Little Falls weekly transcript. (Little Falls, Morrison Co., Minn.) 1894-19??, 1898-04-05
WHAT AWAITS A HOSTILE LANDING PART!
AT SANDY HOOK.

WHAT AWAITS A HOSTILE LANDING PARTY
AT SANDY HOOK.
inch mortars and the other hiding the two
huge gun lifts with two 10 inch steel guns,
are masked to view from the sea because,
except at near approach, their general col
or and shape merge into the vague shapes
Of the sand dunes Thus they are far
less diecernible mark from the sea than q
ship is from the land.
But even If q hostile feet knew their To-
cation to the inch the work of keeping
landmarks in line would tax the talent Of
the best men in the world because every
foot Of drift, every turn Of the propeller,
would carry a ship out of the angle Of
sight and new landmarks would have to
be picked up to locate the batteries. The
men who control the two big land bat
teries can pin moving ship or feet 20 90.
ourely between converging lines with their
range finders that, no matter how fast or
slowly the vessels may steam, they can
mark out their exact location to the inch
on the great plotted charts which are in
every fortress and at every firing place.
Now there comes another advantage
which the land battery has-it can throw
heavier metal with moro powder behind
It, A disadvantage which the attacking
ship has is that Of sharp limit to the range
Of elevation to guns. This enables fort
to open fire on a ship long before the ship
can open fire on the fort.
Another element Of safety for q land
battery like that Of the great sixteen ~
inch mortar battery at Sandy Hook 10
that, while every shot that hits the ship
does more or less damage, only those shots
from the ship which fall directly into the
pits can damage the battery. A f1eet
might lombard the IS foot mortar mound
all day, and ito shells would bury them
selves In the great mass of sand, steel and
concrete without even annoying the men
at. the batteries. The same thing applies
70 the disappearing gun battery, which
has two IL inch steel rifles. These rifles
are visible for less than . minute. The
instant they have fired their shots their
rsooil makes them disappear automaticaf-
~ under the shellproof mound which hides:
them absolutely. >..A5 " :, -.
But suppose the ships could stand thu
are Of the great guns and get near enough
to send . landing party to make direct
attack on the forts and hazard . rush to
take tho works The invaders would find
trouble before them. From the great works
TO the waters edge the beaches have been
0OnOe0 CLEAN. xUOJ0 - uO6 u UlV VI COvex
left for an invading force First they
would find mile Of loose sand, through
which they would have to founder. '&.
They would be exposed every inch Of tho
way to meroiless fire from machine guns
planted between the beach and the works,
on the walls Of the works and on tho tops
Of the mounds. Farther up the Hook from
the extreme point long range rapid firing
guns would tear them to pieces.
Even II they could reach the gun mounds
a great 20 foot wall Of masonry wouid
have to be climbed. Inside Of that wall,
between 1t and the sharply sloping mound
Of the battery proper, is flooded trench
In every angle Of that wall there are bid
den, in classmates that are absolutely I'M
peegnable, rapid firing guns -.
No; 10 long a. we hold Sandy HOOK We
hold the key to New York harbor, ana
Gibraltar itself 10 not moro impregnab!e
than Uncle Sans sandy fortress on this
"trip Of Jersey beach ...... ~