Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-05-04

eWELVE fighting machines o
Uncle Sans first line of battle
gray and grim as so many
fortresses. lie at anchor In
Tangier sound. Black plumes
of smoke roll from their tunnels From
the wings OF the bridges the semaphores
spell out messages in. the navy's ne"
Morse code.
Long strings OF signal flags, gaudy in
yellow red and blue. streak up to the Sig
nal yards From the flagship Wyoming
one set futters up the hoist. and on each
Of the other ships a single flag. the y es
Of the navy, shows in answer to the flag
ships summons.
The hum of electric boatcranes, swing
ing the steamers outboard. comes over
the water and the bird-lke pipes of the
hoatswains' whistles send the crews into
them on the jump before they clear the
sides Ten minutes from the time of the
faeship's signal eleven steamers. as
the steam launches are called. are head
ing for the 81, o60-ton Florida The first
prelude of the navy's ten days of battle
practice has begun.
Five miles TO the leeward of the Flor
ida lies the wreck of the old battleshp
Texas, half submerged, her keel resting
on bottom. For two years the navy has
used her as a big-gun target and ham,
mered her into scrap-iron heap with the
pounding Of steel projectiles.
Two years ago she swung at her chains
in this shallow spot of Tangier sound.
dismantled and waiting her finish at the
guns OF the American navy. Known as
the hoodoo OF the navy by reason of
chain of accidents. she was selected for
the sacrifice, but they granted her one
concession and rechristened her the San
Marcos Lieut.. Walter Vernon was in
charge of the turret that fired the shot
from the New Hampshire that sunk her
on the shoal beneath her keel. BY a
curious turn of fate he had served on
her but a short time before.
Tangier sound. a deep indentation in
Chesapeake bay just above the mouth of
the Potomac, was known chiefly as one
of the marine graveyards of the Atlantic
seaboard before the navy adopted il as
drill ground From the Florida YOU
could look in almost any direction over
a waste of waters and pick up the naked
spars of a schooner or full-rigged shin
that had driven ashore in a gale Put
You soon had your glasses leveIed, along
with every other pair in the fleet on the
wreck OF the old Texas Two masts a
stack and low strip of hull showed
above water and between the niasts a
strip of canvas had been stretched to
make the target clearer.
Steamer" after steamer comes along
side the starboard gangway of the
Florida with it's quota of naval officers
aYtf
Iery officers from Fortress Monroe TO
watch the navy at work with the bip
guns; and newspaper men and official
photographers. Each ship has a state
drop into one plaCarded with the nana
Of a dreadnought you find them bnsv
mapping out their mornings work
Strange words like ''deflecfion. IN,
sight boring" ''parallax'' and fire Co..
troll greet your untutored ears and Won
fee to the boat deck and train vour
glasses again on the poor old Texas
A grayhulled ship with the lines of a
anon. is anchored a quarter mile IN IT,
northward of her. Steamers are
lowering about her. unloading a ma rtv Of
observers 10 watch the fall of the E,lor
idas shells and make a record Of Tho
spotting practice Tie quick tattoo Of
gongs clangs noisily. ;nsistently 10 gen
erai quarters The members of the
crew drive past You at the double-ouick
20 their stations: bluejackets inside tho
gray turrets. bandsmen to the sick bav
station. the pay clerk to the fire control
station. marines and bluejacAets to the
ammunition Passages.
From the wardroom the spoilers and
Lmpires come storming up the ladders.
swarming up to the main and foretons
glasses strapped over their shoulders and
"hin-straps holding on their visored CAPS
some are N OunSdreeS- Every man who
passes has patches OF feecy cotton peep-
ing out Of his ears and as you dig in
YOUR coat pocket for some a blueiacket
haIts long enough to caution, his finger
touching his fat cap:
Better pack II IN lightly, sir, and don't
mold your hands over your ears. 1t will
make u worse
A thunderous blast suddenly rocks the
-2so tone or steel beneath your feet and
when you have recovered your shattered
eQuanimity and bring Your glasses 10
Dear on the Texas a column OF white
shoots up in front or her You are be-
ginning 10 classify your emotions to get
grip on your harassed nerves and to
smile with the nonchalance of a sailor
man, when the Florida cuts loose with a
salvo OF five guns. The ship slides to
port with crab-like shuttle. The fighting
tops whip" sharply over like bent fish
poles, and you are sure that an earth
quake has erupted just beneath the Flor
da's keel
You would not he surprised to see a
new island popping up just off to star
board. with full-hedged volcano al
work on IL. You have caught fleeing i'm
pressjons OF vivid white sheets of flame
you grasp the nearest stanchion anc
strain your bewildered eyes toward the
lucklesS target. Later, you discover thai
the instantaneous shutter of your cam
era left on boat locker. has worked
automatically with the shock and the
film has taken the image of a twelve
cared cutter on the boat deck-and. alas
that your lens has been broken by thu
conclusion.
Two tons of steel are rushing at a We
locity of 1000 odd feet per second to th'
skeleton OF the old Texas Their suddeI
and simultaneous departure on this rud
errand creates an immense vacuum IRON
the depths of the gun and berth deck
nd he inn hana