The Abbeville banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1847-1869, 1857-07-16
YtRtsrnoor riayMEN.

,tnder tho sun. Although, they have scarce.
" my coniiNgrations nt all, compared with
us, they have dosigned firc.proof dresses 70,
their iire,nen, and indulgcd in somo in,cr
csling experiments with tlon,. We give
tho particulars. Tho experiment took
place in Paris:
The contrvancc is for protecting firemcn
from tho action Of tho flames and enabling
them tofesist strong heat. 1t consists OF
gloves mado Of a,ninntlus, n kind Of Ala
mcntous mineral, helmet Of the same ma
tcrial fitting into another Of wire gnuzc, aud
u shicld ono motro in longth and 50 cent?
metres broad, besides otlar garments of tho
above mentioned materials. Three iiremcn
having put on tho gloves. wero enabled to
carry irrn bars ut whito heut for three
minutes without being Obliged to lot go
their hold. Straw was afterwards set tiro
u III \ largo caSt,irpn cAullron, and contin-
"'''y Nep. ny while q tircna,,. wearing the
double helmet rs above ,ncntirnol, stood
sN'>-'S 'S'N NN.NN'SSS Ni'CI NSfNpN pll WIKI
:s't >islesG. Although ,hrv an>sc ut times
a.<,vu Us ,,sa,,. ~ MAS suat!ul ,s keep his
s>r>s :nr a wsaN.e sud ta.i. eat thu cnd ot
~,aSss :Ss:,e lis ;s.,>s, wh,eh MAS ut :. he.
HE's* TX sAs>eis:I:e":*, ha,; RISEN 10 l5c.-
~>s.NssetS S;"s,sa f>N'>wt!, who, having COW
:dv>s as> S.T"A:>s,;. w,sh rtece OF amian-
.h.7> os< e.ss,<c>: ~ N$i$. tho flames 3
s'sA.a::ss ~: ~ ssrenis. Two longitude
- .sts!S * ;:,I;> svliu;rrs, and straw had
.*>a vs~;,Ssv>s as>us ) feet as>under, and
= %<*i ri 'cus!h. two lateral openings be.
~ e: - e:'.ele The !;vemeu to get out in
c>i$s Q! necessity. Four men were now
equipped in complete suits Of wiro gauze,
wiki boots OF amianthus; two Of them
wore, besides a dress of amianthus, anoth-
er suit Of clothes rendered incombustibIe by
meaus Of borax, alum, and phosphate of
ammonia; tho two others wore double
dress of prepared cloth; one man, more
over, was entrusted with basket of wire
gauze OH lis back, containing r boy ten
years old, protected by a helmet Of amian-
thus. The heaps being set fire to, these
men went into the flames together, and,
walking at a very moderate pace, performed
the distance several times. At the end of
sixty seconds, the boy shrieked out, and the
fireman who carried him Immediately
stepped out Of the flames. The boy was
examined, but was found perfectly uuinjur-
cd; his skin wos cool, and his pulse, which
was at 81 before the experiment, had only
risen to o6; he might therefore have rcsis
ted longer had he not been frightened at
seeing the flames meet over his head, while
at the same time one Of tfe ropes which
held the basket had slid down the fireman's
shoulder little with slight shock. A few
minutes after lie was as gay as ever, ard be-
trayed no signs Of indisposition. The fire.
mans pulse, which was 90 before, was ll6
after the experiment. Tho other three men
remained 2 minutes and IA seconds in the
flames, and stated, on coming out, that they
had experienced no particularly painful sem
sation except that of excessive heat. Their
pulses, Which were ss, 81, and 72 before,
were respectively l52, 1873, and l24 after.
A circle of fire about 10 metres in diame-
ter was now formed around them, and they
withstood the effect extremely we'll with
their fire-proof coverings, although at dis
tance Of five metres the heat was so intense
that none of the numerous bystanders could
resist it.