The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-06-12

when such a boat can speed at Is or 20
| knots under water, and pick her way
without coming to the surface every so
often to ascertain her bearings. the
matter might be worthy to occupy the
attention of practical naval men. AS
| that time is yet a long way off, the
| submarine boat is formidable only to
| the man who knows nothing about ma
| rine warfare.
| The only purpose the submarines boat
| scare has served in this country is to
call attention to the many ways in
| which submarine enemy could be dis
| posed of. A scouting f1otilla OF torpedo
! boats, it is pointed out by the experts,
| could give notice of the approach of a
| submarine craft by cruising around
| and sighting it when it comes to the
| surface, as it has to do continually.
| When 1t is known that the submarine
boat is in the vicinity of the ship that
| it intends to strike, any violent explo-
| sion in the neighboring water would
| settle its hash in quick time In ex-
planning the blow that could be struck
| to the submarine boat by an explosion
| of shell or mine beneath the water,
| the experts instance the result to a
| swimmer who was in the water when
a big gun was fired short distance
| away. The conclusion stunned the
| swimmer and he was drowned. The
! mite beneath the waves would cause
! any submarine boat within a radius of
several hundred yards to become use
| less through injury to it's machinery by
| the conclusion which would inevitably
disable the boat, and bring the demon
allied crew to the surface, where they
could easily be accounted for by the
small boats of the threatened squadron
Another means of detecting the APP
proach of q submarine boat is the in
strument now in use in many navies
called the n1icrophone, which gives
warning of the approach of boat
whether above or below the water,
when at a distance of five miles away.
After the warning an explosion of dy.
Mantle would insure the destruction of
the intruder.
The story of the submarine boat used
during our civil war is being recited by
the Britshers as a means of proving
the absurdity of harm being done 20
the British fleet by the Gustave Zede.
The David, it will be remembered, was
the name given to a confederate sub
| marine boat. She was enabled to dis
appear under the surface by the SIM
pie process of admitting sea water into
tanks, and to return to the top by
pumping 1T out again. OF course there
was a manhole that had to be closed
and opened as occasion required. She
f1oated very low upon the water, like
the Gustave Zede, but, unlike her, had
no special reservoirs of oxygen. The
David was propelled by a screw turned
by manual labor With eight men at
the crank, turning hard, she could run
al about six and a half knots. When
she dived the men had to live upon the
air enclosed in the narrow space until
they reopened their breat thing valves.
The first escapade of the David was to
go to the bottom and stay there until
she was grappled for and relfted. On
that occasion three men We're drowned.
A crew of nine was found hardy enough
to try again. The result appeared more
satisfactory, for she rose and sank i'll
Charleston harbor, all seemingly under
sure control. Then to get quite used TO
her, for exercise, the crew went down
again, and that time they remained be-
low The whole nine We're drowned.
But that did not put an end to the Da-
vid. She was once more recovered, and
an officer called Captain Dixon placed
in charge. He called for volunteers and
had no difficulty in finding any number
of gallant fellows ready to doom them
selves with him to DEATH Once more
the David was equipped. A charge of
rs pounds of gunpowder was carried
upon the end of her spar torpedo, the
apparatus with which the earlier sub
marine craft were provided. Going out
side, the David succeeded in hitting the
United States sloop of war Honstania,
and sending that man-of-war to the
bottom. Victor and vanqushed sank
together, and it was not until years af
ter the war that the dead captain AMI
crew of the David We're fished, locked
in each others arms, out of the sea.
In 1867 the Russians took a fancy to
that sort of craft. They had a boat
at Alexandria, above ST. Petersburg,
which they used to have towed about
upon the river, for the craft had no
special means of propulsion. She did
very well until one day. whilst sub
merged and travelling below water, she
ran under some logs in a floating tim
Der pond Fortunately those on watch,
alarmed at the non-appearance within
the specified time of the craft, discov-
cred the dome damned between two
logs. Men We're hastily set to work to
chop and remove the timber, and the
boat came to the surface. 1t was all
done in the barest nick of time, for the
crew were nearly suffocated. No more
was heard about the craft.
The experience of the British with
submarine boats is no more encouras-
ing than that of our civil war A Mr.
Wolseley invited number of officials
and specialists down to one of the Lon
don docks to see new submarine boat,
winch, ike SO many gone before, was
to achieve marvels. There were naval
men and military men and journalists
there by the score. Among others were
the present chief constructor of the
navy, Sir w. H. White, and Lord
Charles BeresfoTd. The craft was war
ranted extra special safe" She had
water tanks, a false keel that could be
slipped off, and cylinders or drums
which, pushed out or drawn in from
her sides, added or took away from her
displacement and buoyancy. Charming
in theory. but hydrodrastics present
strange problems so note the result
The boat. with Sir w. H. White on
board, having made all tight. let water
into her tanks and sank into the pro-
found oleaginous mud of the dock. She
remained invisible beneath for a, pro-
tracted period, greater. in truth, than
those upon the dock knew was safe,
for she had no air or oxygen storage.
Finally, to everybody's intense relief,
sha han thof he