The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1916-10-28
NJ HoLZA1D A0s"(oR R2RDo11S}

When the vessel was completed, the
designer thought 1t would be fine
performance to have the vessel plunge
under water as she left the ways and
make short trip before coming 10 the
surface. Accordingly, he instructed
two of his most Intelligent slaves how
TO operate the vessel when submerged.
and sent them on their way. About 20
years later, when the Mississippi was
being dredged at New Orleans. this
boat, with the skeletons Of the two
. negroes. was found buried In the mud.
1t was about this time that John =.
Holland came upon the scene. Hol-
| land was born In Liscannor, Ireland, In
1914. He came to the United States
before the Civil war and the battle
between the Monitor and Merrimac set
him to thinking on the subject Of sub
marines. In 1875, after nearly 10
years of study and experiment, he sub
mitted his plans to the United States
navy department. The naval engineers
who examined them pronounced them
to be practical in every way, but gave
| ~ 10 'bNli Opiiiioh thut ihth NVuih NV
be found to risk their lives In the ex-
pertinent.
Soon after this he built the Holland
No. One" on the Passaic river, near
Paterson. N. ]. She was IA feet U
inches long; feet wide, and 2 feet 9
periments with this boat, but engine
trouble caused him to abandon 1t as a
4 petroleum propelled craft, and steam
was substituted. The old shell now
lies at the bottom OF the Passaic river.
Holland continued his series of ex-
periments. He built eight boats be-
fore the construction Of the Holland
; No. o." the first submarine craft to be
!, bought and officially commissioned by
a national government.
She was built at the Crescent yard in
Elizabethport, N. ]. She Is 50 feet III
inches long; diameter 10 feet 3 inches.
and has a submerged displacement of
J IS tons.
She was propelled on the surface by
a gasoline engine Of so horse power,
| and when submerged by so horse pow
I er electric motor. On the surface she
e could make six knots under gasoline en-
/ CINE, and about eight knots under the
! motor. Submerged she could make
: about five and a half knots under the
i, motor. Her armament consisted OF
E one bow torpedo tube, one bow pneu
l matte projection gun, and three short
;, Whitehead torpedoes.
' After she was, launched, she was
lowed to Perth Amboy and 1t was from
4 there she sailed for her first dive, ant
Y proved to the public that she was 9
e reality; terrible weapon of war, ant
a not the mere senseless concoction of q
dreamer.
: The story of the first dive Of the
t "Holand No. o." as told by the inven
:. tor himself is:
A ION March II, 1898, we left the piel
: for our initial dive. 1t was about three
1 o'clock when we starred. The sky was
5 overcast and n few drops Of rain pat
4 tered upon the water. But just be
; fore we got under way strong vino
scattered the clouds and the sun came
: out strong. Also, n rainbow appeared
: This was pointed out by many as 0
:, good omen for the success Of the test
], about to be taken. Regarding our feel
3 ings Mt the time, felt confident, hav
I ing designed the boat. My crew, while
Y they trusted me to see them through
I were more or less shaky. II must also
be borne In mind that they had never
D been under water before. They were
: courageous men, risking their lives tc
: help me prove to the world the value
. of my invention.
2 AT the signal from Mr.. Morris. the
company's engineer, we started oul
e motor, cast Off and glided away from
: our mooring place.
o "We were riding so low In the water
d that the bases Of the masts were wash
:. ed by occasional swells mounting owe
Q the superstructure. This was account
l. ed for by the fact that we had aboart
J. about 400 pounds Of pig iron as extr'
n ballast. AS soon as we arrived on tn
i" course marked out for the dive. fille'