The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1876-01-30
INTERNAL MACHINES.

merhaven. 1t seems that the igniting me
chanism was common clock, of strong con
| struction, and with its works so arranged al
| to cause thirty pound hammer to strike a
| blow every ten days. The dynamite was
placed in four zinc boxes arranged one above
the other, the clock and hammer being be.
tween the second and third. As to how the
explosion WAS caused there is much differ.
ence of opinion, but it is probable that it was
due to one of two causes: either the dyna.
mite exuding out Of its receptacles and being
exploded by the conclusion of dropping the
box, or the premature fall of The hammer
Il is curious to mark how much mech anical
ingenuity has been expended Oh these engines
OF destruction: ingenuity which, if devoted to
honest ends, would have gained for its pos
SCISSORS far greater rewards than they ever
might hope to obtain through the terrible
crimes intended. Thomassen's apparatus,
above described, is comparatively crude, no.
tsbiy so in view of the fact that he must have
ex mined her devices before deciding upon
its use. Take. for instance, the machine
to ship aboard ore OF the Messageries
Msraime Companys vessels at Bordeaux or
Marsellles. As usual, heavy insurance on
worthless gooss was the object Of the plan.
The principal of this arrangement was that
of the needle gun. The needle was set in q
bolt, which was acted on by q spring in a
tube. Ia order to hold the bolt back, thus
com pres,in the spring, q catch on tins
ormer engaged with hammer headed lever.
The lever VAS also attached to springs, which
tended to draw away tho catch, but the opera
ton OF which was opposed by large disk
placed close against tho lower part of the
lever head and held in Its place in front of the
catch on the bolt In the disk there was q
>-oh laa Z, l.x, To
into when that portion of the disk
was suitably presented The disk was
rotated by train of clockwork at a
fixed speed, and its edge was spaced
of 50 that two consecutive marks would come
opposite a fixed point in exactly one day
Surprising, therefore. the disk to be marked
in ten portions, and the machine to be re-
CURED to explode in eight days, the lever
would be set at the eighth mark from the
notch. The olockwork started, the disk would
revoive until, at the eighth day, the notch
would come opposite the lever, and the
latter would tall into it, so freezing
the needle and exploding the cart dge All
of this mechanism was pl,ced in common
packing box, and nitro-gly cerine or other fear
fully powerful explosive was used. For
tunately the scheme was discovered and frus-
trated in time.
The coal shell is another internal device,
the invention of which, the London Times in
Inmates, may be attributed 10 some over
zealons supporter of Mr. Plimsoll's Parlia-
mentary endeavors to prevent the sacrifice of
sailors lives Gu rotten ships. Z .ch shell has
hollow brass casting resembling moderate
sized lump Of coal, and was simply filed
with an Explosive mixture. When coal was
delivered to a vessel. it WAS intended (said the
witness, who is supposed to have oncocted
the shell and the sensational story to mix in
a few of the shells, which, when carefully
BACKED it would be apostolic to distinguish.
They would, with the coal, be shoveled into
the furnaces and instantly blow up, destroy
ing the vessel. whose loss would probably
be attributed to boiler ex-
p!osiuu.
Ingenuity of much higher and hence
more tieudish order has been brought to
bear in the construction Of "rats," which are
of two species, one intended to operate Oh
iron, the other on wooden ships Tue iron
ship rat consisted Of pig of iron, similar in
appearance to that commonly used for kent.
ledge or ships ballast. OF course where
several hundred Of there pigs were carried
next the keelson and on the floor of the
ship, careful scrutiny of each would be
altogether impossible. 1uto the block hole
was made, aud in this tubular boring tool
hollow and filled with acid, Was placed.
Above The tool weighted lever was rigged
aud so placed as to work to and fro horizon
tally in Space cut out out of the top Of the
pig. The whole was carefully boxed in and
the surface of the iron restored The rolling
of the ship would cause the lever to sway back
and forth, and SO act on the tool AS to carry it
against the ships side. A spring helped to
push the tool, and the latter, aided by the
acid, very slowly but surely made its way
through the iron and opened leak. The
latter. being in a location very difficult to find
or even to plug, unless closed in some way,
would cause the ship to fill and sink.
The wooden rat was much more complex,
and certainly more ingenious. In box were
placed, at a distance OF FIVE feet apart two
yer ical cylinders. Between these was hori-
zonial cy Under having piston working in it,
the rod passing through s.uffiog box. The
other end Of the fod worked a weighted
ratchet drill. The vertical cylinders were each
half filled with water, and each connected by
separate pipe with opposite ends of the hori-
zontal cylinder. When the ship rollei. the
water alternately leaving and recurring TO the
vertical cylinders, acted on tho piston. the 70
ciprocating motion of which was converted
into rotary motion at the auger, Which thus
worked its way through the vessels side.
After the hole was made, the auger was freed
the water. SO that it neither choked the hole.
nor remained as evidence OF how the same
was produced. The box, even if discovered,
would indicate nothing save to a mechanical
eye. Both of the rats, OF course, required that
their originator ora confederate should adj ust
them to their work.
The use of Internal machines for wholesale
in order to gain insurance, is of
comp aratively recent date, as the old and COM
mon employment of these devices was, and
Till is IN a measure, to destroy individuals OBJ
noxious to the perpetrator Of the crime. In
1888, it will be remembered, Fieschi devised
IN ingenious arrangement OF twenty-five gun
barrels (perhaps the prototype of the modern
which were discharged all at
once at the object of his hatred, Louis Phil
ippe, without accomplishing the purpose in
intended, however. The Orsini bombs, de-
signed for the slaughter of Louis Napoleon
and his family, were small iron shells made in
halves and screwed together. The interior
was filled with POWDER and the outside COM
pletely studded with nipples and percussion