The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-08-03

Two Hundred and Five Degrees Reg.

istered ON the Cincinnati.
Washington Letter in New York Tribune.
That mans enemies are sometimes they
of his own household finds apt illustration
In the severe conditions which surround IN
their own vessels the gallant defenders or
the stars and stripes at sea. TO the l nocd
t lures. almost beyond belief and seemingly
beyond human endurance, produced by. the,
furnaces in the firerooms.
A naval officer once wrote. describing con-
Gitio on, on one of the mOnltors: The scene s
this earth. The heat was almost destructive
of life; tools, ladders. doors and all fittiugs
were too hot to touch, and the place was
dense with smoke escaping from furnace
doors, for there was absolutely no draughl-
The men collected to build up the nres We're
the best of those remaining fit for duty, put
they were worn out physically, were ner-
vouS, apprehensive and dlsplr1ted. houSh
Irish fremen, who would stand in fair
fight, until killed in their tracks. were cry
ing like children and begging TO be alloWeu
to go on deck, so completely were they u n,
nerved and unnamed by the cruel or1eaI
they had endured so long. Hell afioat IS
a nautical figure of speech often ldly usea'
but then we saw It.
before this ironclad, the Amphitrite, began
her service in the present war changes were
made n ner penSas IN tSe
below. Her latest reports give tempera-
lures of 120 degrees Fahrenheit in the en-
CINE room and 14S degrees IN the ilrerooHl.
Monitors especially are sinners with regard
r. the EXCESSIVE heat which may be re-
garded as almost an element OF as. service
The figures for the Amphitrite have been
already quoted The latest temperatures
reported from her sister, the Terror, are
is degrees in the fireroom and 140 degrees
in the engine room, While on the Mlah-
tonomoh these temperatures are, Iespec-
lively 149 degrees and 1888 degrees. A. bare
statement of these facts gives some luea OF
the steadfast fortitude and heroic resistance
which American human nature is opposing.
A.. 49, he aAx conditions which
It is. however, not only the men behind the
furnace frs who suffer; The man penina
one Of the monitors who was lately strick-
en- by apoplexy, arising. doubtless from
his arduous service, reported some II on,nS
since that his ship was almost unbearabie
for her crew, ana that there was 10
on her for weary men 10 rest. With the sun
ray from above, the roaring fires beneath.
her deck was but an oven plate WitnouS
a superstructure to interpose blanket OF
air between them and the baking deck, the
suffering of the men was something which
the lavmen in naval matters cannot meas
ure. The conductivity of the hull also car
ries the heat in the living quarters Of the
officers: It Is reported that the chieI engi-
neer of the Terror was able but twice in
fifteen months to sleep in his berth owing
to the uncomfortable temperature of his room.
On battle ships life is more worth living
They have greater freeboard, are loftier be-
tween decks, have superStructure between
the turrets, and, finally the policy which
has restricted their speed mas limited also
their engine power and the number end
volume of their furnace fires. AS result,
there is, relatively speaking, less heat to be
conducted through greater mass, with, as
consequence, lower temperature
throughout. Even in these ships, however,
the spectacle is. daily presented of the blow
ers pumping cooling air, at a tempera-
ture of 100 degrees into the fire rooms
The greatest terror of the navy caloric-
ally speaking, is the cruiser Cincinnati. In
his report for the year 1895 the surgeon gen.
of referred IN this shin fol-
lows: 'In the firerooms the average tenn
perature under the above conditions BADLY
arranged and closed ships) may range from
IN degrees in ships with only one set Of
fires in each fireroom. like the Charleston.
to $50 degrees within % degrees of the boil
ing point of water) when the fireroom ia
between two sets of fires like the Cincinnati
and Amphitrite In the case of the Cincin-
natl, when only one set of fires Is used in
each freroom. the average temperature Is
reduced from 189 to 159 degrees"
These. il should be noted, were the tenn
peratures of Ordinary cruising conditions"
with everything possible done TO reduce
them. Since war has come this ship has
shown what she is capable of in registering
Temperature of 2o5 degrees in the fire.
room-a fact easily explainable when one
notes that she has 1900 horse power on a
displacement of 1913 tons, was at full speed
in tropie sea, and is inadequatey venti-
lated She is now undergoing repairs at
Norfolk and 1t is hoped that before she
sails again means of lowering her excessive
temperature will be found. In reviewing
not only the dangers in action, but the alb
solute suffering in the long days between,
which searnen endure, the Nation may well
be proud of the men who have won its VIC
tories on the sea.