Barre evening telegram. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-19??, 1901-11-29

Il f"SsAAns 9uY 4VQ0 OF u0
suspected there was a fierce storm rag.
Ing over the six feet of water above us.
We were well clothed and comfortable.
The temperature fell some toward the
close Of the test. We would have been
warmer with n or two more electric
heaters.
The air apparently was as good at
the end as when we went on board, al
though none Of the valves Of the air
tasks was opened. There was a small
amount, about 100pounds, that escaped
from one of them through a little leak.
There are twelve Of the TASKS, holding
a total Of sixty-nine gallons at a pres
sure OF 1000 pounds to the square inch.
There was no foul air expelled from
the boat. for the ejector pump was not
used once to remove It. When we came
up, l used compressed air to expel the
water from the ballast tanks. I could
have pumped 1t out with the electric
pumps and saved the air, but the air
expels it quicker. Ordinarily we use
the pumps. t'.tI
"At the beginning Of the test the
crew were divided into watches, each
man standing two hours. The first two
on watch were Morrelli and Saunders.
The next two were Wilson and myself.
The rest turned in. There were four Of
us asleep all the time. Admiral Lowe
was asleep nearly all the time, surely
ten hours out Of the fifteen. There was
nothing to do about the machinery in
the boat.
1.-THE only thing for us to do was to
be comfortable and watch the air and
see that it kept good. We had no ap-
paratus to indicate the condition of the
atmosphere, but depended upon our
own feelings. The boat is more than
sixty-three feet long, and it was the
air in this space not displaced by the
machinery that we breathed.
eve had a good supply Of the late
magazines and funny papers to read.
A game or two of euchre were played,
and we spun yarns. The work done by
the foreign submarine boats, the
French and English ones, was discuss
ed. OF course the Holland was ahead
of them all in Jul estimation.
"This test exceeds anything accom-
| plisled by the other boats. 1t is some
thing never accomplished in the world
before. We need not have come up as
soon as we did, but the fifteen hours
were over. l believe with the twelve
TASKS we could have stayed down
three months.
sour motor will carry us 40 miles,
sc it would be possible to go right from
New Suffolk to New York city and
travel the entire distance under water,
coming to the surface only occasional
ly to take an observation. We could do
this using our electricity economically.
The motor is of seventy horsepower.
| Our 40 horsepower gas engine would
carry us still farther.
1t had been declared against the HOl-
land submarine boats that, while Of
course they could 60 under water, they
could not stay submerged any length of
time with safety to their crews. EX-
perts in the United States navy bitter
ly opposed the adoption of the boats for
fighting purposes, declaring that they
were mere toys. Mr.. Holland, the in
ventor, and his supporters said that the
best answer to the charges against the
boats would be to put n of them UNI
| der the water and let it stay there until
the critics were robbed of their am
munition.
So the present test was arranged. "A
large number of persons congregated at
the Crescent shipyards to witness it.
Some of them thought they were to see
several foolhardy men go to their
| death. The observation of the test was
to be made officially by Lawrence
Spear, superintendent of United States
naval construction. who is on duty 1t
the yards watching the building of sew
eral of the Holland boats.
When bedding AID provisions had
been put on board tue Fulton and all
had been made tidy below for tie adj
venturers. Mr.. Spear gave the signal to
begin the test. At 40 d. III. the in
y%estigators and crew went aboard.
IheY were ItPGf AlIj}'.'i uUHN LUWt.
u. S. A.. retired; Lieutenant Arthur
| Macarthur, Sol of General Macarthur
and commander of the torpedo boat
Winslow, now lying at the Crescent
wharf, who is to command the subma-
rine boat Adder under way; Captain
Gable, chief navigator for the Holland
company; John Wilson, machinist;
John Saunders, engineer, and H. Nor
rell, electrician. :.
The coming tower cover was closed
over them, and in a moment the Full
ton was seen to be settling In the wa
ter. A fresh easterly breeze and FALL
ing raindrops gave promise OF a com
ing storm. Swung high over the set
Ting boat was an arc light, which
| brilliantly illuminated the scene for
| those on the wharf
Soon the Fulton had disappeared
| from view, but out from the dark wa
tiers came the glimmer of her lights,
Seen through her glass norfholes: II