The daily Wabash express. (Terre-Haute, Ind.) 1857-1867, 1861-05-18

y
A The invention Of gunpowder has tended
- sofsen the ferOcity Of war. and 20 the saw
in1 of human life, 80 IL NAV be hopel that
scientific improvements may vet be made
which vii diminish still further the carnage
incident % military operations. The Chew
,ler Pollard. in his account OF the eatApnlte
bali-tse. and other engines Of the aacients.
state. that some OF their powers we're little
inferior 90 those Of our modern instruments
OF destruction. and in the works Of CalsAs We
end that the effects Of leaden balls and stones
proiected from the engines. then in use. we're
bv no means unknown; but OF their veiocities
xe know little or nothing. By the ealcnla.
ton. OF D. An,oni il appears that the initial
velocity Of a cannon balls nearly 2.OOO feet
in A second. aud that Of a musket about .iU
feet hut those velocities rapidly diminish the
moment the ball quits the mouth Of the gun,
and IRE rreasiy influenced by the quantlls
end quality of the powder. the force used Ia
ramming the wads. the elevation OF the gun.
and the length OF the bore. The state OF the
atmosphere also has some influence. the veto
civ Of the bell, IN very dry weather. beng
one seventh greater than when the air u load
"a with vapor In sieges heavy cannon are
usei. while In engagements IN the open heid,
the weight OF the shot IA OF course less. ow-
ing 10 the necessity in the latter case. OF hav
ing Guns sufficiently light 20 be easily portable.
| The other species OF shot are the comm on
nuske, hall fred singly from rnuskets or
discharged in cases from field pieces; MIME
rife bullets: shrapnel and other improved
shells: grape which consists OF small iron
h,ll. Disposed in linen bags. fastened 20 n
wooden bottom. in the middle OF which IS a
snindle round which the balls are secured by
/ cord or wire. or case shot, which consists OF
the same iroa balls put into tin cylinders
the bases of which are closed BY two circular
pieces of wood. Another kind of projectiles
are shells or hollow iron spheres filled with
us,wa-r which NAV act either before or aftei
their explosion.
A French scientific Journal We have JUS
/ received states that in addition 10 sxperi
ments with A steel cannon said 10 be invente-
by the Emperor, which have just been made
! near that CITY. trials have taken place with |
new proiectile weighing about 100 lbs, which
i Of such terrific power that Il 10 believed
that In bursting in the midst Of mass OF men
hundred might be killed or woarded
The closer the contending armies are Z
each other. the more deadly will be the enec
Of all proiectiies Thus, according 10 ID An
toni. ~ pound shot may pierce hie oil sev
enty men; l6 pound, a hle OF fortT-eigh'
an pound. file of forty; - ounce sho'
file OF twenty: ouncs, hie oil 10; a
ounce. file Of four. If very close TO ther
and propelled by certain degree Of force
A shell will pass through from two to nv
men and will kill or wound. by its splinter
from six 70 nine The distance and the resi-:
lance win Of course produce great variasio
in the action of ali these missiles, and Il
remarkable what a very small amount Q
resistance will defect a nusket ball from II
course A man. for instance, has bee
struck on the throat. and the ball. instead
passing through the neck. only penetrated q
skin. performing complete circle under u
in,egument, and lodging close TO where 4! OF
tered. Another singular fact l. the Harmless
ness Of slugs and musket balls when lodge
! in some parts Of the body. nature forming
! LAYER around thsm 10 protect the surroundir
parts. Many Instances are on record OF m'
carving bullets thus @ocysied for years wit
; out much pain or suffering