Daily Los Angeles herald., 1878-08-20
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oanenes'a Msxs Achisvemess. :.
The telephone and its correlative
developments are not the latest
Wonders Of scientific achievement,
nor fs Edison the monopolist of the
11ventnrous projects Of our later
days founded upon the facts of
PHYSICAL science. A gentleman
namsd Gresham, OF New York city,
who IL thirty-three years of age,
and who IL very earnest and ami
mated on the subject Of his own
Invention. as much so as Edl-
son, indeed. is the latest candidate
for the admiration Of those who
believe that tho human intellect
has merely just entered on its tri.
umphs. To photograph q ship on
the high seas, distant from 100 to
5000 miles, giving the name, the
latitude and longitude, and the
dsstination. taken from chalk
naarks on her deck, is a problem
the solution of which Mr.. James
Gresham, Of csS Greenwich street,
New York, Is working out.
At the first glance the notion
would seem to have emanated
ffom . disorganized brain, or 10
have been the imagining OF q
dreamer. Such. however, is not
the case. The idea Is the result OF
: long series Of experiments by a
practical mschanician, one of
whose in vsntions, tsis submarine
travelling torpedo, charged with
explosive asphaltum, has gone far
toward revolutionizing naval war
fare.
The phenomena Of the mirage
Il well known to mox seamsn.
Undsr the peculiar atmospheric
oonditione, ships and prominent
points are often made visible By
them on the apparent horizon at
distances varying from SO to l50
miles. These figures are invariably
ssen inverted, or, as photographers
ray, negatively. The theory o.
Mr.. Gresham is founded upon thu
mirage. III fact, he has discovered
. method Of producing an artificia
mirage, the principle OF which hs
says is the same as that which re
flscts, In the middle Of the desert
Of Sahara, the images Of lakes ant
waters . thousand miles distant
A year ago last spring, Mr.. Ores
ham received au order for coating
OF ssphsltum for the roof OF ono Of
Josegh Sseiner'3 tea stores, at Hud'
son and Spring streets. New York,
He says: my men were engaged
ID mixing asphaltum aud ii tai
In cauIdron, owe hot fire in tn
strest, Ia front of the store. /,
WAS = clear, sunshlny afternoon,
and I was walking about the roof
making tha usual examination
Suddenly q dense black smO Ii
arose from the street below, and
knew ths men had upset the cal
dfon. aud that its contents hat
ignited. l knew there WAS n,
danger of fiiiug the house, an,
l WAS curiJusIy watching th'
great masses of black smoke roll
ing overhead. Suddenly a sun
beam shot through them, aul
behei,l y sight I shall never forget
Pictured IN the same weird form
that lave seen distant ships tax,
ct ssa during mirage. [ observed
distinctly large brig lying at a
wharf at Hunters Point Oh fire.
The whole scene was sharp and
distinct. One body Of meu, with
the hose, were throwing water on
the burning vessel, and another
gang were casting off the line.
? from the schooners that were m ade
fast to an adjoining wharf. I could
even distinguish the different sails
rs they caught fire. I saw tongue
Of flame run up the fore shrouds
and ut the cross trees ignite the
to'gallant sails aud thence run up
the royal. I could scarcely believe
my senses. by this time the fire
engines were playing upon the
cauldron Of asphaltum in the
street, and my men came to tell
me the cause Of the accident.
Their names are Thomas Casey
and George Combes. They are
employed by me yet. 1 pointed
out the phenomenon to them, and
they, too, were overwhelmed with
astonishment. They recognized
the locality as Hunters Point, and
saw the objects rs clearly as I did
myself. When the fire from the
asphaltum WAS extinguished, and
the smoke blew away, the mirage
disappeared.
III afterward asccr.ained that the
brig was filled with petroleum, and
this latter substance and asphaItum
are the only ones that I have been
stle to find that will produce the
artificial mirage. Isaw that had
msde an important discovery, and
It once set about making ma
chine by which I could reprodu ce
the mirage on tin. This 1 have
succeeded In doing, but thus far