The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-08-04

men work with an energy that proves their patriotism and devotion to the flag. On this day they sent up to the various turrets and guns over 10000 pounds of ammunition, taking it care fully out of the big magazines without accident.
 The men detailed in the handling rooms of the Brooklyn are from the fifth or powder division, composed of those not detailed as gun crews, such as carpenters and gunners' mates, servants, idlers of all kinds and the re- lief watch of the engineers division. This medley of men is of many nation alities and is known on board the Brooklyn as "CoXey's Army" and is commanded by the senior deck officer, Dr. Griffin, with four or five other of ticers as assistants, each assistant hav- ing charge of a section of about forty or fifty men, the whole division taking charge of all magazine holds and all space between decks during action. At the clang of the alarm for gen eral quarters" the men rushed to their stations, struggling through a small steel hatch in the protective deck, and
 
 der to the magazines and shell rooms ! below. The officer in charge, Dr. Grif- fin, hurried to the cabin for the maga- zine keys, grabbed the small leather bag containing them from the hand of | the marine orderly on duty at the door | of the captains cabin, and rushed af- ter his men, distributing the keys as rapidly as possible to those already | standing at the box-like tops of the magazines the bolts of which had al- | ready been loosened. The ammuni- tion whips were quickly laid 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. When everything | was seen to be clear the endless chains | of the hoists start with the whir of the motor and rolled their loads of rapid | fire ammunition to the decks above | where men were stationed to receive | it. Down the chute of the S-inch gun l turret, as an accompaniment to the | deep rumble of the turret as it slowly | swung from amidships to the port or | starboard, comes the command Full | charges, common shot," from the off, cer in charge of the turret and the an- l sWer quickly goes back aye, aye, sir, l and as a response to lower tone of voice Quick lads; lively, now" up ] comes the long powder tanks and heavy 250 pound shell to the base of the turret There the shell was quickly seized in the tongs by two stalwart ap- | prentices, raised and rammed home in l ae powder tanks taken off and the pow l der in two sections placed in the other l compartments of the car, the signal | given and both cars quickly raised to | the breech of the turret guns and are
 sent back, almost as quickly emptied.
 All this preparation of getting ready
 occupied space of four minutes time, after all the men went below and the l matches lowered and secured The | heat varies in this steel cage from 120 | to 146 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 hu- manity blindly obeying orders with unquestioning obedience and alacrity, not knowing the cause of the alarm, | whether target pIdCllCe, uOlilDdl ulliSlil, the Spanish fleet of a false alarm.
 Suddenly the report of the first gun l was heard, followed in quick succession | by another, and the battle was on l Down the hoists and chutes comes the | powder smoke to add to the already i high temperature of the handling room followed by the hot saltpetre water from the sponging of the guns, making
 the decks slippery and burning blisters | on the bare backs of the men under
 heath, who, groping and choking, feel ing their way through the dense smoke
 go silently and obediently about their
 work with but one thought and aim in view to keep those continually empty
 cars and hotsts filled, with powder and
 projectiles, not not knowing how the I battle is raging until a cheer is finally
 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 large shell for good luck or as a yell is
 heard, "Armor piercing, quick and
 the shells are quickly changed, he takes
 an old oily rag and rubs the cap of the
 projectile, saying, "Thatll make 'er
 bite better" and the young boy of the
 new navy, who has been in the ser
 vice as many months as the old salt
 has years, exclaims to his shipmates, '"Ah, what he givin' us"
 That was the routine of the handling
 room on the third day of July, except
 that once in awhile the rush was brok-
 en by a carelessly handled shell drop
 ping. One came down in the forward
 handling room when MT. Hancock had
 charge the day of the battle. There
 was the low rumble as it dropped the
 forty feet. "Stand clear" shouts Han
 cock, but the command is superfiuous, {, for if the shell had exploded no man | in that place would ever have seen day. | light again. It didn't explode, and as
 the handlers gasped in their temporari- | ly departed breath a prayer went up to
 heaven and many uncomplimentary | adjectives to the fellow in the turret | between them and heaven.
 SOME OTHER HEROES.
 There were other heroes that day,
 men who never see the 9ttle but do 1 the work that keeps everything in the ships in motion and take risk greater l than commodore or captain. When | the Vizcaya had been sunk and beach, | ed that day Captain Cook, having been | ordered by Comomdore Schley to oaasa frinp called tha man fropo Tho