Spirit Of St. Louis ponderings

I have often wondered about Lindbergh's trans-Atlantic flight in the
Spirit...
He had a "periscope" with which to see directly ahead. He said he
could bank and turn the aircraft to see ahead as well if needed.
What I'm wondering is; What kind of situational awareness instruments,
if any, did the Spirit have on board?
I'm IFR rated but I have never tried to fly visually just by looking
out the side windows, is that difficult or simple? Especially in the
blackness that was bound to have been experieced over the open
Atlantic at night.
I wonder just how difficult or easy was it to fly visually with a
periscope and side windows? Was there needle & ball at this point in
time in aircraft?

Ricky