The Plymouth Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1869-1941, 1870-08-25
The New French MitraiileaIse.

To judge from the mystery that has
been observed about this invention one
would suppose that the French possessed
a monopoly in the Machine Gun, but this
in truth is not the fact. They are not the
only inventors, mol indeed the on pos.
SCISSORS, of g. weapon which is expected 10
destroy battalions with one Whit of shot,
the original mactine gun coming, we be
feve, from America, and being known as
the Gatllng Battery Gun. Belgium also
possesses an Instrument OF this kind,
known as the Montigny Gun, and, what
is more to the purpose, the Prussians have
also n called the K~uSclspritZen.
The principle of all these guns is the
same, and consists of q combination Of
barrels, rather larger than a common rifle,
bound together and mounted on a car
rage and trail like a field piece. The bar
rels are connected with a powerful br, ech
action worried by a lever, and il is in this
breech action that the details differ in the
various guns. In ~ the gun is ted
through q kind of funnel, whilst the gun
uer, turning a winch, pours out a contin-
uous stream of bullets. In another the
eua is loaded by means of a movable
Dreech block, consisting of a steel
plate perforated to correspond with
the number of barrels This breech
block, having been charged with
cartridge, is dropped into the breech,
screwed up, and then discharged by turn
ing the winch handle, q second charged
plate being ready as . o as the first is
exhausted. Three men, il is said, would
be sufficient to work this gun at the rate
OF ten discharges a minute, and the
French, on the strength of a recent ex-
pertinent ut Satory, when five N
horses We're killed in a minute and a nall,
consider they have got a weapon before
which no enemy can stand Uninterested
| people, however. while acknowledging It's
| great utility in the defence of a breech or
IN street fighting, doubt its fitness tor the
battlefield. as il would there have to com
pete with the field gun, which, while out
of reach of the bullet shower OF the MI
t%raillense, would find no great difficulty III
~silencipg its many barrelled enemy. One
advantage clsimed for the new gun Is
that it does not become demoraliZed, how
ever hot the fire of the enemy may be
but. on the other hand, neither does the
field piece become demoTaiized, 1t Is the
lnen who work the respective guns who
get nervous at the conuguity of bullets
and we believe two men are as likely tC
run away as half q dozen However
the merits Of the MItrailleuse hav,
vet To be tested in real warfare
and il may come out of the ordea
triumphantly, or it may meet more
than its match in the Kugelspritzen. 1
is curious how little has been heard @
the latter weapon, and 1t is only from
word or two here and there that We know
of its existence. The Prdssians seem t.
Z have the knack of improving their arma
ments in real secrecy being content Il
work without talking, the rest OF TIT
world lakes no notice OF their proceed
inss until they appear, ready to DO battle
armed with some new and deadly wea
non. as was the case with the needle gun
The French, on the other hano, hav'
talked SO much, ms boasted so loudly, o
Their formidable Mitrailleusc, making tn
while n most ostentatious parade of sc
crecy. that it would have been hard In
deed if some inquisitiSe person had ne
found out the details of the gun.
Experiments with machine guns, com
menced by the English Government som
time back, have for the last two year
been suspended, but now We undsrstan
they will be Resumed, and a trial OF In
Calling snd Montigny 81 stems will b
held shortly at Woolwich, in order to ties
their relative merits.-Erery Saturday.