National Republican., 1883-06-01
1NrERNAL MACHINES.
Description OF Some OF Their Most Conn
mon Forms.



past, and sanguinary demagogues, communii-
tic and nihilistic, have rolled the lugubrious
term like a sweet morsol upon their wagging
tongues, but tho public has been kept in utter
ignorance as to the exact nature Of these
explosive compounds, which arc beginning to
play such an important part In the every day
political history of Great Britain and the
continent The nefarious business has de-
veloped into an unsuspected extent, but its
gr with has been silent. 1t was not until
within the last twelve months, when
this country was made the principal
basis of operations, that the English dc.
teetives, able TO SEQ from afar these
things which had Aourished unobserved
under their very noses, grasped tho full i'm
portance of the movement and published it
TO the world. Even all the blatant utterances
of O'Donovan Rosa, mild hammered man
that he Is, pregnant with prophecies OF huge
and terrible machines Of destruction, have
not, queerly enough, directed the attention of
the public to proper appreciation of the
secret work of which he is the open apostle
In New York city, and in Philadelphia, in
fernal machines of every conceivable pattern
are being manufactured, in many instances
within stones throw of tho headquarters
of the law. Every day there go out from
the ports of these two cities not loss than two
dozen of these machines, any one of them
of the power of that which caused the
recent explosion in tho government
buildings in London. Once in while ma
chino is discovered on board n ship about to
sail. The officers seize IL, but the other eleven
machines on the samo ship they fail to find
for good and sufficient reason. The ono ma
chine was so placed that the custom house
officials could not reasonably overlook It, 1t
was carelcssly packed, thereby giving the inn
- ali
lessly packed, or that they can be easily dis
covered. In this way the law is thrown off
tho scent. How easy is such an undertaking
will most clearly appear from description of
n few Of the machines, such as are in great
demand among the Fonians and Nihilists Of
Russia.
The most common form of internal machine
is that known as the ticker" To all in
tents and purposes IL is an ordinary tin can,
very like that In which astral oil Is sold. The
can, for such 1t is, is made of heavy galvan-
lied iron, one.sixteenth Of an inch in thick
ness. IL is one foot high and four inches
square. This machine, us we'll as all of those
now made in this country, are filled with q
new powder invented by George Holgate,
of Philadelphia. 1t has tho form of ordi-
nary gunpowder, is of a dark brown color,
only explodes In connection with the
simultaneous application OF fire and pow
der, and is estimated to be 200 times as
holds, therefore, the equivalent of 900 pounds
of powder. Upon one side, and near the top
of tho can, is attached, by means Of brass
screws, an ordinary clock spring movement
Above this movement, and connected with it,
is small, round brass wheel, about an inch
in diameter, having upon one portion of the
circumference a slot, or notch. A spring
presses upon the edge Of the wheel, which re-
wolves. When the slot Is reached in the cir
cult, the spring falls into it with a snap,
which in turn, releases another spring falling
upon nipple, upon which is a gun cap. The
nipple is of iron and extends down into the
powder, and the explosion of the cap instan-
taneously sets of tho compound in the
bottom of the can. The machine can be
set anywhere between one minute and
thirty-six hours When all is ready, the
operator closes the lid, fastens 1t with an iron
locker, and deposits 1t where he may desire to
cause the explosion. 1t can be kicked, rolled
around or hammered, but until the spring
falls into the slot and explodes the cap, there
is no danger in its handling. By putting the
car close to the lid the melancholy tick tick
. of the clock can be heard. But this is not
noticeable at distance Of six feet. The
machine Is air-tight, and water or any like
fluid has no effect on the explosive compound,
even were it not Theoretically scaled. 1t can
be securely packed in a barrel Of lard, barrel
of petroleum, q box Of tobacco, q bag of flour,
or with any of those articles of export which
are not likely to attract attention. Tho
power of such machine depends, OF course,
upon the nature OF the confined space in which
it is placed.
The most powerful internal machine made
is what is known as an "eight day" machine.
Like the ticker" it can, however, be set
from one minute upward. A machine of this
description, recently made by Holgate, Of
Philadelphia, was fourteen inches high, six
inches square, and contained the equivalent
of 5000 pounds of gunpowder, 1t can, how
ever, have square or spherical shape. 1t is
made Of galvanized iron or stout tin. The
clock movement Is SO arranged that it can be
taken out and away from the machine and
connected again at moments notice. The
operator, II he desires to divert suspicion, car.
rios the empty can in his hand and the clock
movement in his coat tail pocket. The OK.
plosion is caused by detonation. A sliding
bar Of brass, drawn by a screw attached to
the movement, when IL arrives at the slot In
the small brass disk, springs upon delicate
glass phial, made of hair tube. The phial,
which contains powerful acid, and is hermeti
cally sealed, in breaking allows the acid to es
cape. This causes the detonation, and the ex
plOsion follows. The wire on top of themove
ment, which is held in place by rubber band
connects with the cap. The acid runs into q
chlorate of potash combination. This ma
chino can be sunk in water, or secreted In
any liquid OF compound-in box of oranges
kcg of nails, or II loaf of bread. The fore,
of the explosion would be sufficient to tear tn,
largest building in the world. If placed in the
basement of the capitol at Washington anc
set of, not one stone would be left standing
upon another. A most peculiarly constructed
and deadly machine is the Little Extermi
nator." 1t is two inches high and foul
inches square, of thin sheet brass
nickeled on the inside and outside, and
has no lid, only minute hole in ont
corner. The machine Is filled with volatile
the fumes of which cause instan taneous death
The principle is the same as that of the an
cient Chinese "stink-pot," used by them SC
effectively in warfare with pirates. A thir
brass tube runs in through the small hole In
the corner, having upon its outer end a screw
cap; upon the cap is delicate watch move
ment. A spring falls into u SLOT and releases
minute steel spring saw, which is operated
by the movement and saws of the delicate
tube. This establishes direct communicates
with the oxygen of the air. which ignites tn,
volatile. The most sickening perfumes pou
out from the box killing every person within
q radius Of 100 feet. The sensation of thi
volatile is alike that caused by cayenn,
pepper. There is an intense burning in tn,
mouth, ears, and eyes, and around the heart
Respiration is snatched away as ifbya puff o
hot air. Experiments have been made upoI
cats. They die in less than three seconds.
There is n large class of internal machine
known as "bottle machines" The most or
binary kinds are inclosed in pint beer bottles
which can be conveniently carried in the Goa
pocket, The neck of the bottle Is hermeti
cally sealed with rubber cork, througl
which runs brass tube, divided into tw
parts by a thin metallic disk usually mad