[IMPORTANT "TRIFLES" ON WAR-SHIPS.]
BY FRANKLIN MATTHEWS.
I.
Suppose that a state of war exists between the United States and some other country well supplied with modern war-ships. Suppose, also, that one of our best battle-ships—like the Kentucky, soon to be built—is cruising off New York Harbor. A monster battle-ship of the enemy appears, and the ships are to fight until one is sunk or conquered. The alarm for general quarters has sounded. Every gun is loaded; the decks are cleared; ammunition is ready for instant use. The captain has taken his place in the conning-tower. The enemy approaches. The signal runs through the ship, "Stand by to fire!"
When the enemy gets within 3000 yards, the Kentucky's 13-inch forward guns will each hurl a monster bullet, weighing more than a thousand pounds, at the other vessel. Not a shot must be fired until the enemy is exactly 3000 yards away. Both ships are moving swiftly. In less than one second the enemy will be exactly 3000 yards off. An awful roar follows. A tongue of fire, followed by a rolling, bounding ball of smoke, darts from a great cannon. Nearly a quarter of a mile away the eye can see the half-ton projectile darting straight toward the other ship. It hits the very place it was intended to hit. Half a dozen such shots, or perhaps fewer, may send the other vessel to the bottom. The battle rages. Shot after shot is fired, and finally one vessel hoists the white flag, or careens, and the order is given for every man to save himself as she plunges to the bottom.
THE RANGE-FINDER.
Marvellous as the shooting has been, still more marvellous is the way it has been done. The gunners have fired without seeing, or even looking to see, the other ship. They have fired by looking rather at little dials close by each gun. They have aimed each gun without trying to see the enemy. Still, each shot goes straight to the mark, and the havoc is terrific. How is it all done? Long before the firing began you might have observed a sailor-man, half-way up each mast of the battle-ship, looking at the enemy through a telescope. Attached to each telescope are a telephone-receiver and mouth-piece. The receiver is fitted to the sailor-man's head, and the mouth-piece comes close to his lips as he looks through the telescope. One of the sailor-men says to the other, through the telephone:
"I am looking at the forward smoke-pipe. Keep your eye on that until I tell you to change."
