Image provided by: Oregon City Public Library; Oregon City, OR
About Oregon City courier. (Oregon City, Or.) 1896-1898 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 2, 1898)
IMAGINE a fleet of 6,000 war vessels armed with more than 2.000 new style guns, some weighing 100 tons, and ac tually manned by 600,000 men, with as " many reserves, and you have the naval force of the world marshaled in one grand ' body, Sulamls and Manila are the naval antipodes of history. Salnmls was th first great recorded battle It drove tk Persians from Greek solL Prom crude galley ships, propelled by oars, naval pro gress has advanced to a stage which al most reaches the limit of terrible de struction. One battleship like the Oregon could have destroyed the Spanish armada and its English foe. There are guns on the Oregon which consume 1,000 ponndi ot gunpowder In a single discharge, while the most formidable guns in the armada service consumed four and a half poundi to the charge. Although ironclads were used to somt extent In the civil war, In the Chinese Japanese war. In minor engagement be tween the Peruvian ami Chilian fleets and ' the Russo-Turklsh war In 1877, the Spanish-American fight iu the Philippines and at Santiago, marks the first conflict be tween Ironclads in which the great sea monsters of modern warfare received a fair test, la naval 'warfare it te the some as in land warfare. The whole history of the art has been divided into tactical periods ushered In more or less directly by some great tactical discovery. Such discoveries have consisted not only of new arrange ments and maneuvers, but of Improved weapons as well improved defensive ar mor or improved motive power. When the Tyrrhenian Pessaesus added a sharp beak to the prow of the ancient galley he Intro duced a feature of greater tactical Import than the oft -quoted Invention of iron rum- rods of the Dessaure or of the needle-gun by Mr. Dreyse, As the Pyrrlc phalanx , succumbed to the more open array the lighter weapons of the Roman legion and the Swiss hereeeon to the short swords of closed fighting Of Goosaloo's Infantry, so the old line of buttle was pierced and broken by the new tactics, which Paul Hoste, the Jesuit, the clerk of Eldln and Rodney and Nelsou put Into practice. In the battle of Artemcsiuin, about SCO B. C an engagement which was of more political than military Importance, which tne Theban poet celebrated us the "place where the sons of Athens laid the shining groundwork of freedom," the Ureeki adopted a very remarkable order of battle. Their fleet was luferlor to that of the Per- , slang, which was largo enough to literally surround them. The Greeks, appreciat ing the fatality of adopting the old forma tlon, formed their fleet In a circle, with their prows facing the surrounding en emy, aud then darted forth to break the shtpmade wall. As a result the Persians lost thirty vessels. The Greeks were nom Inally defeated, although the net result was In their favor. This was perhaps the first great naval battle of which we have any knowledge, although the battle of Sa- lamls Is usually credited as the first great recorded sea tight. Bumming aa a method of aggressive naval warfare Is almost as old as naval history, and has not yet been abandoned. although the Improvements In shipbuild ing have rendered It less effective. The luventlon of gunpowder found a slow re sponse In the method ot naval warfare, gaUoys forming a considerable port of the navy until the eighteenth century. In the reign of Edward III- when the English fought the French at Sluys, the former stood off on the starboard tack and ma neuvered so as to turn on the pursuing French and, aided by the sun at their backs, lashed their vessels to the French fleet and crippled their antagonists with FAMOUS NAVAL BATTLES OF THE WORLD. ... . lances, swords and every sort of wenpon they could lay their bands on. Same Mode of Attack, In the fight between Pembroke and the Spaniard Hoy Dlaa De Rosas, near Ro chelle, although cannon were used almost for the first time on sea, the same mode of attack prevailed. Pembroke was made prisoner after four of tlie enomy's vessels had been lashed to bis vessels. In fact, all the records of ancient naval warfare seem to Indicate that sea fighting was lit tle more than land fighting. The cantend ing fleets would be lashed together and the men would fight hand to hand until one of the principals surrendered. The Spanish nrmada, with Its 130 vessels, was little more than a series of Homeric duels. The hlps were clumsy and unwieldy, commu nication was effected by means of small boats and most of the destruction