The Mountaineer. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1859-1861, 1861-06-29
DEsTRUGTIVENESS OF EN-.
...a GINES OF WAR, :... B.

- As tue invention Of guupowder has
tended 10 soften the ferocity 0f war, and
TO the saving Of human life. so il may be
hoped that scientific improvements may
yet be made whicIlwill diminish still far
ther the carnage incident TO- military OPP
eratioIs, The Cheyaler Foiard, in his
account Of the catapulte baiiStR, and
other engines Of The nnciellts, states that
some of their powers were little Inferior to
those oil our modern instruments OF des-
truetion, aud i'll the works OF CELSIUS we
find that the effects OF lgaden balls
and stones projected from the engines
then ia use were by no means unkl0wU.;;
but Of their veIocities we know lttIe or
nothing, by the calculations OF ~ An.
tom IL appeafs siiat tie iiiisi.A sGiotk j oE
a cannon ball Is nearly 1900 feet ii a
second, and that Of a musket about j 100
feet; but these yelocltics rapidly diminish
from the moment the bah quits the mouth
of tile gun, and are greatly influenced by
the quantity aud quality Of the powder,
the force used in ramming the wads, the
elevation Of the gun and the length OF the
bore The state Of the atmosphere also
has seme Influence, the velocity of the ball,
in very dry weather, being one.seyenthl
greater than when the air ii loaded with
vapof.. IN sieges, heavy cannon are used,
while in engagements insthe open field, the
weight Of the shot is OF course less; owing.
TO the necessity IN the latter case Of hav-
ing guns sufficiently light to be easily pGr-
AL nfks, AL Of elsnf
common mnsket ball, fired singly from,
muskets or discharged in cases from field
pieces; Mimic rife bullets; shrapnel AMI
other improved shells; grape, which con-
sists Of small iron balls disposed in linen
bugs fastened TO a wooden bottom, in the
middle Of which is a spindle round which
the balls are secured by cord or wire; or
case shot, which consists Of the same iron
balls put into tin cylinders, the bases Of
with are closed by two circular pieces of
wood. Another kind Of projecttles are
shells, or hollow iron spheres filed with
powder, which may act either before or
after their explosion. 4
a French scientific journal we have Just
received states that IN addition to expert
meats with steel cannon said TO he IN
vented by the emperor, which have just
been made near The city, trials have,
taken, place with new prHeciile weigh
ing about 100 his, which is of such terri,
ic power that it is believed that IN burst
ing in the midst of mass of men, a hun
dred might be killed or wounded. 81
The closer the contendiug armies are 10
each other, the more deadly will be the
effect Of all projectiIes Thus, according
to DAntOni, 32,pound shot may pierce
a file AZ seventy men; a l6.pound, Gle
of forty-eight; an Slpouad, a file Of forty;
a l3-oGnce shot a Gle oftwenty; 6,ounee, 7
a file Of sixteen; q l-oUnre, file Of four,
IL very close to them and propelled by
certain degree Of force. A shell will pass
through from tive 10 five men, mud will
hill or wound, BY its Spliaters, from six to
nine. The distance and the resistance
will Of course produce a great variation
in the action ofall these missiles, and it
is remarkable what a very small amount
Of resistance will defect mdsket ball
from its course. A man., for instance,
has been strnct on the threat, aud the
ball. Instead Of passing through the neck
only penetrated the skin, performing
complete circle under the ihtegument, and
lodging close to where It entered Ano-
Their singular fact is the harmlessness Of
Sings aud musket balls when lodged. in
some parts Of the body, nature forming
layer around them 10 protect the surrolltrd-
ing parts, Many instances are on record
of men carrying bullets thus encysted for
years without much pain or suffering,