The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-03-20
FIRING OF BIG GUNS.
Sights, Sounds, Swells and sensa
tions On q Warship.

New York Tribune: People who read
about modern Warshios in action. of the
thunder and deafeRins noise made by the
-onderous guns and The clouds OF smoke
and steam by which the iron lighting ma
chimes are enveioDed. ahve only i faint
ieea at best of the real state of affairs,
and no picture can do the matter fun
Justice. II the reports of those who have
been there may be believed.
a member or the naval reserve who has
studied the subject and is thoroughly
pOstsu anu eqUaiIy enthusiastic SAID mat
d ~eH-c0nuuCIeu Jar-et pfdcllCe on one
OF The DalI-eshlps IS similar IN man. re-
sIectS to a naval e.IsaSement. Every
tning Is mace Snip-Shape. decks are clesi-'-
&c. ala ms saline precautions are taken
as IN actual contests; and &Itnough there
Is Iuli ASSURANCE mat no enemy VIII APP
pear, the decks resent wariIke appear
itEee, ana soon at.e~ the exercises nave
begun the ship resembles anything more
tnap treasure craft
10 the novice the discharge of Il big
gun Is Il Startling IninS, ana may be IoI-
ION Ell by unpieasanI results unless the
usual precautions are taken. The men
brace themselves for the shock which Ioi-
low The discharge ia big gun by holding
the arms r.glu and the names well AVA
nom the BODY. 10 give the lungs Tree
play, they also keep the mouth oJen,
anu by that means equaiiZe the DressLIe
on the lungs. head and ear drums.
argument, sand the nava. reserve man,
y. neither the discomfort comes from out
ward pressure IN consequence OF lne con-
cussion or from tbs vacuum created az
ter the shock. me fact mat lnel VINO
use cotton in their cars experience more
trouble than those who use no external
protection shows that there Is much 10
Iear from vacuum and the natural pres
sure from within. bursted ear J-ums and
ruptured blood vessels are less hHeiY 10
foiiow the discharge of big guns when
those who stand near 'y ksep their
mouths open and their arms extended
from the poGv."
To Illustrate the force of air conclusion.
Il was stated that during target practice
On bOarc the Atlanta sOIEe Time ago a
sheep was killed outright by The sleek
following the discharge of AN c.L hit inch
gun. although the gun was behind a tar-
bette ana the sheep 80 feet away. AT an
other time, also on board the Etanta two
sIX-Incn brOadside guns We're discharged
several times. and then Il was discovered
that the cutters and WhalebOaIS which
were suspended on davits - feet . er the
guns and to the rear Of the INJURIES open
ed in the joints, although they were well
built and seaworthy small craft.
Another similar circumstance was men
toned in connection with target practice
on board the New York. The two S-ineh
guns IN the forward turret have range
of about l2O degrees on either side OF the
keel and on this occasion -one of the guns
was ranged about so degrees forward or
the beam and fired with a reduced charge.
Twenty feet away were several signals,
and near these was signal chest with
all the ships signal paraphernalia. All
of these, chest and all. were scattered in
all directions by the discharge of the gun
and rendered useless.
The noise made by the dischareing of
heavy pieces is less painful to the sense
of hearing than that produced by smaller
arms. 1.-The roar seams to envelOD one.
said the enthusiast, "and the man who
stands in the turret, which shields him
TO some extent, becomes Oblivious to IT,