Show I 1 1 lot l I 1 built first sea sneak J j I 1 1 I built the first torpedo boat that ever worked said james C cousins a kcal news dealer to a reporter in discussing the use of 0 torpedoes li bi the russo japanese war or says correspondent of 0 the new york herald 1 I was a ship carpenter at charleston S C when the civil war began and ald as there were a lot of 0 yankee vessels about there gen beauregard neau regard asked roo me one day to see sec what hat I 1 could do in the wei way ot of a torpedo boat 1 I took some boards and built a cigar shaped boat thirty feet long at tto bow ue vi 0 rigged a copper kettle holding about seventy live five pounds ot of powder the kettle was fastened to a pole go 0 o that we could ift it out ot of the water when the boat was going and anc then sink it about eight feet under water when we got to close quarters quart cra therole The pole was at an angle of forty live degrees in BO that the kettle boum bouli strike the hull of the enemy below the water I 1 line ine the kettle had bad some percussion caps on the top and the force 0 of tile the collision would make them explode the powder the boat was wai made like this salu sahl mr cousins and pulling out a pencil he drew a sketch we rigged the boat in capt james East eastmann mans yard and called it the littie david that was tn in 1802 1962 when it was finished we saw the big yan tan kte kile war vessel ironsides just outside of charleston harbor and sent the lit lit david after her the boat was ils I 1 charge of 0 air milla and the crow crew were heat lascelle charles hance hanc who acted as pilot and a big irishman 1 I forget his name the little david went straight for the ironsides the torpedo was lowered and exploded CiDio ded against the hull bull the water washed over the little david and some ot of it I 1 went down the smokestack and put out the fire lascelle and the irishman jumped overboard but hance and mills managed to get the little david back into the harbor and she often did good work after that the ironsides did not sink but she was war so badly damaged that she had bad to bo be towed away by two other vessels lessels mr cousins who was waa born in new castle on tyrie tyde england has lad a P varied career after a trip through the datlich he sailed lor for bears cars in the mediterranean lie ile worked in a a shipyard in quebec about fifty years ago but becoming tired of the job jet traveled through the united states after several years in europe he went to charleston S C at he ha opening ot of the war and joined the charleston light infantry under capt T 0 sim mons ile he spent four months in garrison at fort sumter after the surrender of maj anderson An denson and after or f ward took part in fourteen engagements engagement |