was wrought by firesblps. Guns cut little figure, and most of the Spanish vessels, it appears, were destroyed by violent storms. In open sea. liven as late as 1G02, when Admiral Russell of England engaged the French In a series of sea fights known as the battle of La Hague, he positively for bade his men to fire on the trench until his opponent, Tonrvlllo, had taken his dis tance In battle array. One English ad miral in a battle with the French forbade his men firing until the enemy had fired the first shot an incident which furnishes a precedent for President McKlnley's re ported order to Captain Sampson. It was not until forty years ago that the Ironclad cut any figure tn naval warfare. At the great battle of Trafalgar in 1803, In which Nehwn was killed, only a hand ful of powder wag used In a discharge, and the guns were all twelve and six pounders. It Is a remarkable fact that England herself, the leader of the world as a sea fighter, weighed down by a can kerous stretch of pence, has not fired a shot metaphorically speaking, In four de cades. The bombardment of Atexandria In 1882 was not an exception, as England was then simply firing at a target, having no opposition whatever. Neither were the efforts of the Chilians and Peruvians In their late belligerency of any avail In af fording a clew to the great problem of the Ironclads. The attempts made by the vessels of China and Japan four years ago were anxiously awaited by the rest of the world, nnd, although they were on a more extended scale thun any previously made, they still failed to furnish an exhi bition of the real merits or demerits of the Iron monsters. Japan's smaller ships got the better of China's heavier craft with the same ease with which American soldiers prevailed over Pekln's raw land leyiea, Originated In America, It was America, however, that Intro duced the ironclad to the world, and the duelB between the Monitor and the Merri mac were pathfinders In the new and un certain warfare which defies wooden beaks and ships of fire. As a result ot the Spanish war, the whole world has been thrown on the defensive. Almost Immediately after the United States vot ed a naval appropriation of $50,000,000 Russia sot aside the sumo amount for the Construction of men-of-war and England ordered built eighteen battleships to her annual budget of thirty-two cruisers, forty-one torpedo boat destroyers and eleven other war vessels. Next to the English come the French, with a total of 000 ves- sels of war, and the United States hag quickly come to the front as a naval pow er. Her vessels are not as heavy as those of her cousins, but they excel in speed and American seamen have always rank ed with the best in the world. To recount the most tamons naval bat tles la history Is like recounting the most famous poets, military leaders and States men. It Is all a matter of Judgment and no two lists would be alike. The follow ing, however, are among the leaders: Artemlslum Greeks vlrtuolly defeat Per sians with superior fleet, 500 B. C. Balamls Greeks, with 880 small war gal leys, defeat Persians with 800 ships, the former losing forty galleys and the latter twenty galleys. Loss of life on both sides estimated from 5,000 to 50,000; 480 B. C. Wlnchelsea English defeat forty Spanish vessels and eupture tweoty-elx, August, 133a Harfleur English capture or, destroy 500 French vessels, Aug. 15, 1416. Bay of Lepanto Venetian sod Span ish fleets defeat Turkish fleet .miner Pasha All; Christian Hm consisted of 250 ships and more than 50.000 men, and Turks commanded superior force; only thirty Turk ish vessels escaped; 10,000 Turks were taken nnd 25,000 slain; Christians lost 10,000 men; 157L Gibraltar bay Dutch defeat the Spanish, April 25, 1007. Dover straits Dutch destroy the English fleet, Nov. 20, 1652. Portsmouth English defeat the Dutch and destroy eleven men-of-war and thirty merchantmen, Feb. 18, 1653. North Foreland One hundred English and Dutch men-of-war engaged; eleven Dutch taken and six stink; June 2, 1653. Const of Holland English snnk thirty Dntch 'men-of-war, July 81. 1053. . Bnntn Cms Spanish fleot bornod by the English. April 20. 1657. Harwich Dutch lose eighteen ships to the English. June 23. 1665. Thames Dutch lose to the Encllsh twen ty-four men-of-war, four admirals killed and 4,000 seamen, July 25, 1008. Messina fcponisn neet, twenty-nine ves sels, destroyed by Xhe English, July 81. 