The Lamar register., 1898-05-07
AN ENGINE OF DEATH.
DYNAMITE cRulssR vEsuvIus.
Can Throw Big Charge of Dynamite
Has Been sent to Cuba to Experiment.
on Havana Forts.

Washington. ID. C.. May 2.-The dy
Mantle cruiser Nesuvius. which has
Just left Newport 10 join the squadron
on Havana. Is an experiment in war
fare which will he watched with great
interest by naval authorities all over
the world and will undoubtedly be
given an opportunity 10 demonstrate
her merits before the war is over.
She is supposed to be more effective
in battle than any of our battleships,
cruisers or torpedo boats, the most de-
structive agency in the entire world,
and she is the only craft of her kind
In existence. but her efficiency has
been so stubbornly questioned that the
government has not duplicated her.
III she should prove equal to the prom
isest her defenders have made every
nation In the world will add similar
vessels 10 their fleet. She is small.
swift and easil- handled, and carries
three pneumatic guns, each of which
discharges 500 pounds of nitroglycerine
every five minutes. Nitroglycerine has
five times the explosive power OF gun
cotton and twenty-five times the ex-
plosive power of ordinary powder.
No ship could stand n moment against
an explosion OF this kind, even though
1t occurred in the water 100 yards
from her hull. Captain Zalinski. who
invented the guns, has described the
effect of their discharge as Hell let
loose" and even that does not seem TO
do full justice to the destruction that
would be caused by scattering three
quarters of a ton of dynamite every
five minutes In city or n fortress or
among a fleet of vessels. The projec-
tiles are so arranged that when they
strike anything they will explode and
scatter the dynamite they contain In
n shower over a large surface. They
can also be made to explode automat-
ically by clockwork. Imagine seven
or eight such shells dropped Into city
like New York or even Havana. or in
the midst of fleet of warshins- SO
long as her guns are in condition for
use no vessel would dare attack the
Vesuvius without inviting total de
struction. II this little craft were pur-
sued IL Is only necessary for 1t to
stand still and await the proper mo-
ment, when the discharge of one or all
of Its guns would annihilate its pur-
suer. A cruiser or a battleship might
as well sail straight oyer Niagara.
But the critics of this little craft insist
that she will be absolutely unservice-
able In rough water. and her machin-
cry Is SO delicate and complicated II
Will be apt to get out of order when II
is needed the most She will join the
squadron before Havana about Fri
day or Saturday. and the voyage from
Newport will be n fair test of her sea-
going qualities.
II has been suggested that the We
suvlus can be made useful in destroy
ing the mines that have been placed
In the harbors OF Havana and other
cities. because her projectiles can be
fired under water as well as in the
air. If she should drop one of her
shells into Havana harbor. for exam
pie, TO be exploded as soon as 1t
touched the bottom. the detonation
would be so great as to discharge all
the mines or torpedoes that might be
anchored within a certain distance
around IL. II is also suggested that
she can easily be protected from
heavy seas by sailing on the lee side
of monitor or battleship. Her guns
are elevated at an angle of is degrees,
so that they could fire over any ship
that might be beside her for protec-
ton.