Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1871-06-30

the GROUNDS OF your claim and the nature Of
your discovery
"'Thnt is the object of my VISIT he re.
piled y claim to havo discovered the key
which unlocks the constituent gases of water
aud frees each from tho embrace of tho other,
ut single touch
"'You mean to assert l rcjoiucd, sthat
you can make water bum itself up?
"'Nothing more nor less he responded
Except ths--to insist upon tho consequences
Of the secret, if my demands be not ut onco
complied with
"'Now suppose fling the contents of
this small phul into the Pacific Ocean, what
would be the result? Dare you contemplate it
for an instant? / do not assert that Tie entire
surface of the sea would inslantaneously bub
bic up into ins,lifcrublc flames no, but from
the nucleus of circle, Of which this phial
would be the centre, lurid r.dii Of flames
would gradually shoot outward, until the bla.
zing circumference would roll in vast b;llows
of fire, upon tho uttermost shores Not all
the dripping clouds Of the deluge could cx-,
tinguish it; not all the tears Of saints and
angels could for an instant check its progress
Onward and onward it would sweep, with tho
steady gate of destiny, until tho continents
would melt with fcrvent heat, the atmosphere
glare with the ominous confagration, and all
living creaturcs--in land, and sea, and air.
perish in one universal catastrophe.'
"Ihcn, suddenly starting to his feet, he
drew himself to his full height, and murmur-
Cd solemnly. Il feel like Cod aud rccor.
nize my fellow.mcn but as pigmics thut |
spurn beneath my feet
at this Parker states that he attempted to
reason with Summcricld upon the absurdity
of believing that he held in his hands power
so mighty, at which tho latter rctortcd with
quotations from the Scriptures, IIumboldt's
| Cosmos, and TIC works Of famous astronom.
ical writers, proving that it was not only pos,
siblc for entire planets to be destroyed by fire,
but that such terrible events had actually oc.
cured. The answer concluded, he handed
Parker small phial, requesting him to open
it and smel of its contents, the result being
that a strong odor of potassium was observed.
at this Snmmcrfcld continued, "Of course"
said he, ''you arc familiar with the chief
characteristic Of that substance. 1t iynites
instantly when brought into contact with wa
ter. Within that little globulc of potassium
have imbeddcd pill of my own compost.
ton and discovery. The moment it is libcr.
atcd from the potassium it commences the
work of dccomposng the fluid on which it
floats. The potassium at once igntos the lib
Grated oxygen, and the ccnAagration Of this
mighty globe is begun
Yes said J, begun, if you please, but
your little pill soon cvaporatcs or sinks, or
n'clts in the surrounding seas, and your con
migration ends just where it begun
But snoercd he, 'tlc elementary sub
stances in that small phial rocrcatc themselves;
they arc self generating, and when once fairly
under way, must ncce 'saIity sweep onward,
until the waters in all the seas arc exhaus.
ted
Kissing from my seat, went to the wash
stond in the corner Of tho apartment, and,
drawing bowl full of Spring valley water,
turned to SummcrGcld and remarked words
are emf ty, theories arc ideal 4 but facts arc
things"
"L take you at your word" So saying he
approached the bowl, ompticd it of nine.
tenths of its contents, and silently dropped
the potassium coated pill into the liquid The
potassium danced around the edges of the
vessel, Jumping, Kissing and blazing, as it al,
ways does, and seemed on the point of expr
ing, when to my astonishmcnt and alarm IA
sharp explosion took place and in a second of
time the water was blazing in red, lurid
column half way to tho ceiling.
"For Gods sake" [ cried "cxtinguis' the
h"''1" W w oi'"ii ocV VIC DuuulDH OH IRE.
llad dropped the potassium into the
bowl as you prepared it," he quietly remark
ed, "thc building would indeed hayc been
consumed" Lower and lower fell the flick
cring flames, pner and paler grew the blaze,
until finally the fire went out, and [ rushed
up to sec tho effect of the combustion
"Not drop Of water remained in the vcs
sci Astonishcd beyond measure at what 1
had witnessed, and terrified almost to the
verge of insanity, approached Summcr(icld
and trcmblingly inquired "To whom, sir,
is this tremendous secret knowa 2 70 myself
alonc,' he rcspondcd antf now answer NE
question, is it worth the money!
"It is entirely unnecessary to relnto in do.
tail the subsequent events connected with the
transaction. [ will only add general stntc.
mcnt, showing the results of my negotiation.
Having fully satisfied myself that Summer.
field actually held in his hands the fate of the
whole world, with its millions of human be.
ings, and by experiment having tested the
combustion of sea water, with equal facility
as fresh, next deemed it my duty to call tho
attention of few Of the principal men in
San Francisco to the extreme Importance of
Summerfied's discovery.
"a leading banker a bishop, chemist,
two State university professors physician, a
judge, and two Protestant divincs were sclcc
ted by re to witness tho experiment on a
large scale. This was at small sandhil
Jake near the shore, but separated from it by
ridge of lofty mountains, distant not more