The state rights democrat. [volume] (Albany, Linn County, Oregon) 1865-1900, 1869-02-20
[From the (Tenn.) Press and Times, 2ad.1
A TERRIBLE INVENTION.

n TERRIBLE INVENTION
Some months ago a mechanical genius,
whose name we are not at liberty to dis
close, told US he had an idea which he
was endeavoring to "work out" by which
very little army will be irresistible against
any number of enemies. lie promised
to let us have tho benefit Of tho idea il
he found that it could be made practioa.
Bile. Since then no has diligently worked
at it every evening, Sundays not excepted,
bringing it tout" AZ he calls 1t. During
those months his abstracted air, his isola-
ton, tho constant succession of hopes
and fears about the success Of his project,
which would be visible on his face for
days together, led many Of his neighbors
to suppose that he was moro or less crazy.
IHc brought his long andabsoFbing labors
TO a successful termination about four
days ago, and had the qualification of
testing the utility of his perfected idea.
with the most complete evidence Of its
practicability. The invention consists of
range Of guns of 076 bore aud forty
inches, mounted on carriage Of very
simple structure to be hauled by one
horse. The width Of the carriage be-
tween tho wheels is six feet The gun.
barrels, twelve 10 number, are ranged
apparently parallel to each other upon
this carriage. We say apparently, for
their limo Of FIRE is not strictly parallel,
but divergent, so that at three hundred
yards distance the twelve bullets sweep a
limo of about thirty feet. They are
ranged at equal distances from each other,
except in the middle, where there is a
space of ten inches. into which is placed
telescope Of considerable power, and u
nice arrangement for adjusting the guns
10 taking aim. This contrivance enables
the operator to send bullet through the
bulls eye at sixteen hundred yards nine
times out of ten. The tubes themselves
arc FiAed. and double the strength Of or.
dinary rifles, md are made strong at the
brecch by band six inches broad and
onc-sixth thick. They are all loaded at
the breech The brcech peices are all
connected by rod, which is attached To
crank, one turn OF which opens aud
shuts all the brcech pieces and loads the
pieces, for the breech pieces, by this mo.
ton, are brought in contact with twelve
tubes, placed immediately over the
brecches, aud containing the cartridges,
the same turn extracting the cartridge
from its tube, and inserting it with pre-.
cision in It's place in the gun. The guns
are made ready for firing by as simple
and rapid a motion a. the turning of a
crank. They are fred by another slight
motion, which drives twelve needles, in.
serted in the brecch for the purpose, into
the fnlmirate with which the cartridges
are covered. So simple. sure aud rapid
are these movements, that twenty. y.seyen
rounds were fred in sixty-,hree seconds,
yesterday, at the place Of trial, out ON
the Hyde's Ferry pike. The cartridges
are four inches in length. and do not Gu,
tirely explode until the ball is about half
way out of tie barrel, an effect which is
produced BY the nice arrangement OF the
material of which they are composed.
Except the bullet, the whole cartridge is
combustible. and leaves nothing behind
when fired off The gun will send ball
three miles. The aim is always good at
two thousand yards. At trial yoster-
day n line of plank, six inches broad.
was raised four feet from the ground aud
fred at fifteen hundred yards distant, and
out Of sixty shots forty,seven went
through aud six others left marks upon
the edges of the plank. The inventor
is coufident that n regiment Of soldiers a
mile and half distaat could be all killed
by one Of these Pollyferi (thc name he
has given them), in four minutes. Ia
the hands Of an intelligent, steady opera,
tor at least ninety PEE cent. of the balls
fred will take effect. The whole affair,
when, in fighting trim weighs but five hun-
dred pounds, and is intended to be hauled
by one horse and worked by two meu,
one to drive and the other to operate.
The loading aud firing apparatus ia SO
arranged that it can be detached in q mo.
ment, when the other part of the deadly
engine becomes perfectly useless. One
Of them can be finished off complete,
with horse, ETC., for 81 900. The invent
or, young working mechanic, feels jubi-
liant at the great success which attended
the first trial of his important produc.
tion, which cost him SO many months OF
Etoil and all the means which he had at
his command. He goes to Washington
in about week to push his fortune and
to revolutionize the art of war.