, 1877-07-16
A FLOATING TORPEDO.
Tho InvcrtIon nf n HtononAn!nc-It E1-
pfoslcs. ls1outnR 1tself and 1ta Inventor
to Afntns.

to Atoms.
fosTtspond4nrt Csncfnaan EaqAfrrr.
HTAH ISLAND HOUSE, 8T. CLAIR FLATS, .tu1y
11.-Eatly In March, before the lakes and rivers
were clear Of iec,-ln fact, before tho leo In Lake
st. Clair had broken nt ALA man nearly 20
years old, about whose name, home, or relatives
nothing can be learned, made his appearance at
Port Huron, Ut. Clair, A1gonac, and at other
towns on the 81 Clair River. lie WINS rather
poorly dressed, had n st(l knee, and, at first
sight, would hare been taken for trnmp. Yet
tho old man not only had money, but plenty Of
II. 1Io hnd little to say to any one, md when
stopping at hotel he refused to register or else
made scrawl In place Of name. The stranger
lad nothing to do except With blncksmiths aud
machinists, unl through then, It became known
that he waa seeking to invent torpedo fur Tue
destruction Of war-vcsscls. He was not at all
communicative, seeming 10 fear that some ono
would steal he idcas; hut his plans we're grad
ually developed, as he was forced to call for
outside assistance. Regarding him as d mono
maniac, II not a lunattc, tho Oil man received
but little attention. somo castings wero tnaic
from llls patterns, and he went to Detroit and
had others made, anil about the ln[llle VI May
he bnt himself a rude slIanty on Walpolo
Island, bought a akid, two Or threc kegs Of
public oyc that ho WAS, IN ting forgotten. As near
~ cnu be nsccrtalned, tho old man was seeking
To invent II floating torpedo. Tho size of tliv
how how IL 'auch powder @ fornsd the Charge, M toi1Eh
| II ia supposcd to havc been at least fifty
pounds. with q likelihood that It was 100. Tho
torpedo was q shell OF castrtron no thicker than
tint used It! making stoyc-~arc. Il WAS pear
shaped, and divided in tho centre. tine division
was to be filled with compressed air, gas, or
other buoyant substance, and tho other waa to
I hold tho powder The torpedo was provided
set On at such an anglo Us to make them help
! tluoy up tho mass. At what may DO called
the down-fiver end Of tho torpedo was steel
@ @tso:sine It ike tde iotses r. The '5 oppos.s
i OF. up-rlYer end had q, larEe, stout ring
boltcd to it. md In this ring WIS to bs tied 4
\ rote. Tho idea was to float tho torpedo under
tic wcleht Of tho powder and The bloyancy i
tho floating material. To operate II ono w0uld
have to put out In a boat above tho veascl to be
attacked, aud let the torpedo float down In line.
| When tho WODdcn bar or cross piece struck tho
vessel tho steel would DO forced In, and >aome
ssntrivnncc inside would strike of tic Charge,
| tho same as tn a.l Internal machine. am not
ah1e to ura's n. sloscF paren1s1s because te
known that he built torpedo Of the shape de-
acrtbctl, bccalse scycrul persons SAW Il, and be-
cause he submitted drafts ata plans to others.
Somc OF tho Indians OH tho Island tnw the tnn-
rtne monster several times, anl wero taken iuto
tho old mans confidence o,urh closer than the
| whites. ..
! On TIC 2lkh OF juno tho crazy Inventor wcnt
t. Detrof. on some Grand or other, and WIS
absent until July =. llc probably secured the
last things needed to complete lis torpedo, for
be VIA heard working all that night. On the
9th he cndcayored to hire the Captain Of y
schooner TO tow tho Invention across Lake 81.
Cfalr for lin, but as he would not tell what It
was, md as he nct@d very strangely, no bargain
was made. The torpedo vas then anchored Oft
water, ani several fishermen Inspected i and
Galleu H. q huuY. On tho evening ut tho 9th tho
old man and hts torpedo disappeared without
saying good-bY to any ono. He took away all his
Of the shanty, md iron. this it l. supposed
spot. t At Il o'clock That n1ght .ho crews cre q
vsssss sa9g tor ne ;%s canal r sav
explosion. The eky was clear, nntl yot they
were inclined to think there hatt been flash Ut
lightning aud u clap Of thunder. Nvither fasll
nor shock were repeated, and some Of the as
Tuesday morning tho old mans aldH. badly
smashed, mas found OIL tho canal, Is aiso solno
OF tho boards hc took AWAY. Tho boards wero
split and shattered ~ II pounding on the rocks.
Tho old man started fnr sono point below With
Ills torpc4o, probably toWing It after tho skin.
It might not hayc been prepared for explosion,
but tnat + did explodc there can oo no room
or driving ahead ol It, thcrc wQs tareo enough
TO blow tho inventor sky.higll. aud tia wonder
that q, vcstiyo Of his boat was discovered.
lIs hover received my lettern; mover mentioned
the name Of any listant city; mover read news
| paper; and lad no care except to thwart curl
osity ind tIn!sh Ills machine. II not crazy then
lie was "qucer,'' and yut he lad all the wit of
an inventor and all tho craft Of an expert ma
rhIntst. Willie the tlash of tho explosion WIS
fierce enough, the shock itself had tho dull, pro-
ionYcd gr0wl OF u columblaat fired from m
carthwork. Tho forcn OF tho explosion must
have bcen downward or to- right ar left, as
numerous dead tlsh were found loating around
tAo wrerked skin A piece Of new ineh-Eopo
VIA t4bytett around tho boat, and the cnds were
frsycd and hacked a. II cut by saw, d. c.