The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1917-04-10

be sprung by the commander on
striking tie enemy's boat Exactly
how this lock worked, whether auto
matically on striking solid BODY
or whether the trigger was sprung by
the commander by means OF string
| am not so certain. But | GO kno"
it was the first idea OF the builder
10 dive under the enemy's boat, puli-
ing the torpedo by a long string be-
hind, the torpedo to explode when the
submarine was safe on the other side
This would have been all right IN stl!l
water, but by experimenting With the
torpedo they found out when the
water was rough or the wind high,
there was danger Of its floating too
fast. and striking the submarine. 50
this idea was given up and instead
they procured a % foot pine pole and
fitted it to a socket in the boat front.
This was guyed and braced up to rul
about six feet beneath the surface.
For fresh air the crew had to de-
pend upon the two matches, tront
and rear. They experimental with
the air problem until they discover
ed 25 minutes was the limit which
they could remain under water with
out admitting fresh air! So in their
operations or experimenting they
we're forced to come to the surface
and open the matches every i or ~
minutes.
After the first boat was completed
in the workshop of Thomas Parks
in the city of Mobile, it was ordered
bv Gen. Beaureguard to be loaded
on board the cars and shipped to
Charleston harbor, to be operated
against the ships, then On blockade
duty, at that city. Lieut.. John Payne
enlisted eight men to take it out and
test it.
1t seems that throughout the whole
life of the ill starred Hunley the
many accidents that befell it, the
many men drowned in trying to op-
crate it, there was never any
trouble in procuring a new crew. AT
ter the Hunley was launched and all
men in their places, waiting the final
summons to heave away, sudden
heavy wash of the sea upset and sank
the boat, drowning the entire crew,
with the exception of Lieut.. Payne,
who was waiting on the dock to see
that all things were in order. He
enlisted another crew, raised the boat,
and set about to complete the danger
Gus enterprise. But fate was again
against him. When he had raised
the boat and was ready to strike one
of the enemy, the sudden wash from
the federal boat caused Payne's sub
marine to turn turtle and go to the
bottom and drowned six of the crew.
Lieut.. Payne and two others making
miraculous escape. The Confed-
crate authorities now washed their
hands of the i'll fated Hunley as II
began to look like some i'll fated
genius followed in it's wake.
1t was now turned over to such
volunteers as we're to jepordize their
lives in this hazardous enterprise
which began to look like a death
trap. Capt Hunley now came for
ward with a volunteer crew from
Mobile and again raised the boat and
set about training his men in the
arts of diving and propelling.
While thus engaged in the presence
of a large concourse of people on the
wharf, by some unknown cause that
was never explained, the boat upset.
and sank to the bottom having caus-
ed the death of % men.
Lieut. George Dixon, another me-
chanical engineer of the Twenty-frst
Alabama artillery with W. A. Alex
ander of the same command (believ-
ed to be the sole survivor Of the many
disasters), again raised the boat and
was soon ready for another attempt
against the enemy's fleet.
Lieut. Payne enlisted crew from
the Indian Prince, a receiving ship
of the Confederacy, then lying in the
Charleston harbor.
The submarine was moored to
Sullivan's island and it was decided
to begin operations the first bright
night. The enemy's gunboat Housa-
tonic lay in plain view near the low