Jasper County Democrat, Volume 1, Number 34, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 December 1898 — Dangerous Stations. [ARTICLE]

Dangerous Stations.

Common and perfectly equal as the danger in which all hands on board a modern man-of-war unquestionably stand during - a fight, there are, of course, some stations that appear to be more dangerous for the men assigned? to them than others. For example, there Is probably not a sea soldier in the United States marine corps to-day who Is not figuring on tbe Insignificant show he will probably have for his life If, in the event of his ship’s getting ! into action, he Is detailed, with a picked few of his mates, to man the rapid-fir-ing guns In the fighting-tops. At first glance the fighting-top of a modern ship of war appears to be quite the most dangerous spot on the ship, fore or aft, in case of action, because of its prominence. There has never been any good opportunity to test this, for fighting-tops (rightly called military masts) are of comparatively recent development, and during the Chino-Japanese naval engagments no systematic attempt seems to have been made, on either side, to raze the fighting-tops to the decks, or Into the sea. The proportion of the killed and wounded in the fighting-tops during those engagements was considerably less than on deck. In a sea fight between expert manipulators of ships, however, there can be no doubt that the vessels will go each at the other’s military masts with enthusiasm at the very outset, for the purpose of silencing the deadly play of the rapid-firing guns, which are capable of making terrific havoc on an enemy’s decks.