The Savannah morning news., 1904-03-20
AT TARGET PRACTICE
WITH THE JAPS
An Americans Thrilling Story of HIS Two Houfs
Aboard the Battleship Yashima.
BY ALBERT SONNlCHSEN.

The Japanese naval men have never
been in the habit of inviting foreigners
to be present at target practice aboard
their warships, but it was the writer's
luck to witness by accident realistic
exhibition of Japanese skill at gun
merry.
This was shortly after the Spanish
American War. The American troop
transport of which l was then a petty
officer was lying in the naval dry
dock at Nagasaki. This kept us there
long time, and our captain had be-
come intimately acquainted with vari-
GUS Annapolis trained officers on the
Japanese battleship Yashima, also in
port.
One morning 1 was sent aboard the
Yashima with a message to one of her
officers from our captain. When l had
delivered it, the Japanese officer said:
ITS impossible for me to send my
answer just now. We are going OUT
side the harbor for a couple of hours
target practice. If you have the time
to spare, you may stay aboard till we
come in again."
The invitation was accepted The
officer left me alone in a chart room
on an upper deck, while he hurried off
to his duties.
From the big yellow tunnels of the
battleship huge banks of smoke tum-
bled up, rolling over the green hills
that surround the harbor. The cap
tain and his staff stood on the main
bridge. There was a simplicity In their
neat blue and white uniforms that
made it difficult to distinguish their
ranks, nor was there that pompous-
ness of manner in them peculiar to
many Europeans naval officers. One
little chap came into the chart room
for something and bowed very polite
ly. 1 took him to be a ward room
steward until afterwards he turned
out to be the navigating officer.
Moved Lake AutomatOns.
A bell changed family somewhere
down in the bowels of the ship. They
had been weighing anchor, but SO
noiselessly that 1 had failed to be
aware of it. Shrill whistles came from
various parts of the ship, and groups
of men moved about the decks with
automatic regularity. Sentries with
muskets sprang up in unexpected
spots as though they were showed UP
| out of the dock. There was no noise,
no hurry, no excitement. But from
the small oblique eyes of every man
came a gleam of intense professional
| interest. There was none of the blase
Indifference of the soldier at drill.
1t was rather cold day, and the
men wore watch caps and Jackets
Down in the gun turrets they removed
the jackets. About each gun a gun
crew formed, each man in his particu-
| lar place. Small matches were opened
and ammunition hoists appeared as
| though by no human aid.
A slight culver told that the big
ship was moving. The green-terraced
hills on both sides gliding back and
sank; soon the open sea spread out be-
fore. 1t was a CLASSY calm day, an
| ideal day for gun practice.
Another shrill chrip from a bos'n's
whistle, and the target went over
| canvas wings. Land was some dis
tance astern now. Suddenly the land
speckled horizon began to swing-the
| Yashima's wake was curving. The
| target was creeping up abeam. Until
now there had been no noise except
the steady throb of machinery, the
swish of water over the side and the
sharp, regular whirr of ammunition
| hoists.
One of the ford six-inch guns was
| to be tried first. Above, on the fore
and aft bridge, stood a lieutenant with
a pad and pencil to record the hits.
Besides him stood an ensign with a
watch to time them. 1t was to be a
test of quickness as well as of marks
manship. Below a petty officer stood
behind the gun, a wire in each hand