The union Democrat. [volume] (Sonora, Calif.) 1854-1946, 1870-12-03
6he 91nion gemofrat.
TnT nacnaSIsM OF a DnEam.
German Drruuss Out ia Automatic Won
der-Cnrious Production.

the instfumeDtaitty OF cream. we nave
now 10 record more singular tale-bow
man for fourteen years has been steadily
working with one object in 7iew--the perfec-
ton ct most wonderful piece of mechanism
having, IN the first instance. received the
impression of the idea from dream, which
wrought such an influence upon his mind
that during ali ,hese intervening years be has
followed il with an infatuation that could not
be resisted. unl which was sometimes so
great that his daily avocatien was neglected.
and even bis family was left without the ne
cessnries of life. For the first six months he
has lahored constantly at his Pet machine;
and thoagh often disappointed in the realiza-
ton of his grand idea, often casting the work
Of months aside as some object interviewed 10
.ecess;ate change of plans, he has never
been discouraged or disheartened. To the
ieers of friends and the pleadings of his fami-
iy be would always respond. "My dream,
my dream - Ii was to him the ignis (atuas
which shone across the marshes and moors
Of disappointment. and proved to him the
means by which one of the most curious and
wonderful mechanical contrivances ever per-
fected has been produced.
The name of this man is Joseph Bergman,
ard he lives in little, wooden house on Farm
street, Ida Hill. Yesterday, having pre-
viously heard Of Bergman 5 invention or con
trivance, we took a walk up to the locality
with two other gentlemen, and after being
nearly mired in mud in our efforts to reach
the house. we ut last found it. and were kind
" received hv the proprietor. He ushered ia
into n room about eight feet square; in which
stood his wonder--the result Of days and
nights of toil--occupying n portion of tae
apartment. There was little workbench
near the window filled with diminutive tools
without number, with which the curious thing
had been fashioned and shared. and cut and
carved. But before describe, even most
imperfectly the machine we had come to see.
let US say sonethinyot its author. Bergman is
German, about so years of age, and speaks
English most imperfectly. He is little d.
m;ntive man with a pale, sallow countenance
and II look which speaks of care and thought.
if not positive suffering. lie is evidently
very poor the house is bare of furniture
and in speaking of the dream and the work
whica had so infatuated him, he said it would
have been better for him if be had never ox-
perienced the one or undertaken the other
lie is cabinet-maker by trade, and the skill
of an almost marvellous handiwork as well as
the stamp Of remarkable inventive genius is
10 be seen in the construction oe the machine
ago he dreamt one night of machine such as
stood before us. At first he thought little of
it. Then it began to occupy his mind to the
exclusion of other subjects, and after time
he commenced the work. at odd spells, and
then quite continuously for days. Some in
applicable power was urging him on every
time lac thought of giving it up. When the
spells Of infatuation came upon him, every
thing had to be abandoned His ordinary
work hal to be laid aside, even though there
was no bread upon the cupboard shetland
many night the poor artisan went hungry
10 bed. But after years of anxious toil-the
dream is veri6ed-the work is completed.
We will now attempt to describe the ma
chine, though We confess at the outset our in
ability To do it justice. 1t is so complicated
and does such wonderful things that perfect
description would fill columns of our paper
We hardly know what to call it, even. 1t
beats all the automatons in the world.
The reader must imagine a beautiful mini
nture structure setupon huge mass Of rocks,
with road-beds winding up the sides of the
rocks, and streams of running water coursing
down PERCEPTIONS bluffs. This miniature
house represents the residence of wealthy
old miller, with his grist-mill, saw-mill. oil
mill, &C., adjoining. There are some thirty
figures to be seen in the foreground and about
the buildings and mills. There is also a lit
tie fountain in the foreground, with the wa
ter playing, and lake with a boat and an
oArsman. All these mills and figures ard
playing waters are set in motion by means OF
u combination of machinery similar to the
works Of clock, and when these are wound
up and set running, every figure takes up its
automatic movement. The old miller sits
in an elegant apartment, reading newspa-
per. His eyes follow the column downwards.
His head inclines with a corresponding mo-
ton. The column is finished, and the sheet
is turned over, and the eyes are attracted to
another portion Of the paper. Every move
ment is wonderfully hfe-like. The miller's
wife sits in another apartment industriously
spinning. TIE domessics are going about per-
forming their daily toll The saw-mill is g
perfect fac Simiie of such an Institution. The
log in its place, and slides. along to meet the
teeth of the saw. which is working up and
down, cutting it in two, The attendants are
all busy in their several duties. The grst
mill is also going. One man is tending and
feeiingthe the hopper. Every now and
then he goes back and forth with tray upon
his shoulders. the contents of which he pours
into the mouth of the hopper. The great
water-wheel is moving steadily under the
pressure Of the water from above, and the ee
vator keeps up its show Of relieving n canal
boat of it's load of grain. Teams loaded with
sacks are seen going TO and from the mills.
A man is perched upon the gable of the mill
ler's home, adjusting little hird-cage TO the
caves, and doing his work most perfectly.
The oil-mll is also at work. and the figures
are all busy ahoutit, performing their sever
al missions. The boatman upon the lake is
rowing backwards and forwards, and appar-
rce,iy having good time. all by himself.
Thus the entire operations Of an immense es-
tablishment are carried on with as much def
niteness and aim as in real life, every figure
doing its work with the utmost exaetness-
the whole forming the most wonderful comhi-
notion OF machinery we ever saw or expect 10
see.
Mr. Bergman proposes to exhibit the curl
ositv next week. We believe the old man
has fortune in store for him. after bis years
of vexa,ion and trial. An who see it will he
edited and instructed. and gain from il en-
larged idess Of the capabilities of the human
brain, even when worked upon and inluene-
ed, as 10 this case, by that strange and mys-
terioas agency, dream Trey Times.
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