The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1904-11-30

concerned over the noise 81 the ship
runs Ilaa the danger Of being hit by
missiles from the guns of the enemy.
This they frankly acknowledge, tho
officers as well - the blue jackets.
;ut th re IS no getting away from the
noise Of their own guns.
They cant forget that or ward it
off. IN fact, they are SO absorbed IN
,:aitiug for the barbarous dctonations
Of their own guns and in trying TO
neutraliGc the effect Of the conclusion
that they hardly think OF the projcc-
tiles from the guns of the ether fcl-
.ow.
The ouiy American man Of war
man killed in The engagement off San.
tiago was yocmsn. lie had deck
station 4 broadsidc of his ships
':i-ineh guns was just about to be let
loose ct one of the Spanish ships.
The yoeman. standing at his station,
vweitiHg for the command to fire and
had JUS. raised himself on tiptoes and
opened his mouth 80 that the blast
would jar,hiE less when it came.
tie .was on his tiptocs when shell
FROM Spanish ship came along and
took his head clean off from his
shoulders. That was the last thing
She man had been thinking Of.
Che sight that he presented after
oeing struck created neither fear nor
Consideration among his shipmates.
They, too, were all on their tiptocs,
: ~ai.iog the word for that G.inch
t. side. Not man came down Oh
"a n.es after the yoeman was struck.
lac troadsidc was cut loose and
then they rushed for the yoeman and
made proper disposition of the body.
That it is tho no SO Of their own
gums that they abhor, and that only,
rs shown by the fact that man o wars
men, fore and aft, Of the American
navy do not dread battle any more
than they dread target practice with
the big guns: They arc proud Of their
proficiency with the gigantic shooting
irons and keen is the ship and fleet
compc tition at the business of shoot
ing at the anchored mark.
But the kcenest among them hates
-and abominates the noise. The men
simply cant help making wry faces
over the announcement of ship or feet
target practice with the main bat
teries.
"That racket again, eh?" is their
comment upon the announcement, and'
from the moment of the passing Of the
word they begin to brace themselves
against the day or days of misery.
This dread of the roaring of the
great guns is no indication Of timidity
..sn the part Of the men who feel it the
strongest. It is purely physical
.dresd, o shrinkage of the body and
.uot Of the mind.
1t is felt outside the navy. Few
eellows are more familiar with the
crack of the pistol in actual conflict at
silose quarters than tie man called
bat Masterson, of Colorado. Master
<sau attended theater in New York
not lcng ago, and during one of the
scenes there was pistol shot rs part
Of ohe performance behind the scenes.
!'Aaste7sou, the man with the many
uotched gun, almost jumped out Of
his seat at the report. A companion
asked him about it.
"'l dsn't know why do that" rs.
'0iied Masterson, but the crack Of
gun alawys makes me jump. 1t just
startles me, that's all. / don't like
zhe sound of it either. 1 never at
send show in which pistol shot is
= part Of the game if I know about it
iu advance. 1t annoys and worries
me-
The noise Of the guns of ship of
war is thing that few men in the
service ever become really used to.
*chece are officers and men in the
American navy who have been up and
down the world on men O war for
generation, and yet abhor the yawp of
the great guns as much today as they
hated it on the FIRST day they had to
stand for it.
Brcnzed old Aa,feet who know the
Taugier and Tahiti as we'll as they
know New York, and who are as easy
-,ap>Ai.ir miuda ~hen combing shcllac
alcohol out Of their mustaches with
marlinspik as when quafisg ale at a
yen bottle in Sagasaki. grow grouchy
aud 6ne. .ladyish under the strain of
great gun practice and incontinently
damn the biz harkers from call