The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-04-12
WHEN THE FIGHT IS ON
THERE'LL BE NO SWEET BERTH ON
BOARD SHIP FOR ANYBODY.
Peril Everywhere. and for officer and
Sailor AIike-Many Kinds of Death
About in Sea Fight.
Washington Letter in New York Sun.

There has been great amount OF spec
ulation lately as to the safest spot on
modern man-of-war in a sea fight. 1t has
been asserted that the men below in the
engine and fire rooms and in the bunkers
are bound to have the best of it, not only
because their duties keep most of them be-
low the water line and therefore out of the
way of the raking of rapid-iring batteries,
but also because they shielded above
by protective decks and all around by boiler
and machinery protecting armor. The men
who hold to this view forget all about the
matter or 'torpedoes. Some other amateur
sea fighters of the land, landly take the
view that the men on deck have a better
show in a naval engagement, for the reason
that they have a chance to swim for it
and to be picked up by the enemy as
prisoners of war if their vessel is sunk
They assume, of course, that the enemy is
in the habit of picking up the castaway
members of defeated and submerged
ships crew This is by no means a safe
assumption. The enemy las often rescued
and held as prisoners of war members of
the crew of a beaten ship, but just as often
has permitted them to keep right on swim
ming So long a period has elapsed since
there have been naval fights between en-
tirely civilized powers that the two coun-
tries that next engage in battles at sea
will have the responsibility of creating new
rules of warfare and one of the rules ought
to cover this point.
In any event speculation as to whether
the deck force or The gang below will have
the better of the bargain in a pitched sea
fight must be based almost wholly on the
Dry. Capt. McGiffin, the lion-hearted Amer
lean naval officer whose observations on the
sea fight of the Yalu form about the only
practical basis for considerations about bat
ties between modern ships, should surely
have known something about the safe spot
on board & naval vessel. He was on the
deck of his ship, the best of the Chinese
fleet, during the entire action on the Yalu.
The writer asked him, soon after his re-
turn from China, if there were not moments
during the fight when he felt like making
a run for it.
FORGETFUL OF DANGER.
Run where?" was McG1ffins inquiry 81
can't truthfully say that felt like boiling
| for it at all during that mix. I didn't have
| time to think of anything like that There
was too much going on deck, anyhow,
| and l didn't want to miss anything The
most cowardly man becomes quite forgetful
| of danger in a sea fight as rule We had
| three men-lubberly coolies-who were found
| hiding away up forward on the berth deck
| when the fight was finished The men who
| found them nearly beat them to DEATH A
| very great feeling of curiosity animates all
| hands in a battle at sea. Cinnamon are
| about the least curious men in the world
| yet the deck officers on my ship had great
| trouble in keeping the members of the
| black gang, the firemen and coal paSsers,
| and even the machinists. down below dur
| ing the action. They kept poking their
h above the main deck. lifting Off
| making out. On the whole, / think the men
| down below are more nervous during a
| fight than the men on deck They are a bit
| afraid of what they can't see. It's just like
| the fear of a man lying in bed in a dark
! room when he knows there is a burglar
| within few feet of him. The men on deck
can see the whole game, and the smoke and
| the roar infuse the devil of battle into them,
| and they simply don't care whether the ship
remains on top or goes down. They literally
| enjoy the fun. A lot of our gunners We're
| positively hysterical with delight Some of
them laughed like wild men. They NUT
tered to themselves and hoWled like drunk
ards. Indeed half the ships company
looked to me as if they were three parts
drunk after the fight, yet there was no grog.
They reeled about, with silly, drunken eX-
presslons on their faces, although they knew
we were licked
But as for running, where would a man
with any sense run during an action, even
If he felt sure that the marines of his ship
wouldn't shoot him down for cowardice ?
There is no sweet berth when your ship is
cleared for action. On deck or below, fore
or aft, every mans chance is about equal,
all things considered. The commanding Off
Ger has better show than the rawest
landsman. Id rather be deck any time
in fight. / don't believe | could be in
duced to take an engineers trick during an
action. Not that an engineer or any of his
gang STANDS in any more danger than the
deck force engaged in fighting the ship, but
the uncertainty that chokes the man below
is wearing, all of our engineers and some
of the Japanese engineers after it was all
over told me-
THE FIGHTING TOPS.
Common and perfectly equal as the dan
ger in which all hands on board a modern
man-of-war unquestionably stand during a
fight, there are, of course, some stations
that appear to be more ticklish for the men
assigned to them than others. For example,
there is probably not sea soldier in the
United States Marine Corps to-day who is
not figuring on the insignificant show he
will probably have for his life If. in the
event of his ships getting into action, he
is detailed with a picked few of his mates
to man the rapid-firing guns in the fighting.
tops. AT first glance the fighting top of a
modern ship of war appears to be quite the
most dangerous spot on the ship fore or aft
IN case of action There has never been any
good opportunity to test this for fighting
tops Brightly called military masts) are Of
comparatively recent development, and dur
ing the Chino-JapaneSe naval ENGAGEMENTS
no systematic attempt seems to have been
made on either side to raze the fighting tons
10 lne decks or into the sea. The proportion
OF killed and wounded in the fighting tops
during those engagements was consider
ably less than on deck. In sea fight be-
tween expert manipuIatorS of ships how
ever there can be no doubt that the yes
sells will go each at the others military
masts with enthusiasm at the very outset
for the purpose of silencing the deadly play
of the rapid-firing guns, which are capable
of making terrific havoc on an enemy's
decks. The rapid-fring guns only would be
used for the purpose of choppine off or
knocking over the enemy's fighting tons, for
a nghting top is a small mark in long-range
shooting. and gunner is so foolish as to
waste big gun projectiles in an attempt to
shave a mark the chances of striking which
are about as a thousand to one against him
But rapid-firing guns are accurate and their
proJectiles are powerful enough to do for
the strongest fighting top that ever reared
its ugly circular head from the deck of a
ship of war The sides of the fighting tops
GENTLY to render them impenetrable to the
projectileS of ordinary rapid-firing guns
The sea soldiers man the fighting top guns
and it may be set down as something
mighty certain that in the event of war
the duelS between the marines in the fight
ing tops will be sanguinary features of the
sea fights.
The bluejackets who are stationed in the
magazines during a sea fight are certainly
no better off than their mates either above
Val battle knows precisely where his foes
magazines are located, and there is likely
to be some tall aiming for magazines in the
next naval war To those who are unfaml-
lar with the general experiences of modern
great gun craftsmanship and the extraordi-
nary accuracy of some of it. it might seem
pure foolishness for a gunner to make an
attempt to hit any especial part of an enc
my ship at range of several miles
These who think in this way however have
only to be referred to the bit of nlarksman-