1718. Gibraltar Enullsh defeated combined fleets of Spain and France, Sept. 13, 1782. St. Vincent English, with fifteen vessels, defeated Spanish with twenty-seven vessels. Battle of the Nile English under Nelson defeat the French and capture and destroy eleven vessels and kill nearly 1,000 men un der Admiral Brueys, Aug. 1, 1708. Trafalgar Nelson sunk nineteen French and Spanish vessels, fighting twenty-seven ships against tnirty-tnree or the combined fleet; Nelson killed; Oct. 21. 1805. Nararlno The Beets of England. France and Uussla destroy thirty Turkish men-of- war, UCt. V!0, 11CT. Yalu River Japanese defeat Chinese: heavy losses on both sides, Chinese losing roar vessels anu uoo men; sept, it, iU4. Noted American Fights. Among the noted American battles are the following: Coast of Scotland Paul Jones captures the Serapls and Scarborough, seventy (runs. Sept. 23, 1770. Off St Kltt's The Constellation, twenty six guns, captures the French L'Insurgeant, furty guns, Feb. 9, 1770. Const of United States Constitution, for-ty-fonr guns, sinks the Guerrlere, thirty eight guns, In thirty minutes, Aug. 10, 1812. Madeira United 8tatos, forty-tour guns, captures the Macedonian, forty guns, Oct. 25, 1812. Bmsll Constitution captures the Java, Dec. 2!), 1812. Lake Erie Perry, with fifty-four guns, de feats English fleet with sixty-three guns, Sept 10, 1813. Lake Champnln McDonongh, with eighty six guns, defeats English fleet with ninety six guns. Sept It 1814. Manila Commodore Dewey, with six ves sels, defeats the Spanish under Admiral Montejo with elghteeu vessels, sinking elev en of the Spnnlanls and withdrawing un scathed, May 1. 1808. Snntlngo Commodore Schley, with six vessels, totally destroyed the entire Spanish fleet under Cervera. But one American was killed, while the Spanish lost 000 killed and 1,100 tnken prisoners. Passing by the battle of Solamls, which was in reality nothing more than a land battle on galleys, the success of the victor depending largely upon favorable winds and formidable crews, the next most Im portant naval battle of the world was that fought in the bay of Lepanto In 1071 be tween the papal, Venetian and Spanish fleets and that of Selira, Sultan of Con stantinople. The Christian fleet consist ed of 2fl0 ships and more than 50,000 men under the command of Don John of Aus tria. The Turkish fleet, which was under command of Pasha All, was much larger, but the Christians had the advantage In eqnlpment, making use of helmets, coats of mail aud firearms, while many of the Turks had no better defensive garb than leather shields and no more formidable weapons than arrows. Three times the Spaniards boarded the Turk and fell back. A fourth time, with re-enforcement of 200 men, they rushed to the assault and carried everything be fore them. An Indiscriminate, slaughter followed. The crescent was quickly re placed by the cross and the bloody head of Ali planted on a pole was raised on the masthead of Bon John's flagship. The ' 7, V Christmas cried "Victoria, victoria," and rushed npon the enemy, but did not win the battle until the Christian galley slaves revolted, broke their chains and turned on their masters. Only thirty of the Turkish galleys escaped to Constantinople, 130 were captured and the rest destroyed. More than 10,000 Turks were taken and 25,000 slain,, and the Christians lost 10, 000 men. The most brilliant naval victory of the American revolution was won by John Paul Jones, when he captured with the old bulk, Bon Homme Diehard, the Brit ish frigate Serapis and a smaller vessel, the Countess of Scarborough, convoying a fleet of merchantmen. The enemy ap proached within pistol-shot distance and Jones' sharpshooters kept the English man's decks clear. At the outset Jones suffered considerably from the bursting of three of his guns, but he quickly rallied and lashed his sinking vessel to the Brit isher, which soon surrendered. The loss of the Richard was thirty killed and wound ed, and that on the Serapis was nearly as great. The liichard was left to her fate and next day sank with her wounded on board. The battle of Trafalgar, Nelson's last fight, took place off Cadiz, between the al lied French and Spanish fleets of thirty three sailing vessels -and twenty-seven English vessels. The British fleet hore down upon the enemy under full sail, led by Nelson with fourteen vessels In the Victory and Admiral Collingwood on the right with thirteen vessels. Nelson's ob ject was to break the enemy's fleet into sections Inferior to his own and then Join battle at close quarters. It was In this battle that Nelson raised the pennant. "England expects every man to do his duty." The English were successful, but Nelson was shot, and England lost her greatest admiral. After the dying Nelson was told that fifteen of the enemy's ships had been taken, he said: "That Is well, but I