Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1898-02-23
ARE ONLY INCIDENTS"
Eut They Might Have Been ACci1
dents Which Would Wreck /
BattleShipS.

Washington, D. c., Feb. 19.-Men-of-
wars men become callous to danger and
just now in any room of the navy depart
ment you can hear stories o. accidents
and carelessness and narrow escapes fro&
death and destruction that chill the blood
of a layman who is not in the habit OF
foOling with tOrpedoes guncotton and
that kind of toys. Judging the Name by
what has happened on other ships, you
can see thousand ways in winch an ex-
plosion might have occurred. A veteran
officer relates what he calls "a little incl
dent to show the nerve of an apprentice
boy. A division of the crew of one of the
battleships was overhauling the after
magazine one day, breaking out fixed am
munition, cans of powder and guncOtton,
and cleaning house, as it were, under the
direction of a lieutenant and a gunner's
mate. The latter stood leaning over the
hatch, singing out orders to the
men in the magazine, when ne
accidentally knocked his lantern against
the steel side of the hatchway. The
spring that held the lamp gave way and
it fell into the pit, bottOm-side up and
still burning, upon the top OF a large TIN
can of powder. The men in the pit were
busy slowing, with their backs turned,
and did not see the accident. The lieu
tenant, the gunner's mate and others who
were looking over the hatch were stupe-
fed with horror, but fortunately for that
ship and its crew of 500 men, an appren-
tice boy had his wits with him and quick
er than you can tell it Skinned down
the tackle, seized the lamp, extinguished
the flame with his fingers, grabbed the
heated can of powder in his arms and
sang out: you lubbers, haul me and
this here can to the deck, d quick.
Two jerks upon rope lifted the boy ana
his dangerous burden to the deck and IN
an instant he had cast it over the side
into the sea.
The commanding officer did not COM
plain of the loss of that powder and the
boy now wears the sword of Il gunner S
mate.
1T was only the other day said an
officer yesterday, that another gunner's
mate by bit of swift head and hand
work saved one of the battleshipS of the
North Atlantic squadron, which is now
cruising around Key West, from an aw-
full peril in which it was placed by sheer
careleSsness. The ship was engaged in
big-gun practice at sea, and solid shot
were being fired from the main battery.
The gunner's mate referred to was sta
toned in the coming tower with the
skipper. One of the big guns was loaded
with solid shot and the skipper was
about to press the electrical button held
in his hand, when the boy noticed that
the breech of the gun was not locked
He might have let loose Il yell of
warning that would have startled the
skipper and caused Il contraction of the
muscles Of the hand would have pressed
the button and discharged the gun. but
he had too much sense for that He did
not utter a sound, but with a quick
spring he seized the electric wire and
broke it with his hands, thus cutting the
circuit. Then he sank on the floor of
the coming tower, without a bit of
blood in his face and as weak as a kit
ten. The skipper thought he had fallen
recovered himself in a moment and ex-
planned how near the captain had come
to raking his own deck with a solid shot.
If that gun had been fired very little of
the ship would have been left and 100 or
200 men or more, including the captain,
would have gone on the list of casual
tipS -