The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1898-05-25


lutte their officers. All dress 10 Oyerh tulS
like laboreys aud look more like brick
LAYERS than marines.
ICis always considered important IN
warfare to bring the men into action in
good physical condition, we'll FED, com
Portable and with plenty of sleep. Ser
vice on torpedo boat is destructive To
all these requirements. The terrific Vi
bratinu of the per-shelied hull pInng-
ing through the wa.er at the speed OF an
express train unseltleS the strongest
stomach. 1t is Impossible to eat or
sleep with cOmfCrt-in fact, in the Brit
ish naval maneuYers the favorite menu
for the officers of torpedo boats has been
confined TO egg-nOg.
The service, even in peaceful exercises,
is so arduous that the crews have to be
changed at intervals of few days.
The torpedo boat lies along a cruiser
until wanted. Then its crew is called
out to do or die. There is a warslp on
the horizon. 1t has got be destroyed.
Who can do it except the torpedo.
The captain looks at his picked crew.
"Ready, boysm means ready r death
! Talk of desperation in the charge of the
Light Brgade-there were hundreds Of
survivors at that charge, bot here is
dash from which nobody expects to re-
turn alive, and in which the only hope
of the men who make it is that they may
hold out long enough to bring their enc
my down with them.
Silently the tOrpedoes are hosted
from below, the war heads fitted in
place, and the launching tubes made
ready. Quiet groups stand by therapid-
HV1 lyT IN irrtt ,ct
es on the horizon. 1t sweeps the sea
from side to.Sde, and at last it touches
the torpedo boat, and remains fastened
upon it while every man is outlined IN
merciless sharpness. 1t is the search.
light of the enemy. The penned up
steam crowds into the cylinders under
the lash of the forced draught and the
boat plungeS along the path of light on
i IS race II death. There are two miles
to cover before it will come in striking
distance, and already the splashes of
patLering shots in the water tell that
the enemy's secondary battery is find
ing the range.
The nerves OF every man on board are
keyed up tense as harp strings. The
eyes of the l1okouts peer fercajy
through the bIdckn4ss in which, with
all lights out, the hostile battleship lies
ready to pour destruction on auythin4
that approaches.
The method Of attack must now be
considered. There is two ways, one is
t. steam up to about SIX hundred yard
bows on, stop, fire, and then back
straight out. The other is to steam up,
turn around, firing from the deck tubes
while turning, and steam back at fullest
speed. The advantage is that the least
surface of the boat Is offered as a target
t. the enemy.
In The second case the objection is
hat while turning, the entire side of
the boat is at the mercy of the enemy's
guns, and the boats stern, with steer
ing gear, ETC., is exposed to damage
while running away. The ADVANTAGE in
this last method rests in the opportunity
OF firing the after torpedo tubes and in
the shorter time the boat is under fire Il
the danger space. Like lightning The
captain must decide.
All the millions Of money spent on
building ships Of war and organizing
the naval service, all the vast system 0f
yards, docks, tanning schools, coaIiu2
stau rs, and gun factories, all the years
of time devoted to the education Of Of
ticels and the training of seamen, have
II their one object to enable man 10
stand behind gun and to fire it to the
best effect. The man behind the gun
pow is the more important than the gun
itself or the ship that carries it.
What must be the feeling of this man
when be runs his eyes along the great
barrel of his pet weapon and for the
first time sights an euemy beyond? 1t is
the moment TOR which all his previous
training has been the preparation. 1t is
the justification OF his existence, For
years he has worked over that gun, be-
coming familiar with all us peculiari-
ties, training iC on targets, practicing
between times with sub-caliber pro-
jectile5 to save expense, but always
working toward this supreme moment.
He has developed his skill until he
can put four shots out OF five into a
target 1000 yards; but will his train
ing serve him now, or will chuck fe-
ver'' shake his nerve and destroy his
ann? Yesterday his record in prac-
tice might have been absolute perfec-
ton, and nobody outside of his ship
would have thought anything of it.
Today the world is waiting to near of
his work, and two nations are hanging
in feverish dread on the result.
Will the responsibility unnerve or
bewilder him? 1t all depends on the
stuff the man behind the gun is made
of.
The hail of projectiles from the bat
tleship's machine guns is doing Its
work. The torpedo boat is rIddled;
the water is pouring through a dozen
leaks; dead and dying men are lying
all about the decks; the speed is falling
off. But still the shots have missed
the t0rpedoes, The premature explosion
Of one of which Mould lnaNa NOT q relic