bargained for twenty." The battle of Lake Erie, In which Perry, a mere youth, with fifty-four guns and 000 men, defeated the British squadron with sixty-three guns and nearly 2,800 men, was an epoch-maker in American history, as it gave the Americans control of the great lakes. Captain Barclay, a veteran who fought under Nelson at Tra falgar, commanded the British fleet Dur ing the fight, which lasted three hours, Perry forsook the Lawrence, his flagship, and In a little boat which was made the target of scores of rifles he was rowed over to the Niagara. The Niagara sud denly swerved, broke the enemy's line, raking the enemy's ships at pistol dis tance. In a few moments all the Ameri can vessels were close on their opponents and the English pulled down their flags in less than half an hour. First Ironclad Engagement. The first general engagement between ironclads took place in 1800 between the Italians and Austrians off the Island of Lissa, In this engagement the Austrian admiral In the flagship Ferdinand Max sunk the Italian flagship, but as the Ital ian sank half a battalion of marines fired on the Austrian and killed eighty of het men. The fight between the Kearsarge and the Alabama, in which the latter was sunk after a short contest, is familiar to readers of American history, but Inas much as both were unprotected by armor the event can scarcely be accounted as a world-noted engagement The sinking ol the Albemarle off the coast of North Car olina is also a landmark in American his tory, but It was to the daring of one man. Lieut Cushing, who placed a torpedo un der the Confederate ram, that the victory was placed on the Lnion scroll. The history of Europe and South Amer ica, particularly of Chili and Peru, abounds in instances of daring at sea, th destruction of ships and loss of men, but it was not until Commodore Dewey open ed fire on the Spanish fiect in Manila bay that the full strong voice of the modern man-of-war was heard. As for the strength of the various na tions of the world, figures indicate little. Suffice tt to say that England and France are strong leaders, with Russia, Germany, Italy and the United States ail within hailing distance. There are times when the absence of cranklneea shows the absence of sense. DID MUCH FOR 'FRISCO. The Late Ex-Mayor Sutro Made Many Sifts to the Pacific Metropolis. San Francisco lost one of her best known and most philanthropic citizens In the death of ex-Mayor Adplph Kutro. ne was a man of many peculiar char acteristics, but withal a most generous giver, aud his name will long be held la remembrance by the people of San Francisco for the many splendid gifts he made to the city. Adolph Sutro was born sixty-eight years ago In Prussia of Jewish parents. He came to the United States In 1850, when the gold fever was at Its height, aud was lured with countless others to the shores of the Pacific. It was not long after tlint the great Comstock lode begun to turn out Its millions and at tracted the attention of the world. The mines soon got down so deep that there appeared to be no way to drain them, and the heat was so Intense from lack of ventilation that the miners could not work. Sutro, who had studied engi neering, coucelved the scheme of con structing an enormous tunnel under the lode which should connect the shafts and relieve them. He got capitalists to back him up, and In October, 1878, a tunnel twelve feet wide, ten foet high, and with its branches over five miles long had been completed. It proved a success. The mining companies, how ever, refused to share revenues with the tunnel company, Sutro therefore closed the tunnel and brought every body to terms, as the lode could not be worked without using it. When the tunnel was in full opera tion Sutro unloaded ft at a handsome profit, wandered about Europe for a time, picked up a wondrous library and EX-MATOB AIXW.PH SUTBO. much stotnary and drifted back to San Francisco to buy so much of the "out side lands" of the city that he owned one-twelfth of the entire acreage of the city proper. In 1894 8utro ran for Mayor of San Francisco and was elected. In spite of the fact that the newspapers and all the big corporations and politicians were against him. After his term as Mayor his mind began to fall and for months bad been a blank. The last years of bis life had been embittered by family quarrels, and It Is possible that the settlement of his estate, which amounts to about $5,000,000, will cause a hitler fight In the courts. AN ACROBATIC MONKEY. Cockatoo that Rides a Bicycle and Does All Sorts of Wonderful Thing. Monkey Is the prize cockatoo Is Mine. Belloln's troupe of