The Winslow mail., 1899-04-29
WARSHIPS' BOTTOMS.
Are Carefully Examined and Cleaned
at Frequent Intervals.
Ihe Hazardous and Trying Work in
Which the Officers of the Great
- Vessels Arc Constantly
Engaged.

There is one phase of the ship life of
The American naval officer that is
scarcely known tosthe lay1nen and that
can hardly be understood by him as he
looks upon the modern shipAin all her
attractive cleanliness, and meets her
/ neatly. uniformed officers upon the
spotless 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 sec the light of day. These in.
Ecfude the cellular compartments be-
tween the inner and outer skins of the
ship known technically as the double
bottoms, and other places that separate
the magazines and various built-up
structures within the ship from the
outer skin. Tf0E
These narrow compartments are es-
! pecially- susceptible to .dampness and
rust. and in order that those who have
the care of them may do their duty we'll
and so prevent the decay of the ship,
system of inspection has been de-
yised, and the inspectors must be, un-
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 ,ust 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-
tt to sustain life. If possible. such
compartments. are blown out with pure
air led through hose from a blower
duct and all nanhole 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 dimly or seems upon the
point CT being eXtinguished there is a
deficie1scyof oxygen, and he will imme-
tlately seek the nearest opening lead
ing from the compartment and leave it
at once. Men are stationed at places as
near as possible to him so that they
may hear his voice and render imme-
O. -,
che 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.
1t not infrequently happens that Off
GERS and men become SO wedged be-
tween the bulkheads and beams while
performing this duty as to make it ex-
tfemely difficult to remove them, and
more than one officer Of the navy is
upon the retired list to-day because of
permanent injury to his health COR
tracted while performing this arduous
labor. Because of the care exercised
it is rare that a life is lost in this serv-
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 to
preserve it from deterioration, the cop
pcrsmith of that vessel, an energetic,
faithful man, thought its interior
should be examined and, although
warned repeatedly never to enter such
boiler without an open light, removed
an upper nanhOle plate and crawled
in upon the braces with an electric
light. He told no one that he was 60
ing into the boiler and 70 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
crawled in upon the braces, felta faint
ness creeping over him, and had en-
deavored to regain the open air, but lost
consciousness, just as life lay within
his reach, and SO died of asphyxiation
The air in the boiler had been entire
ly robbed of its oxygen by the iron of
the shell in the formation of rust and
the residuum was unfit to breathe. A
lighted candle was snuffed out imme-
diately upon being thrust into the boil
er, and this condition prevailed until
lower manhole plate was removed,
when the heavy gas ran out as water
might, and the air within soon came
10 be quite pure No more vivid Illus
tration of the dangers to be encoun-
tered in the care of ships afioat and the
precautions necessary to be taken in
this duty could be given than this Incl
dent, which shows that shot and Shell
and bursting steam pipes are not the
only dangers. that confront the officers
and men of Uncle Sans navy.-N. Y.
Sun. Asz84k ~ IL