Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1915-04-26
CRY OF WILD JOY AS SHOT
FROM FORT HITS WARSH|P
Moment That Is Without Equal in
Gamut OF Sensations Of Nor
NAL War.
THERE is THIRST FOR BLOOD
Magnificent Spectacle Presented by
Heavy Coast Battery Guarding
Dardanelles in Action Against
Encmy's Fleets.

Correspondence If Associated Press
CHANAk. KALESS1. Tuesday. March
23-lt takes courage Of the highest
order to handle guns In fort under
bombardment. Owing to the fact that
the fire OF the allies fleet in nearly all
cases has been at long range. the Turks
who man the forts Of the Dardan.llcs
hercabouts, often have had to let "a
| whitening cannonade go over Them for
hours before firing back. The fact that
| their opponent had things more or less
his own way produced Il strain which
only could be eased with the order to
| open fire.
| a heavy coast battery in action pre-
sents Il magnificent spectacle. The
! ships OF the antagonist have come with.
| in range. observation officers haze
! Kept their eyes close to ranGc-fnders
| and telescopes. Terse commands call
! the men to their stations An almost
frenzied ruah for the gun follows.
! One OF the men on the foor of the
! empincemcnt wheels a large shell To
the foot Of the ammunition hoist II
| is carried into position and a man ON
| the platform seiZes IL and slams IL into
| the chamber. From the lief, a man
| produces "a large can OF fixed ammuni.
tion"-enoueh high explosive TO blow
up evoryhody in the empiacemcnt
shell from the enemy explode
nearby. Nobody seems 10 care The
can OF explosive follows the she'll into
| the rcccsscs OF the gun. The block
slams home. The shell and charge
handlers step aside.
F., CAREFUL IN FINDING
DISTANCE TO TARGET
The distance TO the target--the var
ships repeated. The long barrel cle
| Yates Itself as II IL were scutient
| thinS. describing at the same time u
slight sweep sideways. Then the bar.
rel stops The man on tho platform. as
is moi
MS levers. There is another slight
movement Of the barrel--n!so inner
| ccPtipie 10 inc eye Then az if shot
almost the man Jumps aside.
FIRE" comes the command 4 ran
yanks a lanyard. out OF the long bar
| re! burst sheeting fame, IN a fraction
! OF second cnvclopcd in a cloud Of red
DISH smoke. and out of this smoke rises
inaJesticaily the projectile, 4 proiectiie
! Ike those which sank the French hst
tlcship Bouvet and pierced the steel
sides Of the British battleships Irresist
ib!c and ocean.
Rut more often the shell falls wide OF
the mark. now short. now too far. The
men, meanwhile, again have loaded the
, piece Again the flash, the deafeninc
roar. and again the breathless expect
ancy as TO what will become OF the
shell.
BY this time everybody is oblivious of
the danger from the enemy's shells.
The question uppcrmost is: viii this
shot get them"
II did
! From the deck OF a vessel rises an
ugly mass OF fame and black smoke
Through the battery reverberates noise
from human throats--a shout, a cry Of
Wild, superhuman joy
II is a moment that has no equal in
the eamut of sensations OF the man OF
normal life. Here men expect TO be
killed and wish TO Kill: here men thirst
FOR blood, because others arc doing the
same thing. What matter II the next
moment be the last? The sole desire il
, 10 infict destruction on the enemy.
/ An encmy's shell hit the traverse In
front Of the pieCe--an intense fash. an
air wave hotter than the breath OF a
steel furnace. an avalanche OF foul
vapor. crash that seems TO rock the
earth, and then q bowling, shricking.
waiting. whistiinS chorus OF she'll frag.
inents t!ls the air. In second the
mass which has risen from the earth
Then come the soft thuds of falling
earth. little ciods and big clods. a
wave Of sand falls.
The men on the platform wine the
dirt from their eyes and some the blood
One OF them lies the stone noor---
dead or unconscious. Four strong
hands carry him to casomatc, whore
q surgeon Ia in waiting.
on the platform OF the gun a man Is
manipulating the handles that swing
the pece-up and down and sideways.
II Is intact. The officers on the obser-
walton post leans over TO watch the
maneuvers he puts questionable gun
lis all right.