The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1898-04-25

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70 essnnber the desperate work o. the ship
in her life ard death struggle.
But the ussr or the derk are not the on
fy ores who are busy when "cfeW the
ship - the order The frat thing the
captain does SITTER he gives this command
L. 70 ssnd word 70 the chief engineer 10
couple up all the boilers The Organ ha0
been cruising x,sh emily part OF her bosa-
srs a. work Now she extra cnes are
coupled no. Fires are made under these.
ard ever before the boats are cast adrift.
wurk hourSer fast the Jsekiss Will. the
slsck back smoke that rolls out Of the
Gyexonss tunnels proctairss the sw3fsn<ss
Of her isrenSn and engineers. The new
Ares are making new steam. Tfe press
are gauges run mp 10 their top notch, and
the ship leaps ahead az her highest speed
eager 10 meet that stranger which IL
row rising rapidly out Of the horizon
The standby watch OF nrsmen ard en-
sinesrs comes into the engine ard fur
race rcafns. The coal :rinners aid pass-
ers go inta the sankers. The coal baskets
and shoyefs are all In active use. Now
the captain on the bridge gives another
order Ar its result there h run up to
the masthead the biggest and most beau
ttfsi ensign from the oregon's nagroogn-
a, the staff Gu the tafYraii another en-
sign IL run MP. and with Old Glory snap
Ping her stars and stripes defiantly I'm
stsn the Oregon II ready for battle
Now for the men The ship IL cleared
for action Every bit Of the complicated
work - done. Everything il slowed or
cast loose and officers and men stand al
their stations waiting the next command.
They have not long TO wait. When the
captain gave the order to clear the ship
he aiso changed her course and headed
her directly for the stranger whose APP
pearaGce had caused all the hustle and
excitement. A. the Increased steam pow
sr made itself felt in the Increased speed
of the hattleship and she drew nearer and
nearer the stranger the captain and the
executive officer noticed that the stranger,
TOO. showed signs of being on the alert.
Out Of his tunnels there rose two black
clouds that matched the inky columns
rising from the oregon's smoke pipes.
with increasing rapidly he rose above
the horizon. and presently his aull was
visible. Before the Oregon was half
cleared for action the two ships were In
fun view OF each other. and the Oregon's
captain could see plainly that the stran-
ger Was "a battleship OF about tne Ore
gon's size and general Ines. As the ships
drew nearer. and his own coiors were run
up 20 the masthead. he distinguished the
ensign OF the enemy floating from the
fore-treck OF the approach ship. He
did not know that this was the ship sent
out specially TO meet the Oregon and pre-
vent her from Joining the Atlantic squad
ron. Bur now his own snip II cleared.
and he gives the order for which the men
are waiting
Sound off general quartersr'
IL is the call 10 battle. The rafting
drum and grieving huge sound the notes
that set the red blood leaping through the
arteries OF every one of the 10 gallant
fellows In the Oregon's crew. Simulta-
~ u,.a 10 s.pe
Now the constant drill that has helped 10
wear away the tedious hours of The long
voyage around the Pacific coast shows is
good results. Silently and without corfu-
sion every man goes TO his allotted place.
Down In the engine room below the steel
armored deck the engineers take a last
look around 10 see that everything is
ship-shape. The off-watch. engineers and
firemen alike. join their powder divisions.
The water-tight doors In the bulkheads
are closed and tried to see that they are
fast The engines are ready-the living,
breathing power that makes the ship a
vital thing is prepared for ready re-
Spouse 10 the intelligent direction of the
men who are TO make her perform 10 the
last most terrible possibility her dreadful
function as an engine of destruction. Now
the ships company realizes the worth OF
the engineers, for II the power falls IL
the complicated machinery falls short OF
fulfilling Its utmost duty, the beautiful.
great ship VIII lie helpless and an easy
prey before her powerful enemy.
As the engineers are thus making their
last rounds the lighting men o. the ship
are taking their places at their guns
The marine division man the smaller rap
id-iire guns In the secondary battery
They are trained as marksmen with small
arms. and now they are expected to dem
onstrate the worth Of their careful drill
in the deadly execution their fire shall
make upon the superstruc,ure and cx-
posed parts OF the enemys ship. The
men who have been taught especially 10
handle the great i3-inch rifles ia the
main tnrrets climb 10 their places about
their guns In the smaller tnrrets of the
s-snch rifles their particular gun crews
take station. Along the hroadside rapid
lire guns another division of the crew
station themselves. Some OF the marines
go up Into the fighting tops and man IN.
murdefous machine guns there So all
the guns are manned each by a man
thoroughly trained Ia every movement Of
the drii for keeping hls gun in action
at the highest possible rate OF efficiency.
In charge OF each gun or division OF guns
- an officer. I'm each Of the main turrets
senior officer sits In the seat under the
hood with a Junior officer TO assist him
Thus. swiftly and noiselessiy. the guns
are manned ard the gun crews await
the word TO begin their srish,fuI work
While this has bec:, going on another
and most important division of ne crew
have been taking stations down a the
hottogn of the ship. beneath the armorea
deck and far below the water line. This
is the powder division and on the men
in II and their faithful work depends the
success Of the day. With the orqier to
general quarters the captsin has given
"a the senior watch officer the keys 10 the
magazines This officer is tn command
81 the powder division. Officers under
him are In charge OF the Subdivisions
which man the magazines for the differ
eus guns. 4 petty officer captains the
crew in she actual work Of passing on,
IN. ammunition from each magazine The
magazines are al opened up. The elec-
tric lights are turned OF. aud the car
rlaseS ana travellers that take the POW
der ard she'll tn tho ammunition, HOSTS
are tried 30 see that they werk VII Men
hesea tn pile the powder tanks 81 handy
positions and 10 unhax the proteciiles for
the larger guns Ammunition for the ma
chine guns IL whipped up into the tops.
Everything i ready
Down IN the torpedo rooms the t,arpy-
do division have been preparing sheir
mighty agents rf destruction TyF War