New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1866-09-28


it. Her Won Dreyse, the inventor of the needle |
gun, lives in a mansion of modest, yet substantial
appearance. Over the gateway is an inscription,
according to the old German custom, =" Belt and
drbelte Is the significant motto by the carver of
his own fortune.
Not many weeks since, the writer waited upon
the master of the mansion, with letters of intro
duction from eminent gentlemen in Berlin. Our
conversation became animated. My reception
was so extremely friendly that | was soon en-
couraged to hint the object of my visit
"There is scarcely an encyclopedia" said;
(Which does not contain either short notice of
the inventor or long description of the inVen
ton; still none of those who write about you,
though perhaps living within a few miles, have as
yet taken the trouble to make your personal
acquaintance. In word, sir, it is with you, as
with many other discoveries, in astonlshment at
the invention the inventor is forgotten
"Oh that is a matter of very little conse-
quence,'' he said al if only my invention is rightly
apprecated,n
that score q
"On the contrary more is made of it than it de-
serves. All the newspapers are profuse in their
praise of our guns ; but when read down the list
Of killed aud wounded, cannot help thinking that
the weapon has not done its duty as it ought, or,
indeed, anything like what might have been ex-
pected Of it,
Indeed you surprise me- said I "you are
the first whom | have heard hint word against
the needle.gun since the campaign in Bohemia.
Has it not then answered yonr expectations"
1.-The list of our slain and wounded is far too
numerous. The needle-gun cannot have been 50
effective as meant it should be, more especially
when we take into consideration the experienced
hands that welded it. 1t is true, have never yet
been able to form an accurate conception OF the
appearance made by an army OF 2OO0OO men
in the field, spread out over many miles OF ground
with our nGedle-gn in full operation. must
therefore. confnc myself to numbers. and can
not but own to you that, notwithstanding the sat
isfaction ! feel at having my work, after many q
how'd 1s,01a riu
very numbers greatly moderate my eHutatlon and
make me sad. have, too, IN especial cause for
being 80, he continued with sigh, as he pointed
to a little girl who at that moment entered the
room dressed in deep mourning. "Ths is my
daughters child her father fell at KOnnigratz at
the head Of his regment,sYes, sir, we have fought
battles in which the Ausrians counted no more
dead than we did and though we may partly at
tribute this to the position occupedDy the enemy,
yet such things ought not TO be reported of the
needIe-gun."
The conversation then turned on the latest
events of the day and while communicating my
own impressions on the subject, asked him if he
had ever seen battlefield after battle had
been fought.
"Once and once only he replied; =" that Of
jena II i a long, long time ago, and it was
while contemplating it tie idea first forced itself
upon me that the Prussian firearms required i'm
provemeut if Prussia ever intended becoming a
first class military power. At that time | was a
journeyman lOcksmith, and with my knapaack on
my back was travelling through Germany on my
way to France, the only country where, in those
troubous times, anything could be learnt in my
trade. / arrived in Jena October Is, 1906, and
saw the heaps OF slain on the battle field and then
pigtails strewed in all directions. | cannot tell
you what horrible impression it made upon me
do not know whether the expression u1It die echt
SclieSSels Ito shoot round the cOrner) then existed
or not, but it could only have referred to the
Prussian musket of that period | tell you
never saw anything like it in my life. 1t was the
very worst weapon you could imagine; while the
French flint gun, made from the model known il
1893 was the most successful and perfect thing o
the kind then in use. But, pray tell me if | weary
you. can quite imagine that to the uninitiatet
all this must be somewhat tedious.
"On' the contrary, am greatly interested. Be
sides, am not quite such novice as you take me
for. And from that moment you were seized will
q desire to improve the Prussian gun?n
i" Yes, from that day forward; but you cal
easily conceive how vague and indistinct was thu
idea in the head of the young locksmth.o
"Did you reach Paris ~
"That l did, and may say there laid tn
foundation OF whatever knowledge or skill ha
enabled me to do for the improvement of fire
arms. was frequently employed by the mos
celebrated officer in that line--you may possbl,
have heard his name-Col. PAUL, "a Wurtember
officer, who, with his sovereign, had joined tn
Emperor Napoleou,) and under his guidance
learnt very much.h
" And the idea of improving the Prussian fire
arms was still busy in your brain?n
g Always. | thought of it day and night an
made some trifing experiments; but nothing sue
ceeded, for ! only initiated the model gun G
1888. An actual step in the right direction, and
indeed. | maysay a giant stride, was when PAUL
for whom had been at workout for what pur
pose the weapons were to be employed had NJ
idea it was 10 the year lS09-contded to me tina
he had been commissioned by the emperor to COZ
struct q breach-loadiug musket."
"Where could Napoleon have got this ide
from? Was it the produce Of his own brain, c
had it existed previously and been suggested
him? The first breech loading muskets were COZ
structed two centuries ago. Oldspecimens are
be found in many German arsenals."
81 know not; but it seemed to let in ne
light upon me. l felt better than | could under
stand, how that it was the most simple, Children
guns are loaded in that manner) and for month
so great was my impotence to know the suGce
of the gun PAUL was constructing, could hard
sleep at night. This gun was q complete failure
that is to say, so extremely complicated tina
though in expert hands not without some sol
worth, yet for soldiers in the field it was perfect
useless Notwithstanding this, PAUL. receive
from Napoleon present of 1000 Napoleon dor
the cross Of the legion of honor and a ten year
patent on the invention. Pauli's courage failt
him after this first rebuff and he gave up the ide
but it was firmly rooted in my mind, feeling the
oughly convinced it would furnish me with eli
to the reconstruction of the Prussan firearms
sit certainly must have cost you much thong
and anxiety to carry out this idea?"
F." You cannot have the remotest conception
the trouble it caused me. You must have REL
somewhere or other of those torments and sufft
ings which have ever fallen to the lot of the
ventor. With the exception of bodily tortul
which does not belong to our day, I must sa,
have gone through everything it was possible
endure, and that for thirty long years. When
least gave out my new igniting material acco
panied By the needle gun, imagine the revoluti
it caused, I was looked upon as madman.n
Had you to encounter any special enemy y
One / had who opposed me with such obs
nate perseverance that was often on the VI
verge of despair, whom even now, after the ca
paign in Bohemia, | have not yet succeeded
yanduisking. That is routine She is a bit
enemy. l can assure you, sir, and as often we
the uniform of a general as the jacket ola soldi
or the coat of q minister of war, and woe be
him who has to contend against her could t
to you by the hour together of what have &C
through, but all would be as mere dust in
balance il my invention had not likewise
calumny, derison, and hooking insult to put
with. You said awhile ago that my name was
everybndy's mouth, at least all such as nteres
themselves in the military glory Of Prussia;
do you suppose that those who assisted me
wrestling with that Internal spirit routine do
deserve equally honorable mention! With
their aid l certainly should never have been s
cessful."
"Woud you have any objection to mention
names of these menF'
1.-THE then captain, now Lieutenant General
Irem and the late General Won Witzeben,
de-camp to his Majesty Frederick William III