twenty miles away, but on
the day after the arrival of the svndi-
Gates fleet i'll the oiiing thousands of
people made their way to this part OF the
country, anxious to see-if perchance
they might find an opportunity to safely
see-what might happen at 10 o'clock
the next morning. Officers of the army
and navy, government officials, press
/ correspondents in great numbers. and
curious and anxious observers Of all
classes, fastened to the Welsh coast
The little towns where the visitors left
the trains were crowded to OVERLOOKING.
and every possible conveyance by which
the mountains lying back of Cardiff
could be reached was eagerly secured,
many persons, however, being obliged
to depend upon their own legs. Soon
after sunrise Of the appointed day the
forts, the village and the surrounding
| lower country We're entirely deserted:
and every point of vantage on the noun
tains lying some miles back FROM the
coast was occupied by excited spectators
nearly every one armed with a field
glass.
y few Of the guns from the fOrtiiica-
tons were transported to an overlooking
height, in order that they might be
| brought into action in case the repellor,
instead OF bombarding, should send men
i'll boats to take possession of the evaCu-
ated Notifications, Or should attempt any
mining operations. The gunners for this
battery We're stationed at SAFE place to
tie rear, whence they could readily
reach their guns if necessary.
The next day was ono OF supreme ina
po-.ance to the syndicate. On this day
it must make plain to the world, not only
what the motor bomb could do, but that
the motor bonlb did what was done.
Before leaving the English channel the
director Of Repcllcr No ii had received
Geographic advices from both Europe
and America indicating the general drift
Of public opinion in regard to tho recent
sea fight: and, besides these, many Eng
lish and continental papers had been
brought to him from the French coast.
From all these the director perceived
that the cause OF the syndicate had in q
tdlu way SttllGIGNt II CIlt tIc lIItIlitl Ill
which the battle in the channel had been
conducted. Every newspaper urged that
il the rcpcllar carried guns capable Of
throwing the bombs which the syndicate
proposed to use there was no reason why
every ship in the British feet should not
have been destroyed. But as the repeller
had not fred single shot at the fleet, and
as the battle had been fought entirely
by the crabs, there was every reason to
believe that if there We're such things as
motor guns their range was very short,
not as great as that OF the ordinary dy.l;,
mite cannon. The great risk run by one
of the crabs in order TO disable dvna-
mite gunboat seemed an additional proof
Of this.
1t was urged that the explosions in the
water might have been produced by tor
pedoes; that the torpedo boat which had
been destroyed was 50 near the repeller
that an ordinary shell was sufficient to
accomplish the damage that had been
done.
To gainsay these assumptions was inn