Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 58.djvu/169

Rh —killed doubtless not by drowning, though they must eventually have been drowned, nor as it would seem by suffocation, though in the end that would have followed; but probably by the concussion of their own torpedo.

The sublime heroism of these men is accentuated by the previous history of the 'David' to which they entrusted their lives. In her trial trip this boat sank for some unknown reason and her entire crew was drowned. Lieutenant Payne, her commander, escaped as by a miracle and succeeded in making his way to the surface. No sooner was the boat recovered from the bottom than he offered to try again. A new crew volunteered, and all went well for a time. But one night off Fort Sumter the boat capsized and four only escaped. The next essay was made under the lead of one of the men who had constructed the boat. This time she sank again and all hands were drowned. It was

such a boat, with such a history, in which that gallant crew of the 17th of February faced death and found it. North and South are united to-day as never before. We are permitted to treasure the memory of these brave men. They belonged to the same section as Hobson and displayed the same sublime heroism at Charleston as did he and his comrades at Santiago harbor.

The close of the Civil War marks an era in the history of submarine navigation. Previous to that time nearly all the boats were crudely designed and crudely built. Moreover, the nature and magnitude of the problems to be solved had not as yet been adequately understood. Whatever practical success has been achieved since is due to the fact that these problems have been thoughtfully and carefully studied, that those who have studied them have been in general better equipped therefor by education and training and have laid under requisition all the wealth of modern mechanical and physical science.

Of the many boats of this period, some of which have been quite