Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1905-01-06
In Manila Bay.

MANILA, P. l., November %, 1904.
Dear Folks, One and All:
| do not owe you letter yet, as an
other mail has arrived from home and
still l haven't heard from you. 1t has
been month now since / had q letter
from you. However. in the belief that
you will want letter for Christmas,
land as l can send nothing else), l will
try to write few lines to let you know
that am still alive and quite we'll.
We are out in Manila Bay having
target practice with the great guns
that is, the fleet is having target prac-
tice. We don't commence until next
week, then hell will be to pay for
about 10 days, The ships fire all day
and then at night up until 12 o'clock
by searchlights, so you can see it is
continual round of pleasure. Target
practice is something awful. You can't
imagine how those big guns shake
things and the fellows aboard up. A
person has to have very strong ear to
stand it at all. Just think of between
$50 and 400 pounds Of smokeless pow
der being fred at one shot in q l3-inch
gun behind shell weighing 1900
pounds; you can then imagine what it
does; and 300 pounds Of smokeless
powder is equal to 600 pounds OF that
black powder like we use on Yaquina
bay too shoot ducks with. When Il
l3-inch gun is fired, no matter what
part of the ship you are in, there is
binding flash of ire and then you feel
just like you had been through great
earthquake; that is about as near as |
can describe it. A 6-inch gun is just
about as bad, only they shoot % pounss
of smokeless instead of 300, the pro-
jectile weighing from 100 to ITO pounds.
You know all about it when they fire
one of them, and if you watch close
you can see the shell 60 both from
l3-inch and 6-inch gun; the shell
looks like baseball after leaving the
gun; it seems to go straight up in the
air with a big curve, and when you
think it is going mile over the target,
it will drop true to the mark every
time. 1t is great thing to see one OF
those guns in action-that is. one that
never saw one before. | know ! was
crazy to see them but l got over it
very quick after leaving Honolulu
coming to this station in May, 1903. |
would have preferred to be ashore
about that time.
The Oregon finished shooting yester-
day and today the Baltimore is firing.
The Cincinnati finished about a week
ago; she is TO go to Che Foo to relieve
the Raleigh, so the latter can come
down and shoot. The Baltimore ar
rived on this station about 10 days ago;
she is to relieve the New Orleans, as
the New Orleans is to 60 home to San
Francisco December II; SO those poor
fellows will spend Christmas between
here and Honolulu-a nice place, it,
with dinner of "salt horse' and hard
tack. am to be here for that day at
least. The Baltimore is cruiser Of
1000 tons; she is sister ship to the
Philadelphia, only she has been cut
down little; she is as pretty a ship as
| ever saw and she has fine battery
l2 6inch guns in the main battery.
| have seen French cruisers out here
of 10000 tons that only carried 8 to 10
6-inch guns, and they were supposed to
have big batteries. | don't know how
many guns the Baltimore has in her
secondary battery-l5 to 20 though, |
guess, of 3-inch and Founders.
Give all the people my regards. Tell
them a merry Christmas and happy
New Year for me, and give me all the
news. Send the papers. Is there to be
dance Christmas?
now close. Hoping to hear from
you soon, remain as eyer, your son
SHED.
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