Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1870-08-15
CHANCES IN T

nlans OeunS nlI ny u DuiieI W6re
slight. 1t has been estimated that in
Wellington's campaigns In Spain 1t
took eight hundred bullets to kill one
man, but much Of this waste of lead
and powder was due to carelessness
and ignorance on the part of the men ;
some fired so high that the balls went
over the heads Of the enemy, Others so
low that they went into the ground.
Even in our own recent war, with
greatly improved firearms, the num-
Der Of killed and wounded was very
small compared with the immense
number of shots fired. Mr.. Francis
Cation, In his recent work on "Hered-
itary Genius" presents some curious
calculations as to a mans chance Of
being struck by bullets In a battle.
Que man differs from another In hight
and In width, therefore the chance Of
the one as compared with that Of the
other varies as the sectional area Of his
body : that Is to say, rs his hight null
tipIied into his average breadth. But
this is not the whole truth, and Mr..
Gallon admits 1t for large mel are
more likely to be hit, not merely on
account Of the greater area Of their
bodies, but also OIL account Of their be-
ing more conspicuous from their size,
and therefore being moro likely to be
singled ont as a mark. The principle
Of "natural selection" on the part OF
the enemy's bullets, here comes into
operation, and Mr.. Cation endeavors
to correct his estimate of chances by
taking the weight of the man into &C
count. 1t is not easy to perceive the
| force Of this mode Of reasoning, but
! the result of it Is that the chance of a
mans being accidentally shot in bat
tie is as the square root Of the product
of his hight multiplied into his weight.
Thus, supposing u man to be two hum
bred and twenty-five pounds In weight
and six feet two and a halt inches
high, lie will escape from chance shots
for only two years, while a nan OF
one hundred and twelve pounds weight
and five feet six inches high would es-
cape for three. The total relative
chances against being shot In battle of
two men of these respective heights
and weights are as three to two In favor
of the smaller man in respect to acct
dental shots, aud in a decidedly more
favorable proportion in respect to d.
rect aim, the latter chance being COM
pounded Of the two following: first,
a better hope Of not being aimed at
and, secondly, a hope, very little less
than three to two Of not being hit
when made the object of an aim. Had
Nelson been q large mar instead Of a
mere feather weight, 1t is probable that
he would not have survived so long the
extraordinary dangers he encountered.
In the course of five years he took part
in a hundred and twenty actions ut
sea, including the battles of Cape st.
Vincent and the Nile, and In them he
lost an arm aud an eye. He was ulti-
mately killed at Trafalgar latter es-
Gaping death at Copenhagen by II Of
many shots aimed directly at hun by q
rifeman in the maintop of the French
ship, with which his own was closely
engaged; but it should at the same
time be added that on this occasion he
greatly increased the chances against
him by pacing the quarter deck In full
uniform, with all his medals and Or
ders fastened on his breast. When the
famous Marshal Soult visited England,
a story appeared in the newspapers to
the effect that some English veteran
had declared the hero must bear a
! charmed life, for that he tthe soldier)
had covered him with his rifle upward
OF thirty times, and yet never hit him.
It is not at all surprising TINT the I'M
educated believe some men to bear
charmed lives, when we remember Ma
puleon at the bridge Of Lodi, and again
nc Arcola, where, it is set down In his
tory, the Austrian artillery swept of
everybody but himself within n circle
where he was standing, yet he led the
way across the bridge unharmed -
though the grape ratified In a perfect
hnilstorm around him. The same may
be said of Wellington at Waterloo,
where, it Is reported, that every man
of his staff was either killed or wound
ed, and lie had tor \ while to do their
work until others could be brought up
from the other end Of the line. he es-
, Gaping all the while untouched. Many
more Instances of such exemptions
from the havoc going OH all around
can be found In history, but these are
two remarkable cases, familiar to most
people. 1t will be found that the ma
iority Of officers Of the higher grades
survive not only one, but many bat
ties. Mr.. Gallon estimates this ma
iority at sixty per cent, but his figures
do moi bear ont this theory. He has
selected Il list of thirty-two Of the most
eminent commanders; but Of these
only seven died OH the field Of battle,
which would make the proportion sev-
enty-eight per cent. The most form
liable enemies an army has are camp
fever, p~rivation, over-fatigue, and too
great exposure to heat, cold and damp
and the ~carelessness of the men. These
kill three times as many men asrthe
bullet does; and yet the bullet kills
its thousands, Notwithstanding the
large chances in favor Of the escape of
any individual soldier. T
Mrs. STEvENsis known In San Fran
cisco as the "bewitching little curly
headed editor " Of the Pioneer.
1,ur lota rshc1 Ganarnl rhouas I.