The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1898-08-10
WHOLE NO. 2454.

steel hatch in the protective deck, and
down a narrow and almost vertical
ladder, to the magazine and shell
rooms below. The officer in charge,
DR.. Griffin, hurried to the cabin for the
magazine keys, grabbed the small
leather bag containing them from the
hand Of the marine orderly on duty at
TIE door Of the captains cabin, and
rushed after bis men, distributing the
keys as rapidly as possible TO those al
ready standing at the box-like tops of
the magazines, the bolts Of which had
already been Ioosened. The ammuni-
ton whips were quickly led out, and
the men standing with their hands on a
small lever ready to turn on the cur
rent Of the electric hoists as soon as the
matches were off.
RAISING THE AMMUNITION.
When everything was seen to be
clear, the endless chains of the hoists
started with the whirr of the motor and
rolled their loads of rapid-hre ammu-
nitiOn to the decks above, where men
were stationed to receive it. Down
the chute Of the eight-ineh gun turret
comes the command "Full charges,
common shot" from the officers in
charge OF the turret, and the answer
quickly goes back, "Aye, aye SIR
and as a response to q lower tone of
voice, "Quick, lads; lively now," up
come the long powder tanks and heavy
80 pound she'll to the base of the turret.
There the shell was quickly seized in
the tongs by the stalwart apprentices,
raised and rammed home in the car;
the tops Of the long copper powder
tanks taken Off aud the powder in two
sections placed in the other eompart-
ments of the car, the signal given and
both cars quickly rise to the breach OF
the turret guns and are sent back, al
most as quickly, emptied.
All this preparation of getting ready
occupied space of four minutes time,
after all the men went below and the
matches lowered and secured.
HOT IN THE STEEL CAGE.
The heat varies in this steel cage from
10 to l46 degrees Fahrenheit, and
quickly causes the men to strip TO the
waist and settle down TO their work in
an air-tight box filled with sweltering
humanity, blindly obeying orders with
unquestioning obedience and alacrity,
not knowing the cause of the alarm,
whether target practice, bombardment,
the Spanish fleet or false alarm.
Suddenly, the report Of the first gun
was heard, followed in quick succession
by another, and the battle was on.
Down the hOists and chutes comes the
powder smoke to add to the already
high temperature ofthe handling room,
followed by the. hot saltpetre water
from the spongiDg of the guns, making
the decks slippery and burning blisters
on the bare backs of the men under
meath, who, cropping and choking,
feeling their way through the dense
smoke, 90 silently and obediently about
their work with but one thought and
aim in view-to keep those continually
empty ears and hoists filled with pow
der and projeetiles not knowing how
the battle is raging until cheer is fl
nally heard from deck, their spirits
brighten and an old salt will exclaim /:
II guess they must have hit 'em that
time" Then he goes up and spits on a
large shell for good luck, or, ~ a yell
is heard, "armor-piereing. quick" and
the shells are quickly changed, he takes
an old oily rag aud rubs the cap Of the
projectile, saying; "Fhst'll make 'er
bite BETTER" and the young boy Of the
new navy, who has been in the service
as many months as the old salt has
years, exclaims to his shipmates: "Ah.
what's he given usn'
oNr Sf4rrr npapz