The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1898-07-15
INA TORPEDO-BOAT

The Tnrr,bis voyage ofTVVo EnElish Yes.
al, 20 HniifaG- suHsrlnEs Of the Crew
narrow r,saps-Torpedo eraft Pro-
bt,m,-,vsr Uoal1sd 10 for soiuIlop.
New york post; with a certain num-
,sr' Of emIneniy intelligent citizens Of
al nations this current war Of ours is
foredoomed to rank as a dismal failure
unless Il produces, before itl end some
.exbIbl,ion Of the sea-golng torpedo
boat at work With its own peculiar wea-
pons
The first modern attempt alta special
H. built torpedo-vessel took shape In
1s7s in the Thornycroft yard at CHS
WICK. England. In 1885 the greater
powers collectively owned or had pro
iected no fewer than 1888 such craft
the earlier omong them comparing win
fhe later as ferries compare with ocean
Creyhounds. Enormous sums OF money
aud enormous eXertlons OF science $1,000
embodied IN this multitude OF better
and better productions, and the same
expenditure has been laVishly continued
IN the same direction up TO the present
lime. Yet from the very beginning
considerable part OF the whole laDoF
has been performed. so to speak III the
dnrk-since the practical demonstfa-
tons OF a single battle might throw
out the incest theoretic calculatiohs,ue-
velop Unforeseen factors, ana put 4 new
ace ON what Is acknowledged TO be the
greatest problem confronting mari'i .Ile
Builders. engineers and officers OF the
Az The periodic naval manoeuvres OF
ne uowers. although giving due promi-
nenee 10 torpedo-bOat practice, have
cast but faint light on the peFpleNed
noInts. While peace endured, however,
no more effective test was feasible and
for this reason naval science has long
and eagerly scanned the political hoFi-
zon for "the next great naval war.
The matters so awaiting trial by arms
are as numerous as vital. The work OF
n torpedo boat, fraIl atom that she Is,
is TO deal secret and sudden destruction,
not TO give open battle; to creep up on
the enemy unaware at night, TO deliver
her fatal blow at close quarters, ana
then TO glide away into the darkness,
nm undistingulshable mote before the
gunners' eyes, dying so swiftly as to
defy pursuit. Or. lying hidden IN the
shadow OF the battleshlps OF the heet,
she must keep watch and ward against
enemies like herself darting out upon
them with a nimbleness equal to their
own, and by her unexpected onslaught
defeating their fearful mission. For
these ends, her two great needs are In
and speed-and here the moot
questions begin.
What is the "most invisible" color?
Dun, muddy:brown, smoke-gray. or
gray and black laid on in UNEQUAL
patches? Specialists violently disagree,
each disputant looking TO the high court
OF war to establish his opinion. What
Is the true mean OF speed that will ena-
bile the boat to do the things required
Of her? And how far should inVislbility
as represented by little size be sacri-
feed to speed, with It's demands for
larger construction? All these puzzles,
with many more akin to them, are to-
day hopefully laid between ourselves
|and the Spanlards for solution.
The torpedo boat, as an engine OF war,
rs, therefore, something Of an unknown
Quantity. But her manner OF conduct
in cruising times Of peace has been often
revealed to US, and We need suffer lit
tile doubt as to the everyday lot OF the
men now detailed to such service with
our squadrons in the stormy southern
waters
At midnight, on the 18th OF June. 1890,
two English torpedo boats, Nos. 81 and
c., set out from Plymouth, under con-
voy OF the storeship Tyne, to cross the
ocean TO Halifax. Both boats rated as
first-class, both were built by the ia
nous YarroWs, and both measured 125
feet in length by 10 feet greatest
breadth. OF their experiences on the
voyage lieutenant, second in command
of one OF the pair, bears witness in a
narrative, fully endorsed by other tor
pedo boat officers.
Daybreak of the first morning found
the Lieutenant and his captain sitting
in the dingy. dashed amidships on deck.
Every man aboard, excepting only
themselves, was violently sick, and that
though the crew had been picked from
the fnest sailors In the service. The
man at the wheel could barely stand to
his work, the slnSers stocked teebly and
Only because they must, while as for the
cook, all hands might starve. but he
could not, and would not, get breakfast.
Yet the two in the dlngF, unsaddened
bV shadows OF events to come, rather
fancied their novel adventure.
Indeed" says the lieutenant, I'VE
paid too little attention to Ou- own
5afety. -. for suddenly the
boat gave a sharp lurch, and In a mo-
nent we were both flung out OF the
ingy. The other man scrambled to his
eet at once, but was not so lucky, for
] hit the slightly convex deck as fell,
Ind in another second was overheard.
There are no bulwarks, OF course, to a
torpedo boat; only stanchions, support
Ing at intervals a wire rope. Between
these stanchions slipped, As did so
] flung up my hands instlnctively and
caught the rope as passed under.
Down went the little ship, down, down,
till the sea dubbed up around my
shoulders. and / wondered II / could
hold on II the water went over my
head, BY the strain on my hands
knew IL was not possible, but quickly
the boat rolled back again, and in an
other moment the skipper and the man
at the wheel had hauled me on board"
There was little or nothing to do by
way OF recreation in che hours on
watch. Counlng-towers, the chart-ta-
BILE, ihe ydingy, etc, etc. 20 numbered
the dingy deck as TO leave no room for
.promennding-an exercise otherwise
Sufficiently debarred by the outrageous
pitching and rolling OF the vessel Nos
were the quarters below much more
comfortable. Ventilators were general
lg kept shut because Of the great wash
OF wayes oyer the whole craft, and al
though enough water leaked down to
keep the spare clothes in the lockers
continually soaked, the air was 80 close
tha3 tndcr other circumstances man
would not have tried 10 sleep IN 1t.
These men, however, battered and ex-
hausted by each four hours OF work,