trained birds. He rides a bicycle on a wire, turns somer saults and does very wonderful things "I train a new bird by allowing him to sit by and watch' the others perform, " says Mme. Belloln. "Monkey Is my fa- moskky' bides a whrel on I bope. vorite and very Jealous of his fellow actors. If I notice them he sulks for an hour." It Looks Awkward, This Is the position assumed when shooting by Captain Gibbs, R. N the champion long-distance shot of Eng- READY TO SHOT. land and one of the best marksmen li the world. It is called "back shooting." The head, as one will see by the Ulua tratlon. Is supported by a wrist-strap. The Judge And for the levity vdtl which you have conducted yourself during your trial I shall give you an additional fine of $10. now does that suit you? The Villain That is what I would call extra fine. Indianapolis Journal. . ttlng a woman from wearing a Mother Hubbard except on days when the ther niometer Is above 05. To Save Power. Wheelmen generally will be Interest ed In a recently patented and decidedly novel device designed to change the present principle of applying power to the bicycle. The rider simply moves his legs up and down, almost vertically. He thus saves all that power that Is now lost In making the complete revo lution on the pedal. The device consists of two spur wheels, the one on the rear hub being two Inches In diameter. The ANOTIIEB BICYCLE IMPBOVEMEKT. other, which Is attached to the rear frame, Is six Inches in diameter. Two arms, connecting with cranks, move up and down as the power is applied, and the wheel moves off, It Is claimed, with even less friction than does the chain less wheel and with great saving in the amount of power. The two spur wheels are neatly covered and the general ap pearance of the wheel Is not altered. The December Race. It Is said that the sis-day bicycle race to be run at Madison Square Gar den in Deceml)er will be either twenty or twenty-two hours a day, with two to four hours of compulsory rest for the contestants. It is predicted that this will be a harder contest than the straightaway, 142-hour grind, owing to the fact that riders will feel themselves compelled to remain upon their wheels all of the riding hours. ' Cooper aves His Money. When Tom Cooper retires from the racing field It will be as a rich man. He has carefully hoarded his money, and has Invested It in telephone stock that has trebled in value and which Is now paying a handsome dividend. Eddie Bald Is laying by a snug sum, and al though this Is not Invested as lucrative ly and advantageously as the money of Cooper, Bald will not quit the game poor. He Begins Well. This Is Nat Wilson, the 7-year-old son of Prof. N. E. Wilson, agricultural A TOUTHPT1 CTCLKR. chemist of the Nevada State Univer sity. The boy recently rode a bicycle from Reno to San Francisco and return 550 miles In ten days, Powell Has Retired. Irving A. Powell, the intercollegiate champion bicyclist, has retired and New York loses its best amateur repre sentative of the past two seasons, Pow ell was worth in his own name $400,000 and raced purely and solely for the fun of It . He tired of the sport and Is now shining In the society of a prominent resort Vellcf for Tired Wheelmen. Ardent lady cyclists may be pleased to know that when they return stiff and tired from a long country ride they will derive great benefit and relief from taking a warm bath Into which has been poured a good teacupful of white vinegar. Ammonia used liberally In the same way also has excellent re sults. Star of the Season. McDuffee is the star bicyclist of the year. He has defeated good, bad and indifferent riders with the same ease. He defeated Michael, breaking records while doing so, ne defeated Hoyt and broke records as well, and when he met Major Taylor the same story was told. Cyclists In Chicago. It is estimated that there were at least 300,000 cyclists in Chicago last year, and that this year the number will reach 500,000, Poultry Schools In France. England imports eggs and poultry to the value of $23,000,000, while France exports $70,000,000 of the same. France has a number of poultry schools, where pupils are regularly trained In rearing fowls, managing Incubators, curing dis eases, etc., 30,000 chickens being hatch ed each season at the Gambals school. i The pupils pay for their instruction, and work from 6 a. m. to 8 p. m., three of the hours being devoted to study. Scholarships are founded for the bene fit of those unable to afford the tuition fee. The highest prized American coin Is the Ttrd Ttnlttn-mra fnrliln, I .(Hiiuj, a. iiu j piece, for which as high as $300 has Deen paid. V