The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1898-08-18

''Captain Cook, keep your men
| below the protected deck informed OF
any advantages we may gain" said
! Commodore Schlev, and speaking
| loudly to overcome the noise Of the
frightful guns, the gallant captain Of
the Brooklyn said, with a smile: Il
always do that, sir, | consider it
necessary for the esprit de corps, >
and stepping into the coming tower,
| he called down the tubes: Tell the
men below that the Maria Teresa is
running ashore" At the same time
Executive Officer Mason rushed to
| the firing turrets and called to the
men the same joyful news. 1t was
| the Bird Of July, and the excitement
Of the first call to battle had hardly
subsidized on the big cruiser Brook YIN
when the foregoing incident occurred.
Commodore Schley stood upon a
small temporary bridge running about
| the coming tower, while Captain
Cook spent his time between the in
terror Of the tower where he directed
the machinery, the platform, where
he could see the enemy
Fighting for the honor Of America
three better prepared and more
heavily armored ships Of Spain,
this splendid type of the American
navy was one mass Of flame and
smoke, a> she spit out defiance tinged
with death. with machine-like regu-
larity, and yet but one-third of the
entire crew could see the enemy or
any part of the fight. Iii the big tur-
rct>. half-naked men worked behind
the steel walls with no knowledge of
how the battle went until they were
informed by Mr.. Macon. and below
the protected deck fully 800 or more
men worked under the glare of electric
lights, keeping this great engine of
destruction mechanically and rapidly
at work. The big turret S-inch guns
could not have done their deadly
shooting even with the trained eyes
guiding them, had not the men below
sent up the ammunition, and the
Brooklyn could not have kept side by
side had it not been for the engineer
and lire-room force working below
the deck like iends.
WORKING THE BIG GUNS.
The men in the turrets OF 5-inch
steel see as little as the men below
deck, except that once in while
they get glimpse of the object fired
at. When the ships of Spain were
sighted coming out on this eventful
morning the s and 5-inch guns were
all loaded, and in each turret within
two minutes after the summons,
eleven men stood half-naked. await
ing the word to fire. The chief of
the turret, a lieutenant, is in the
hood, his eve to the telescope. gets
the line of his guns, on the harbor,
and awaits the signals. Five thous-
and yards" sings out an orderly in
the turret opening. and the gun goes
up to the proper elevation as the
lieutenant in the hood orders the
elevating gear turned. The No. l
man at the guns connects the electric
wire to the primer with the hoods
hand-iirin@ apparatus, and all is
waiting 'Commence iiringr' comes
the order. and quickly the answer
comes The turret lieutenant closes
on the electric apparatus and the gun
Jumps back a foot or more, as 10
pounds OF exploding powder drives a
25O-pound shell from the muzzle of
the great piece ut the rate of 1850
feet per second. Then. before the
roar has ceased. the hand of the man
In charge of that turr"t touched the
electric level and the gear 700 tons
OF steel moved quickly and noiseless-
~ around until the other gun of the
twins was in the same position as the
ilrst one had been. Slowly the muZ-
zle comes up to the right elevation,
once more the nervous fingers close
on the electric handle and another
30 pounds of steel shoots away on its
death errand. Then. if YOU could
have looked in this particular turret
on that memorable and glorious
morning of July Sd, you would have
seen picture of activity that would
have amazed you. Hardly had gun
No. l belched forth its defiance to the
group of Spanish ships than the five
men behind it. until this minute
statues of inactivity, Sprang into
life. No. , and No. opened the
breech, washes off the mushroom
and gas check with a sponge. oils the
breech plug, extracts the exploded
primer. and sees the vent clear. No.
+ seize> the long bristle sponge. wet
with water, and assisted by No. 3.
spongeS the gun. lays aside the
sponge and seizes the hammer, ready
to drive home the new charge
While they have been working
there has appeared at the top of the
ammunition hoist new shells and
new ammunition. and the officer in
command of the turret cries LOAD"
No. > raises the ammunition corner
of the hoist. and with the assistance
of No. > of the other gun. grasps the
handles upon the carriage and swings
1t to the rear of the gun. The pro-
Jectile is first on the left. and No. 3
adjusts the primer. while No. i. AS
sisted by No. s. rams home the 2.5O-
pound projectile.
Then, in quick succession. No. ).
No. / and No. s ram in the two
charges of powder in packages of 80
pounds. each done up in serge or
muSiln- and in grains weighing an
ounce and quarter each No. ,
closes the breech. No. l again con-
meets the wire. and the gun is ready
to fire. All this has taken Just four
minutes. and with two guns. the bio
turret Is shooting once every two
minutes
THE POWDER DIVISION
But where are the mysterious
hands that send up these death-deal-
ing charges to the guns in such ghost
like way? Down below the water
line of the ship, beneath the protec-
i've deck that IN too many battles
has proved the lid to the steel coffin
OF hundreds of brave men, is naked.
ny.