The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1898-06-12

decks = exposed "a the enemy's are. ani
serious injury 20 them 5 almost impossible
while the machinery - Ear beneath the
waves renders Il unlikely that saAi portion
cf TIRE vessel can cs crippled.
Tae crews Aad officers % SIMPSONS
feet conii5ssiGfd foad!y because the moni-
tors Terror and PAF5l&f ynas were vita
Them. delayed tne gate % speed On the
gua 10 san Jssan Srsi return. rs they could
ouly steam al average OF seven knets %
The cruisers foarieeu. ard then. they
required propcrtoaateay a greater guam
THY II coal. they were At times taken IN
tow. SO 10 them has been applied the
term 'tarantalas CT saa navy." bat they
are aase scoagxeS like ta- ~enomo0s eTesa-
lures from which they take their pseUao-
nym+
All naval authorities are row agreed
THAI monitors are Indispensable auxi-
iaries to the torpedo h9atS. gun6aa;s, cruis-
ers AMI hastleshiRs 81 their owa ilo;ills.
For hard heavy hamh4rd!ng and close 10
shore nghtng against batteries ana Sorts
they are particularly valuable. as they are
almost lmpersious 70 tae shells which
may ne thrown al them and which usually
rebound ana r.coches from their decks.
For eoass and hartor defense they are alb
soguteEy u8eQaa4ea aad can only ne dss-
tarhed. II NJ all. by the crafty torpedo
hoas when the opportunity Is given the
latter - haTl AIS desta-deallng missiles at
them. Rut torpedo boat can he crippled
with as small shot as a MauseF bullet.
and s.ng,e pgojeotle fram che guns ~
a monitor could blow them out OF ;he wa
ter into !ntfaltesimal fragments The ter
peao boat Is only an agent. 1t is the mig
s2e. the torpedo. IL sends that is danger
Gus.
Those monitors that are in the navy
representing the ideas OF thirty wears ago
g2 p
coast defense. supplemented ny serpedoes,
forts and fortincasiouS4 and they aye uas-
fui in actual battle. The Nahant for In
stance, manned by the New York naval
reserves, carrying twe is-iaeh smooth
here guns and several rapid-firers. sta
toned az the entrance OF New York har-
nor. Just what proportional destructive
strergtha i5-inch smoathhoFe can hav,
in comparison With an s-inch or even Il g.
inch rlt'ed cannon - yer question Of
conjecture. The s9nootaoeFas WxFr very
efficient In their day hut the ribbed gun
long ego demonstrated Us signsi super
.ority. The length OF the can also adds
10 'he peneirat.ve power of the pr5Iecgile.
The Ajax Is another Of The single tur-
re; mentors hult th-rty~Hve Years ago
that instead OF being allowed TO rest in
mud was used by the naval militia Of
Camden. \. J. Her armament al present.
Tor she Is In commission. Is similar 10 that
of the Nahant.
BOSTON harbor is defended BY The ola
time monitors Tsehigh ard gSatskiii The
LATTER was taken To the Massachusetts cap
ifai by naval reserves and both Of them.
with ihe usual armament Of smooth aares
and tapid-fire guns are manned BY the
naval militia. The Isehigh built by John
Ericsson In tS62 saw eonSsGeraA le servirc
during The following three years, and the
Catskili in the attack on Fort Wagner
during the civil war was struck nearly
s3Aiy times 10y cannon balls from the fort.
The Montauk. armed with two old
amoothbore GUNS. has been assigned 10 The
defense of Portland. Me. relic OF isss.
she Still presents a valiant appearance
The Jason another az Eficssom's Pets has
been TN ordinary" since the civil war. hat
%Ili probably prove Of great service as a
coast defense ship. though two smocthhore
guns comprise her main armament Larger
than many Of her companions she has a
displacement of 1850 tons and develops 40
horsepower.
Bar i II in the modern fighiing monitors.
the aggressive SHIPS aud not purely de-
fensVe 0aes like those guarding our bar
lsors, that the public interest centers With
the Cuban fleets are he MIansononfsn tie,
Terrier. tie Puritan and the Amphitrite
The Puritan IS a fenlodeied vesses. her keel
having been laid IN lss5. but with her row
erfui armament Of four i2-inch and two T.
inch guns n Der main battery and SIX G.
fcQnuers. TOUR tdtfiGEs and t~o aS4-tni.Ei-
meters in her secondary battery, she IL a
foenlan worthy Of the respect of any FOE
The Mianionomoh is another resnod.ied
Ericsson monitor, though practically "A
new ship. Her construction was begun n
iS62. bat before she WAS finished she was
towe1 TO Annapolis. There she rested In
The mud Of the Severn river FOR several
years her boilers ristiuk. until sae was
taken away ard rebuilt Of steel.
The Amplitude - modern double tur-
reted monitor. ostensihiy intended for coast
defense only. Sho carries four ia-fuch
gigfss mounted In pairs. aua tao s.inch
T'ae Terror IL Of the same class, though
her keel was laid tweai y~f0ir years ago.
She also carries four iD-lnch guns and has
an except louaily low ffcshoard that gives
her an exceedingly formidable appear
ance.
The asonaennck Is another powerful Tnon-
itos. with an armament almost Identical
with that Of the Puritan. except that STA
haa four 19-ineh instead Of four i2-sueh
eguz Thess fTe steel preiecti'es Weighing
lnpre thin sgs pounds. are effective at a
distance Of more shan six miles. and VIII
carry several miles farther even than
tGat.
Though they are the sailors buRabo0 be-
cause OF their unwIelflnesa the more than
usual POSSIBILITY % their engines becoming
dfsa rrauged ~ Il heavy sea. their COMPARE
lively slow raEe Of speed and their yors-
closis appetite FOR coal. they are machines
az great dastr1ctlbliffy. yeritaole floating
f0ftresssS that are superior under certain
conditions IN dsaih-deailrg energy 10 any
other class of warships IN existence.
ROGER Z. BARSUM