The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1885-09-23
MOSS SYSTEM OF SIGNALS
Navel IN pr f,.nei.tz OF Volunteer Signal
service Corps Decorators.

Navel Experiments OF :. Volunteer Signal
service Corps Decorators.
.irouk!Yn Eagle
The Signal corp Is composc'-of about
twenty young men ambitious for mill
tary fame, most 81 whom either are or
have been members Of the National
rrarj Lieut. l.: +; Moss, Of the First
battery, y. q. j. H. \, is the organizer
and originator of the corps, and from
his personal pocket are paid out the con
siderable sums required for experiments,
etc, with the expectation that when the
corps has perfected its system Of signals
it will be recognized by the war depart
mcnt. Each member of the corps agrees
10 j.. OXIDE his own outfit, including
horse, and serves without pay or re
enumeration. The outfit ut present IS
comparatively small, but when the
plans Of Lieut.. a.oss are perfected 1t
viii include u huge copper cantcen, to
DO siun. across the back, containing
turpentine for the torches, and fifty OK
plo5Ive shells about eight inches long
and one and half in diameter.
This dangerous necklace IS the device
Of Mr.. Moss, who has invented the new
explosive OF which they are composed
This is II white powder which burns
rapidly on ignition and Will not explode
without certain decorating cap.
Beside the cantccn aIsl the necklace,
e:tch man carries II small arsenal slun@
on his back, in the shape Of % twenty
inch brass mortar. for field service, and
will he supposed. ted" 10 carry u
number of paper mort:r5 (which will
fire lombS six or seven times, Gags,
torches, and other paraphernalia The
object of all these noisy things IS to
signal on land during time of war. The
present system of military signaling is
by the manual alphabet arms and legs
the waving Of flags and burning OF
colore.I lights. But for such emergencies
rs fog or mist in time of war The mill
tary authorities have made no provision,
TO meet this want Lieut. Moss has de
voted his time and means, and has de
vised a code of signals, by explosives,
as complete. rs any cole can be- made.
Last night the quiet inhabitants OF
rural Fay i,idge We're startled 'y !,
series of loud reports from the vicinity
Of Fourth avenue and sixty third street,
and when they locked out on the scene
they were startled by u score or SO OF
flaming torches waving about at differ
ent points of the woods and hills
Bombs were fired and exploded high up
in the air, with defamation and pyro-
technic G ject unapproached by the most
elaborate Fourth Of July display. tX-
plosivc shells Were sent careering
toward the moon, anu were answered
from distant points. ocket5 ana de
tOnatOrS We're made to converse as in
diligently as letters and words but
very no>ly. The coored lights were
burned, the mortar5 boomcd with APP
parent re .kiessncSS and prOdlgality Of
powder.
B.t, though the whole exercise was
rather confusing than entertaining tc
the hcwiticrci So" tatOrs, it was rs in
telli5iblt us he words of a book to those
who were drilling IN chronosemic sig
naAnG, everything depends upon the ae
curacy OF the time fuse, one second ;
lime too much between two explosion,
may have an entirely unintended mean
ing, and rs tie experiments with the
time fuses last night Were made for the
:iist time, this department was not quit.
perfect, and the exercises terminated in
slight accident.