Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-09-24
JACK|ES RETURN HOME
District Naval BattaIion's
Cruise at an End.
OUTING WAS A BIG SUCCESS
Accident to Steering Gear During
Progress Of Storm.
ENGAGED IN TARGET PRACTICE
Praise Bestowed by officer Of Regular
Establishment-Landing Parties
and Battalion Drill.
ENGAGED IN TARGET PRACTICE

The U. s. 8. Puritan. with 275 blue
Jackets of the Naval battalion Of the Ma
tional Guard OF ths District of Co
lumbia aboard. dropped anchor at IL
o'clock yesterday morning at. the foot
Of It'll street southwest, after one of
the most successful cruises in the his
tory Of the organization. The out
ing covered period of nine days, and the
only complaint was that It did not cover a
longer period. The battalion was under
the guidance Of Commander s. w. Stratton.
who was thoroughly pleased at the outcome
Of the cruise and the excellent showing
made by the men,. --
The Puritan departed for the cruise Sat
urday, September Is. about 1890 o'clock
a. m. The first day out was devoted to
familiarizing the men in their respective
positions aboard ship. Lieutenant Com
mander William il. McGrann. United States
navy acted in the capacity of executive
officer and instructor. He was on deck the
greater portion of the time. and the manner
in which the members of the battalion
carried out every order to the letter issued
| by him most gratifying.
AS each man reported aboard ship the
| first day of the. cruise he was assigned to
his station by Lieutenant Commander Nc
Cram, and within twenty-four hours the
work of shaking down" ship was we'll I'M
der way.
In a Terrific Storm.
The Puritan Sunday night ran into a
terrific storm after passing from the mouth
OF the Potomac river into Chesapeake bay.
During the height of the storm the chain
steering gear broke, rendering the craft
practically helpless, for. the time being
Lieutenant Commander McGrann resorted
to the starboard and port engines, which
worked alternately. finally reaching Old
Ilai, ort aarlu I'M nr0-
polling the big fighting ship in the manner
| Indicated. The accident happened while off
Wiloughby banks, and had it not been for
| the fact that a stiff northeast gale was
blowing at the time the Puritan would
have sought shelter in Lynn Haven bay.
Repairs were made at Old Point Comfort
Monday. and. the weather still being foggy
and haZy, the battalion laid over there
| for the night.
| The Puritan Tuesday morning proceeded
| to Lambert point, where the jackies estab-
| lished record for coaing ship More than
| 200 tons were put aboard, and 1t was mid
night when the last of the black dia-
monds" We're in the bunkers. AS one of the
| lads remarked at the time: Il never saw so
| much coal In my life. l didn't know there
| was that much coal in the whole world"
The fuel was taken from lighter, and so
fast did the men work that several times
| the bunkers became choked.
| The threatening weather continued all OF
| Wednesday, the ship anchOring just off the
| capes that night. The following day target
practice was indulged in off the Kappa
| hanock river. That the battalion includes
| some good marksmen was evidenced by the
| manner in which target was ridded The
| big siXteen-foot target was held by buoy
about 200 yards from the ship. Two other
| buoys were laid.off, with a triangular effect
| The Puritan then steamed between two of
| the pegs, backward and forward. giving
both the port and starboard guns a chance
| to play on the target. AS the ship drew to
the center Of the triangle. the distance de-
| creased, and when going in the opposite
direction the distance increased thus re-
quirig a continual change in the sights
The practice was considered excellent and
| high scores We're a feature. The idea was
| entirely new to tire members. On previous
| cruises the target was held by buoy, while
the ship crciedr around 1t, increasing and
decreasing the size of the circle.