The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1880-04-09
Two Wonderful Clocks.

One of the most curious clocks ever
made was completed many years ago by
Karl Keller, German miner of Penn
sylvania. It so nearly resembles the
famous Strasburg clock as to seem almost
an imitation; but Kelter declares that he
has never seen the great clock of Stras-
burg, and that he had never heard of it
until his own work was nearly completed.
At any rate, some account OF Ketler's
clock will be of interest to American
boys and girls, as the first piece of
mechanism of this sort our own continent
has produced.
Kelter has occupied three whole years
in the construction of his wonderful
timepiece, during the last of the three
working at it day and night, and often SO
absorbed in his undertaking as to forget
food and sleep. He was a man of very
limited education, without any of the
advantages of travel or wide observation,
and the whole work of this curious clock
was performed with no other tools than
two common jack knives.
The clock is eight feet high and four
broad, has sixteen sides, and is sur
rounded by a globe, over which is a
cross. There are four dialplates, all
carved in curious. emblematic figures
of most unique designs. One of these
dials shows the day of the month 4;
another the days of the week; the third
the minutes and seconds, and the fourth
the hour of the day. Above the dial
plates gallery extends about half way
around the clock, and in the center of
this gallery is a carved wooden figure OF
the Savior, while at each end is a small
door opening into the body of the clock.
Over the right door is an eagle, and over
the left O rooster. Twice day, that is,
at noon and midnight-the is sweet
Ginning of bells, during which the small
door at the right opens, twelve wooden
figures, personating the twelve apostles,
march in procession, with st. Peter at
their head, all along the gallery. Each
in turn, as he passes the Lord, bows with
face toward him, and then, resuming his
former position, walks slowly forward
till he reaches the door at the left, which
they all enter. When Peter salutes the
Lord the cock crows; and when Judas,
who is in the rear, with one hand shield
ing his face and the other grasping
bag, reaches the cock, it crows twice. At
the extreme corners of the clock, placed
on pedestals, are beautifully carved
statutes of Moses and Elias, and in the
rear are two obelisks of the Egyptian
style, inscribed in hieroglyphics and
designed to symbolic the ancient period
of history. The clock will run thirty
two hours, and by special attachment
the procession of the apostles may be re-
peated whenever desired.
But the most astonishing thing I ever
heard of in the way of a time-piece, is
II 1x, ioh 1,a
longing to native Prince of upper In
treasure in his luxuriant palace.
In the front of the clocks disk was a
gong swung upon poles, and near it was
pile of artificial human limbs. The
pile was made up of the full number of
ps-ts for twelve perfect bodies, but
all lay heaped together in seeming con.
fusion.
Whenever the hands of the clock indi-
Gated the hour of one, out from the pile
crawled just the number of parts needed
to form the frame of one man, part join
ing itself to part with quick, metallic
click, and, when completed, the figure
sprang up, seized a mallet, and, walk
ing up to the gong, struck one blow that
sent the sound pealing through every
room and corridor of that stately castle.
This done, he returned to the pile and
fell to pieces again. When 2 o'clock
came two men arose and did likewise;
and SO through all the hours of the day,
the number of the figures being the
same as the number of the hour, till at
noon and midnight the entire heap
sprang up, and, marching to the gong,
struck one after another, each blow,
making twelve in all, and then fell to
pieces Cincinnati Gazette.