The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1898-12-14
The Man Behind the Gun.

aohOo nhu Ohlcu luz tu6 ulUe-lDCn
smooth-bore guns of the old navy,
transferred his affections TO the wicked
sixty Founders when they were in
vogue, and has finally adopted as his
pet and pride one of the monster tbr.
teen-inch beauties of the Oregon. He
cannot read word, and signs the pay
masters rolls with cross, yet he
knows the intricate mechanism of q
breechloader as scholar does the al
phabet, and he can hit canvas bulls
eye 1000 yards away with an LOO.
pound projectile as easily as an expert
pool player can make pocket.
When the i'll fated ships of Admiral
Cervera's feet poked their noses past
Moro Castle in their desperate and
theatrical attempt to escape from San
tiago harbor, this grizzled old gunner's
mate was engaged in his usual task,
that of lovingly shining up the glossy
coat OF his thirteen-inch pride. When
the cry went up that the enemy wac
escaping and the drums and buRles and
gongs hastily sounded general quarters,
he gave few finishing touches to the
muzzle, then quietly took his station in
the turret. Presently turning to q
young seaman gunner next to him he
said: "Charley, I'll bet you a months
pay that / make better shot at the
Dago beggars than you. What dye
say?"
"Done," was the prompt reply. Ten
minutes later the old gunner's mate
squinted his eye along the sight, sig
nailed the man at the training lever to
ease off a little, took the range from
the officer in charge of the division,
then gave the firing lanyard quick
jerk. When the smoke lit d the ca
ger watchers saw great yawning hole
in the port bow of the Almirante
Oquendo.
A cheer came from the men in the
turret, and the old veteran glanced tri-
umphantly toward the seaman gunner.
The latter's turn soon came. The
Oque ndo, battered and helpless, drifted
ashore in fl .mes. The Oregon, accom-.
panied by the Brook YIN, sped on after
the footed Colon. The rapid-fre
batteries of both American chips rat
tied and shrieked after the fugitive.
The eight-inch guns rumbled an un-
ceasing chorus as they belched forth
their steel shells, and occasionally a
deeper roar from the thirteen-inch mon
sters would give mightier volume to
the din.
1t was after one of the latter shots
that the forward turret of the Oregon
echoed with rousing cheer. Charley,
the young seaman gunner, had just
dropped the firing lanyard from his
hand, and it was seen that the Colon's
coming tower was in ruins. "He told
me before he pulled the lanyard that
he would fetch it," exclaimed one of
the guns crew admiringly, "and he
did"
These shots, absolutely marvellous
un6er the circumstances, were fred by
men representing the two extremes of
the service. TheIsold gunner's mate
gained his skill through years of expe-
rience; the seaman gunner, scarcely
of age, was the product of a modern
system of training. But both were
American gunners, and that term
means something these days.
Eighty-six years ago Great Britain,
then as now one of the great powers of
the earth, discovered that Americans
could win naval battles. But the Eng
lish historians gravely decided that it
was, to use Hume's own words, "be-
cause of secret art in gunneryl" How
our gallant fOrefathers who manned
the Constitution and the United States
would have laughed at thatl They
knew, as we know to-day, that our skill
in gunnery comes fromja system which
has as its keynote one pregnant word
Practical Practical
When the torpedo boat Morris drop
ped in at the Brooklyn Navy Yard on
among the different members of the
crew who went ashore for short run
was young man, smooth-faced and
blue-eyed, and with placid, calm ex-
preston, such as might be worn by a
youth studying theology. He was clad
in the picturesque uniform of the ma
val sailors, and there was nothing in
his attire or bearing to indicate that he
had among his effects on board a medal
won for expert craftsmanship with
great guns. He was seaman gunner.
had graduated from the gunnery school
at Washington, and could place 49,
inch shell in the vitals of an enemy's
warship with the accuracy of rough
rider using revolver.
That young man had entered the SER
vice as an apprentice when he was
scarcely sixteen. He early attracted
the notice of his superior officers, who
are always on the lookout for promis-
ing material, and was sent, after learn
ing the duties of a sailor, to the Gov
eminent Gunnery School. There he
spent number of months under thee.
retical and practical tuition in the
science of gunmanship. When he
graduated at the end of the course he
was detailed to the Newport Torpedo
School, and there absorbed more scien-
tific training. A few weeks spent in a
private arms mandatory, and he has
returned to the service and to his blue
Jackets uniform as a seaman gunner.
Although almost fitted for a commits
sion, he is permitted to occupy posi-
ton paying him the meager salary of
S35 month and rations.
There are many young men such as
he in our naval service. They are to
be found on every ship, and there are
hundreds and hundreds of naval APP