The pioneer press. (Miller, Hand County, S.D.) 1893-190?, 1898-08-25
OLD IRON SIDES.
Single Turreted Monitors FOR Harbor
Guards in Cuba.

Jlle tribune lFDHi " uoiiihS W." ~.
The navy department has decided TO
send all the single-turreted monitors
to Cuba and Porto Rica for duty rs
permanent guardships in the chle'
harbors OF those islands. PreLimih-
airy orders assigning officers anu
crews from regular navy TO the
twelve seaworthy vessels OF this type,
are being made out and severa! OF
these formidable vessels will start
for their new posts i'll a week or two.
These monitors. which were built Tor
service in the civil war, several Oh
them bearing sears OF the conflict att
err thirty years OF disuse, were re-
stored to excellent condition soon
after the Maine was blown up, some
OF them being equipped with entire
II new water tube boilers and hay
ing the benefit OF extensive improve
meuts. During the war with Spain
they have been manned by naval
miiitiamen and constituted the Chief
source OF strength of the auxiliary
naval force guarding the Atlantic
coast. Orders were given several
days ago to place them ont OF com
mission as soon as possible and re
turn them to the League Island
Pennsylvania navy yard, until an
other emergency nacessitated Their
Use. In the meantime, however, the
complicated problems involved in
maintaining law and order, particu-
alarly in Cuba, led to consideration
of the availability of these vessels as
guardships and the authorities quick
ly reached the decision to utilize them
for that purpose.
The vessels are the Ajax, the Ca
nonicus. the Mahopaca, the Manhat-
ten, the Wyandotte, the CatsGiIl, the
Jason, the Lehigh, the Montauk, the
Nahant, the Nantucket and the
Pasaic. They draw only twelve feet
OF water and each OF them carries
two l5-inch smooth bore guns in its
turret. 1t is intended that they shall
not only provide for the defence OF
Cuban harbors against exterior as
saults, but their magazines are to be
stored with large quantities ofgrape
and canister for the purpose ofmain-
tanning order ashore. There is no
concealment OF the design on the part
OF the naval and military authorities
to use, if necessary, this grape and
canister fire from the huge guns of
the monitors to command q whole
some respect for United States au-
thOrity among the Cuban INSURGENTS
and other obstreperous elements
which will have to be restrained when
the Spaniards evacuate the islands +,
and the naval officers who will be es-
peclally selected for these vessels on
account OF their discretion and good
Judgment will have full authority to
dispense any mobs which may come
within range. In each of the ports
where monitors are located there will
be necessity for a military garrison.
Iii proposed to locate these single
turreted monitors at Matanzas, Car
denas, Sagua la Grande, Jibara
Nuevitas, Manzanillo, Guantanamo,
Trinidad, Cienfuegos and Bahia
Honda in Cuba and at Ponce in
Porto Rica.
1t is also the intention OF the navy
department. to send the double. tur,
retted monitors Puriton. Terror,
Amphitrite and Miantonomah to
Havana, Santiago and San Juan de
Porto Rica. perhaps two OF them be,
ing stationed at Havana. These
vessels, while among the most disa.
greeab'e in the navy for active cruis-
ING service in tropical water, are con.
sidered more comfortable than any
other type OF vessel when stationary
and are altogether peculiarly fitted