The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1904-08-16

guns than over the DANGER OK Deius S IL
BY missiles from the guns of the enc
my. remarked an officer Of the navy
no has smelt his share OF powder IN
actual naval warfare They can in a
measure get away from the thought
of being hit, because they are too busy
at their stations to consider that
chance But there is no getting away
from the noise Of your own guns. That
can't be forgotten or wardeds Off. The
men are in fact, so absorbed In waiting
for the barbarous detonations from
their own huge barkers and in trying
to neutralize the effect of the concus-
sion that they hardly think of the
projectiIes from the guns of the enc
my. q
THAT it is the noise of their own
guns that they abhor, and that only, IS
shown by the fact that men-of-warss
men 90 rot dread a battle more 5thah
they dread target practice with the big
Guns. They are proud of their prof
cheney with the gigantic shooting irons,
and keen is the ship and heet conpetl-
tion at the business of shooting at the
anchored mark.
But the keenest among them hates
and abomiDates the noise The men
simply cant help making WY faces
over the announcement OF snip or Heet
target practice with the main batteries:
This dread of the roaring of the great
guns is no indication of tilnidity on
the part Of the men who feel 1t Inc
strongest. It is purely physical etreao,
a shrinking Of the body and not OF the
mind.
Few men in the service ever become
really used to the roar of the great
guns. There are officers and men in
,o,,i..a rat who have been I'D
and down the world on men-of-war tor
n generation and who abhor the yawp
of the big guns as much today as they
hated it on the first day they had TO
stand for it.
..Bronzed old sailor men of the nay,
who know Tangier and Tahiti as We'll
as they know New York and Who are
as easy III their minds when con.binS
shellac alcohol out of their 1nustacaes
with uarlnspikes' as when qua1hnS aie
at half q yen d bottle III NaEasalli. @:oW
crouchy and fine ladyish under the
strain of great gun practice and neon
tinently curse the big bankers from all
hands to pipe down of target day
Many blUejackets. in fact, pufposeiy
break their liberty when they get the
chance in order to avoid being on
board of their ships during great gun
practice.
Half civilized men, fellows not hlSu-
lv orra nized endure the noise OF the
enormous guns much less gameiy tAah.
men of a superior order. IAe Ct2lna-5
men. for example, GO all to pieces i-sie.er
tie continuous uproar. Americans VINO
helped to fight the Chinanen's naval
battle CT the Iaiu said the cctona ions
Of their own guns drove slews OF the
Chinese Sailors stark mad ana made
most of them. officers as We'll as IAen'
hysterical and OF no account Tor hight
ing purposes They simply coultn
stand the sound and the cpncuss.on.
The sailors groveled ut the feet of the
white g.-nners and begged them to
cease firing Some Of them ju-oIel
overheard and persisted by drowning
TO get away from the uproar. let
C!.ir.anlan hasn't half as 5mucn tear
CT death as the normal white rlan.
Ky lite men. enduring the thing for
tnp first time. have to keep mighty
strc::- clutch 1;ron themselves to avoid
doing something foolish. Men new TO
tie 1i1a,sit. u:sroar have Il peculiar ana
q NEST t1;.l,ss r:1in::Lle desire TO scream
MI! n: tiGit might willie TIE G::s sTGns-
are ;;-c.G:p--
Tile Oil timers who have conquered
TITS Impulse look tlt:1u'!s ana i!e31sess-
JBt' itt-r. 49," .A~s-
!.a&.t: sc IA say lis:ie III nothing. tsi.t
lzay si.;s..,. ,lcir lead; IN tl,3t3ei' a5o2t
- ec:7:t,..;tt:;::- w;,y ;.f1e:' e;',!l
.l,sl:s rerG"t. These h:':Iii ST.. MS 'sss-
33.s~s !, LOGS; ,:1;::: tL!ag$. BIZ l4,l:S y;
a.c.e <er3:!>iy Il:;lIi that ei*s .Es:1 s:E-'
e~s5 N.si! = .ste-N,.'3iz G;stt they s'-.S,
SOMEWHERE csc.
.'rjj2se:e- X Simply no w;,y g. @-sl1!>s:n-
Fi- ...s;t 800 il tt'ts..sto 10 %..i t'.~'-;se
~, S,LLl.e - .s:lG 81 ifG ~ SUES.
';.1 i:ls3J: tie st,:-;l! !:T L.:,52.t 0ssl
:1sa ,-:..at experiences Il for lsisl.i:.:t
..--I-A i:lHE.e c;:acIsss,t&.!. ita. a,nGc TIC
.,-,s.t1, OF w-.:itiIls for egcil report. tciis5
severely racn many of tael strongest
men. It catches most fellows ABOUT
The spine ana jars them AL over ana
, ailseS 1he..: to stay Jared Tor days
attervTarG. Such attacks sometimes
pass away with ii series OF atrocious
headaches.
1T is the nervous system that is at
tackled. and the hardest and most rug
ced sailor men cave In under these at
tacks Of conclusion. 1t is to be reInem-
bered, too, that the human being is
about the only animal capable OF sur
viving the conclusion following the fir
ing Of big guns. Inferior animals near
lv ALWAYS die from the effects of the