Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1867-06-29
Improvement Of Fire Arms.

Greater progress has been made within
the past few years in the Improvement of
weapons of war than in any other imple-
ment, not excepting those of agriculture.-
The rate at which men can now be killed,
fortresses destroyed, navies annihilated, and
wars conducted, exceeds anything ever be-
fore conceived of. There was time when
the spear, the lance, the arrow and the bat
tering ram, were the most destructive arms
in use, and when contests lasted for genera
tions. The Minnie rifle and the Whitwofth
cannon were as much superior to those pri-
mitive weapons as the latest improvement is
to them. The needle gun of Herr Won
Dreyse was the instrument by which Prussia
in six months overthrow the power of Aus
tria, and now Van Dreyse's invention is put
into the shade by the Chassepot rifle, lately
introduced into the French army. The EN-
peror and Prince Oscar, of Sweden, recently
witnessed trial of this rifle at Vincennes.
regiment was placed at 600 yards from
the mark, and the results obtained, were
quite extraordinary. After period of pre-
cisely two minutes, the trumpet sounded the
call to cease firing 1t was then found that
the battalion, 500 strong, had fired 5000
balls, of which 1902 had struck the line of
object aimed at. Some of the persons pre-
sent, however, affirmed that better practice
had been obtained both at Chalons and Sa-
tory, and that the men were under certain
emotion from firing for the first time in pre-
sence of his Majesty. All the ground imme-
diately in front of the mark was cut up by
the balls in such way as not to show q
blade of grass left. The Emperor uttered
an exclamation which graphically depicts
the result: 'It is frightful! 1t is a positive
massacre I" The needle gun, destructive as
it is, is evidently surpassed by this new in
strument r
Herr Won Dreyse has also invented q
double -barreled cannon, without powder,
smoke, or report. This novel catapult-
which, it may have struck the reader, is con-
structed upon the same principle of centri-
fugal force active in man's oldest principle,
the sling-may, it is asserted, be made to
hurl from sixty to several hundred balls to-
ward one point in a minute. .... b..
Another German, it is reported, has in
vented a four -barreled cannon, each barrel
of which will fire sixty balls per minute. .
In small fire arms, also, the spirit of in
vention is active. It will be remembered
that Mr.. Carr was shot in Brooklyn, by
means of an 'air gun," which made no more
noise than the crack of small wffipcord
This weapon is simply tube of about three
feet in length, hollow throughout, and made
of highly wrought iron. 1t is divided into
two nearly equal lengths, the upper par,
toward the head forming the air chamber
and the lower half the barrel from which
the projectile is discharged The air cham.
ber once filed, thirty bullets may be dis
charged without Teplenishing, but not more
than one tenth can be relied upon to pene-
trate the object. The distance at which the
weapon is effective is from 20 to $50 feet
The noise which accompanies the discharge
being scarcely perceptible, the gun becomes
very dangerous instrument in the hands
of an assassin. In the murder referred to-
had not the police officer been in close prox-
unity to the scene al the time and observed
the fall of the victim and the fight of the
murderer, the deed might have forever re.
| mained mystery.
We cannot but regard these formidable
weapons as likely to hasten the time when
"nations shall learn war no more" One
nation will be able to destroy the army and
navy of another, in a few days, and this
conviction cannot but have the effect to di
minish the chances of war, for when dis
putes arise there will be greater anxiety tc
settle without resort to method by which
the uncertainties of war may consign them
to utter destruction, or perpetual suIjuga
J ton n-ToLedO Blade