Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1868-09-20
LIFE ~PRESERVING SHAWL.
Captain PeacOck'S Granulaieu
Cork POnchO.

A correspondent of the Standard,
writing from the Havre Exhibition, IN a
detailed description Of the different hte-
saving apparatus, gives some account OF
Captain Peaeoek's granulated cork Pom
eho IA kind Of cloak or blankst with 4
slit in the middle through which to pass
the head Mattresses, or Life, limb, and
treasure preserver, says:
They are simply beds which, in the
event Of wreck, will bear you up for an
indefinite length Of time in water. The
person using this simple e~Ontrivance, if
he have a few minutes to spare, may after
securing his own safety by thrusting his
own head, poncho fashion, and buckhng
on the apparatus, secure his gold and
papers. and d store Of preserved provis-
ions in haversacks, with a bottle of wine
and a bottle Of water in holsters, turn the
pillow over the head for its protection,
and commit himself with some confidence
to the ocean. If he can be drowned
that is, deluged to death by the waves
he cannot sink he Is carried with his
face above the crest surf, and with his
lers and arms perfectly free. Naval
authorities have affirmed that such an
invention might have been Of peculiar
value in the cases Of the Royal Charter,
Luna. Nimrod, Hungarian, and Queen
of the South. Three or four individuals
may cling to it without over-welghlng It.
At Exmoth, as an experiment, a coast
guardsman wearing the Peacock mattress,
having in his pocket the weight Of 2oOO
sovereigus, with a bottle Of water and a
bottle Of rum, jumped overheard in deep
and raging water, swan to and fro, ocea-
si%opalIy refreshed himself, and got to
shore exactly when and where he wished,
declaring that he could have brought IN
two or three persons. The Havre Mari
ners profess an unlimited admiration for
the idea
This is certainly one Of the most luxuri-
Gus modes of saving ones life that could
be easily constructed. Throwing ones
self from a water-Iogged, sinking vessel
into the black. furious waters, to be swiftly
and roughly alternated from the level OF
the main to the highest altitude Of its
waves, and preserve not only a feeling OF
security. but to refresh ones self oeca-
s%ionaIly from a store of " preserved pro-
visions, or a bottle of wine,' would
make the incident of a shipwreek deslra-
ble to some tastes, and a matter OF no
distress for any body. With the faeill-
ties afforded by this cork mattress the
passengers of a doomed vessel would
eoollv 90 to work in anticipation OF the
comino adventure in the stOrm-lashed
sea. Our young American would care
fully store away in his haversaek a
weeEs supply Of sandwiches, in his KNAPP
sack a few changes Of linen, some bottles
of brandy, not forgetting a box OF mid
Concbas and a bottle or two Of Sauterne,
TO drive away nausea in the morning ;
then carefully adjusting his Poneho,
would bid a cherry goodbye and com
nit himself to the no longer dangerous
| element. 1t may be, if he were wrecked
in the Mediterranean, that a desire would
come oyer him to land on the Spanish
coast. that his poneho might avail him
among that people as not only an appro-
pirate but fashionable garment for every
dav wear. NJ. Peacock has truly
smoothed the rough usage that the
bifurcated have so often received at the
will of the aqueous element.
PITY tbs, tbs true that this mereltui
craft could not be adapted to the exigen-
| cies of Mississippi disasters, that passen-
GERS suddenly spilled into its turbid
waters. could 90 down the current with
no particular care for the change Of
Transportation, other than that a Missis-
sinpi catfish might take it into his
niscine head to divide rations and put
them on short allowance. But the fault
of the poncho, SO far as its applicability
to the DANCERS of inland navigation il
concerned, is quite serious. People trav.
cling. on our Western waters have NJ
especial fear Of going dozen, but enter
tain a lively apprehension all the whil'
of going up; a contingency not provides
for in this very excellent and humans
invention,