Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1875-11-04
srreat Guns of Ancient and Modern
Times.

THE contest between guns and armor
continues to excite the liveliest interest
auz3ug European nations. The great ar
s,pnaIs are wing with each other Ill tie
production of mighty cannon which shall
he able to send a projectile weighing many
hundreds Of pounds through iron obsta-
ec{eS of almost incredible thickness, or of
iron targets which shall be able to resist
Gi1s heaviest bolts that can be forged A
short time ago it was announced that
ErUpp, the great German iron founder,
t1ad cast cannon superior to any hither-
TO in existence, which was destined to
solve at once and forever the vexed prob
lena Of the relative powers Of penetration
and resistance possessed by modern artil-
&erF and iron clads. The English, in their
*Ilrn, arc now rejoicing over the successful
trial Of their new eighty-tOn gun, which
Can throw projoctile sixteen inches in
diameter distance Of seven or eight
miles and pierce the sides Of the strongest
zlran-of-War aioat at closer range. Next
VIZ shall probably hear of the construction
of some uawieldy floating battery special
.ly designed to carry armOr capable of re
sisting the tremendous impetus OF shot
8gOm this latest engine of war; and then
the Cannon f0undries will glow with
foods of molten metal, until gun of still
@rUeaGer dimensions and power is produced
AS. there appears to be no limit to the size.
1f cannon, it seems probable that the vic
{ary IN the struggle between guns and
aaEHl0r will finally declare itself in favor of
the former, or that it will, at all events, be
necessary to construct vessels of the mon
Itor type only, which present the smallest
possible target to the fire of the enemy.
This is a question, however, which must
&c left to the Armstrong;, KTupps and
W AitwOrthS of the future to answer
In the meantime it is interesting to re-
member that the monster cannOns now in
existence are simply examples OF the man
Ter in which history repeats itself Four
Centuries ago, in 1873, the Turks erected
o&lfery Of guns against Scutari, the largest
f}f which was capable Of throwing a stone
shot thirty-two inches in diameter, and
W-eighing 1,640 pounds, whereas the pro
Jectile Of the English eighty-ton gun
nTcighs only $50 pounds 1t is evident,
en0Eeover, thtE these enormous guns were
s7f practical service, for it is recorded that
; r.334 rounds were fired from them in
rhfrty days. At the Castle of Asia, on the
DaEdanelles, there still exists battery of
uE1nzC cannonS some of which have bore
1wentv-cight inches in diameter When
33le British Admiral Sir John Duckworth
forced the passage of the Straits in March,
1907, one of his ships was struck bya huge
stone bullet thrown from one of these
guns, and it is said that the missile
made SO large a hole in the side
OF the vessel that the Captain, when he
locked over the side to see the eX
tent OF the injury, was surprised
IN see two of his sailors thrust their heads
Through the aperture at the same instant.
The hoyal George, whose name is famil-
lar to all readers Of Cowper's poetry, was
one of the ships injured in this encounter.
The great gun of Beejapore, with a caliber
Of twenty ight inches, is another instance
unsBre than three centuries ago. This
'seapon was last discharged, it is said
! during tlte eighteenth century on the &C.
caslon Of a visit from the Raah of Sat
tara The shot weighed more than 1000
pounds. The Tar Pooshkar, or great
gun Of Moscow, has bore thirty-fiv
inches in diameter, but has never been
fred with shotted charges, and we think
;t1lat few persons would be anxious to
make che experiment now. There are
many other great guns famous in history,
.1uE those we have mentioned are sufficient
20 prove that in the matter of capacity, at
least, the guns of the present are no more
-emarkable than the guns of the past
n 7. EDentn.g Post.