The Florida star., 1905-03-17

Imagine playing pingpong with al
eleven inch shell for n ball. huge can
non for bats. mountains for a net! The
story Of this. unquestiOnably the big
gest game % plngpoug ever played.
wss recently told 90 the New York
world by Captain ii. A. SAKE OF the
Russian navy Just before he sailed for
France on his way home on parole.
Captain SAKE was one OF the Russian
thur throughout the siege and who Eel!
Into the hands Of the Japanese when
the fortress surrendered. He was In
command Of the naval transport Ger
max, which was sunk Just before the
capitulation- The game Of artillery
pingpong he described as follows:
We had used up all the ammunition
for our big guns We sailors were on
shore lighting side by side with the
lsndsmen on the fortifications. our
ships having been sunk OF destroyed
one after another. The Japsnese kept
up bombariment that was inCessAnt
Night and day their shells rained down
upon Us. Hut not all % them burst,
and this fact gave Us ammunition
when we had none Of our own The
eleven inch shells burst less frequently
than the smaller ones, the reason for
this being that they are loaded with an
extremely powerful explosive and the
men who 1T the Illuminating caps to
them are afraid TO haRdle them except
very deliCately. The consequence II
that 60 many OF them the caps are not
properly adjusted. and the explosion Of
the illuminate fails To explode the shell
Tia smaller shells loaded with black
powder, are handled with less deliCAcy
because they are not 80 dangerous. AMI
their caps rarely fail TO explode them.
MANY shells were tossed hack and
forth more than oncs. I know OF one
that was so used al least Tor times
Tie Japanese tir~d it at Us. We fred
it back at them. They returned IT, and
NE tossed 10 back. aud 80 on The last
time I saw 10 wrote this message on
q pIece OF paper. ~ this does not ex-
pIosie this time you should put Il Ia
museum aud directed the man ia
charge of the battery to place Il inside
where the Japanese would nud 10 lie
did 80 ami rrsd 10 At the enemy l
don't know whether 10 cXpi,sirSl or not,
buG We ney 81 saw ,t again
I'VE could tell tile number Of times a
shell was trct through the thread Of
thP sCreW IN tie cap hnie- The Iapans~s
screWs turn from right io left the Rus
sian from left IL right Ani every . -ns
q Dew fuse was screwed ia 10 left -
mark in the brass lining ours from
left 20 right those ~ the JapAUCSr
from right u Hon - ihrr" Uas Id dlf-
nculty In know .Rg the GuIa'--T II times
% had been rE,,I ry each S.ic
'werr there many W'I.s"a IN the
cityr
More than 4 hundred We kept
them busy Ia the hospitals. a1i there
was plenty of work for them - DO
Most Of them Nrrv lie wives AMI fam
tlies % Officers % the garrison or T-~i-
dents oe the town. and feS were pro
fesssonal nurses But Jh"y behave Fl
nohly and minlst~r,~I T. IT, sicN ana
wounded day a5.t q s,st a. = they hai
been specially trz.RsI for EursinA
but the woTk IL the hospitals Sss
q CHASTITY affair IN the last fr~ u"nths
IL yoa can imagine p-TT0rDIlg serious
surgical operations without nnStsFp
sscx. without anAssth~tfcs AMI = ith'ut
handAges. y0u can f0Tra So-ls idea or
what cur surgeO0s had - H. IL y"G
can imagine ,reatis4s huE,3rSNls - aye.
tAeusanas-of msn sick With s-urvy
ana havtnx no n@ttcine for shetn- you
can fora an IDEA - what Sur PhySl
cana 6sA