The daily chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Ind. Ter. [Okla.]) 1898-1902, 1899-03-20

The Hasardons Work 81 Examinins
Them DeveIves Upon ths
ship's onicsrs. aE4

scarcely known TO the laymen and that
can hardly be understood by him as he
looks upon the modern ship In all her
attractive cleanliness. and meets her
neatly uniformed officers upon the
lpotless upper deck. Not only are the
parts Of the ship in sight kept clean
and free from rust and decay, but also
those far-down, contracted spaces that
never see the light Of day. These in
clude the cellular compartments be-
tween the inner and outer skins Of the
ship known technically as the double
bottom" and other places that separate
the, magazines and various built-up
structures within the ship from the
outer skin. fr4N Nts
These narrow compartments are es-
pecially susceptible to dampness and
rust, and in order that those who have
thecare of them may do their duty well
and SO prevent the decay of the ship
q system Of inspection has been de-
vised, and the inspectors must be, nm
der the naval regulations, commits
stoned officers. A permanent board Of
inspection is formed upon each ship,
which must consist of one engineer
and two line officers. The duty Of this
board is periodically to make personal
inspections of all the parts of the ship,
examine everything critically, suggest
remedies for any evils that may be
found to exist, and to report to the
commanding officer, for transmission
to the navy department, the condition
of the vessel in detail.
Numerous precautions must be taken
to avoid the risk of losing life while per-
forming this duty, for it is attended
with no little danger. The atmosphere
of confined spaces entirely or partly
closed for considerable length of time
becomes robbed of its oxygen in the
formation of rust and is soon made un.
fit to sustain life. Ii possible, such
compartments are blown out with pure
air led through hose from blower
duct and all mahhole plates removed
before being entered. A lighted candle
is always carried by the inspecting Off
Ger upon his crawling tour. If the can
die burns dinly or seems upon the
point OF being extinguished there is a.
deficiency of oxygen, and he viii imme-
diately seek the nearest opening lead
ing from the compartment and leave II
at once. Men are stationed at places 40
near as possible to him 20 that they
may hear his voice and render imrne-
diate assistance in. case of need No
one is allowed to enter any confined
space on board ship without an uncov.
cred light. although in addition port
able electric light is carried frequently
to render the inspection more thor.
ough.
It not infrequently happens that off.
GERS and men become SO wedxed be.
tween the bulkheads and beams while
performing this duty as to make 1t ex.
tremely difficult to remove them, and
more than one officer Of the navy il
upon the retired list to-day because Of
permanent injury to his health con
tracted while performing this arduous
labor. Because Of the care exercised
1t is rare that life is lost In this serv
ice, but in one case at least the rash
ness of man proved fatal to him. One
of the main boilers OF the cruiser New.
ark, while flagship of the South Allan
tic station, having been tightly closed
for month, while empty, In order =
preserve 1t from deterioration, the cop
persmith OF that vessel, an energetic
faithful man, thought it's interior
should be examined, and, although
warned repeatedly never TO enter sucf
a boiler without an open light, moved
an upper manhole plate and crawled
In upon the braces with an electric
light. He told no one that he was go.
ing into the boiler and no one was sta.
toned to assist him in case of need
His dead body was found half out and
half in the boiler manhole with the
electric light still burning brightly
within the boiler. He had evidently
scrawled in upon the braces, felt faint
ness creeping over him, and had en-
deavored to regain the open air, but lost
consciousness. just az life lay within .
his reach. and so died of asphyxiation..
The air in the boiler had been entire
lly robbed Of its oxygen by the iron Of
the shell In the formation of rust and
the residuum was unft to breathe. A
lighted candle was snuffed out irnme
diately upon being thrust into the boil
or, and this condition prevailed until
lower manhole plate was removed.
when the heavy gas ran out as water
migkf, and the air within soon came
to be quite pure. No more vivid Illus.
tration of the dangers to be encoun.