Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1863-10-12

army ut Bull Run and converting their
bones into bracelets, rings, and drinking
cups, the miserable rebel chief rejoiced III
those saturnalia. He had nothing to say
then about civilized war. Gilmore has
as far surpassed Beauregard at Charleston
as the Tenitians did the Genosese, in 1880,
at Chioggia, when the Venitians hurled
artillery projectiles against Lawrence de
Medicis. All Italy protested against this
Venitian pyrotechny AS contravention OF
fair warfare. Macchievelli, in his Italian
history, gives us accounts OF battles hotly
contested for hours between armies ell
cased in mail, or warriors regularly IRON
clad. We follow the lively historian in
Is thrilling account of military evolutions
an Surging charges, and at the end of
the fight we learn that not man was
wounded, and the only deaths were
among the bad horscmen who were driven
into swamps and sufocated with their
"martial robes around them" 1t is not,
therefore, surprising that Italy protested
against gun-powder operations that went
through iron-clads and wounded men.
But the world has got over its scruples
about gunpowder, and Beauregard's vcxed
soul must succumb. Gilmore is his
master and he might as well acknowledge
it gracefully rs to do it in Il pet.
We mentioned yesterday that modern
appliances go far beyond the Greek fire.
There were various articles, undoubtedly,
in the seventh century that went under
the name of Greek fire. They were all
known to Callinicus, of Hcrlopois, the
Greek architect, to whom we referred
yesterday. Some Of these were highly
combusuble, and, when on fire, were en-
tinguishcd with difficulty. These were
wrapped in flax, placed on arrows or jaw
clins, and thrown into the Notifications
and other works Of the enemy. Of course
the range was limited, but the Arabs, i'll
their siege Of Constantinople i'll 66S, fed
in dismay from these new missiles OF dc
struction. But there were also explosive
mixtures under the name of Greek fire,
which were used for hurting stones from
metallic tubes. Callnicus had undoubt-
edly learned something of the properties
Of saltpctrc and this was probably his
chief ingredient i'll his explosive COM
pounds. Their range was very limited,
but they drove the Arabs from Constanti-
nople.
The great articles of modern chemistry
for terrible effects were utterly unknown
until within very recent time, and there
is probably no engineer in the world as
perfectly conversant with all these articles
and the fullneSs of their powers US Cen
eral Gilmore. The shells which he Is
using at Charleston necessarily require the
combination of three forces, one OF speedy
ignition, another that rapidly imparts ig-
hitting power, and another Of an explosive
character. There are various means for
making these combinations. Flax may
be thoroughly saturated with tar and
naptha. ThiS undergoes speedy ignition
and is hard to extinguish. The igniting
power is readily found in amorphous
phosphorus, chlorate of potash, and gum
shcllac. This preparation is used by Sir
William Armstrong, Of England, for igni-
ting his time-shells. The explosive ma
terlal is coarsely granulated gunpowder;
and the Rodman powder is undoubtedly
used by Gilmore in the shells that have
to travel five miles to reach Charleston.
The coarseness Of the power is graduated
according to the space to be traverscd,
and Gen. Gilmore can time the bursting
of his tirc-shell with great precision. A
shell of this kind is terrible in its rayages
and very certain in its operations. We
have heard suggestions that Illuminating
mercury, or something of that kind, is
used, but this is a mistake. 1t will shivcr
a shell into fine pieces, but it would not
ignite the burning material.
The Apostle Paul very properly takes
the ground that government that is u
terror to evil-doers and praise to those
who do well is of divine authority, and
is, on earth, the representative OF God.
All rebeldom, then, i'll its most remote
recesses, III its most secret retreats, may
as well at once come to the conclusion
that the fire which is now raining retribu-
tive justice upon it is not such paluy
thing as Greek fire, but fire of divine
appointment that will do its work as effect
Ially as that fire which Elijah invoked
from heaven upon the false prophets Of
Molock and Baal, when the wicked falsi-
ties and peryersions of Ahab and Jezebel
had led the people of Israel astray from
the Union that Jehovah had prescribed
for the tribes, at Mt. Sinai. Divine
vengeance fell heavily upon these wicked
leaders. All the house of Ahab was de-
stroyed, and Jezebel was pitched from the
window of her palace, and in fulflment
of the prediction of Elijah, the Tishhite,
sin the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat
the fish of Jezebel," for when the soldiers
of Jehu went to bury her, nothing was
found of her but her skull and her feet
and the palms of her. hands. Some
gloomy memories of this exhibition of
Divine vengeance may have caused the
rebel press recently to advocate the entire
determination of dogs from the "Confed-
eracy." The leaders MAY well tremble in
their shoes. Their doom is approaching.
Louisville Journal.
Tup SuTTI1c -Tobo Sn,;tb-Dla;n John