Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-12-21
ST0VER'S MACHINE GUN.

When Smith had finished his story old
Bolder spoke up
Il would have liked to have seen your fire.
work display" he began. at must have been
rather interesting 1t reminds me of the
time was used for baitn
Used for batin exclaimed several Of us in
astonishment
Yes, bait for Indians tell you, gentle
men, about the most unpleasant thing in this
HE is TO he used for Indian bait 1t has
made me nervous ever since. 1t is exciting
and gives a man all the horseback exercise ho
a wants, yet IL is not as u general thing a
healthy occupation. | would not care to !
Aehoose it as u steady business
The first time met Slower had no idea
Nwas crazy, He would talk as nationally
Ny man here
n n hch wasn't saying much for him. OBJ
u PED the man from ST. Paul
- - was out OF Il job in Kansas City and WAS
locking round for work OF any kind when | |
stumbled in on Slower He seemed to have
sort or machine shop There was lot of !
gun barrels lying round and portable forge |
Stool inthe corner, with the usual tools hero |
and there He said he was going west and |
ne wanted a man who knew how to take care |
OF horses and wasn't afraid of work. told |
MN was Just his man md he took me on |
the SPOT | asked him If he wanted to start
-fnachins shop further west, and he smiled
- grinly and said that that was Just what he
was going to do. We packed up lot of fix
lures that be had there in some boxes and
there was lot Of other boxes already packed
\ OF the contents Of which was ignorant
/ N wei, we got away with another fellow
a VINO deserted us wien We were out on the
M Nains, and so it was no small worI, looking
icsA vitae horses that carried the things, fef
,a y three wagons and, when the otllsr
- {eft, only two TO drive and take csse
VS. Il .1ein. 1t was the usual overland busiresA
~ lraVehng slowly all day and caRpius out 80
night We kept on the lookout for Indians,
but didn't see any, and kept on so Ions
that began to think old Slower was goine
clear through to California, bat the old man
knew where he was going and he went there
a IN bee line One afternoon when we were
~ days and days from civilization ~ came to
abiutf close to n small river
\ Al Here's our spot, said Slower
N " Why said I, you don't expect to start
N Nmnchine shop heref
IN You bet do replied Slower
~AN% Well, said, where will you get your
customl There isn't anybody but Indians
for hundreds of miles around
"'Wefl have lots Of business when we get
ready for II. Besides intend to send you
out to drum up trade if it don't come in BY
itself
ii began to suspect then that the old man
wasn't just right, but what was | TO dot
He kept the firearms and the provisions and
he owned the horses OF course could have
stolen one Of them and got away, perhaps
when the old man was asleep, but / didn't
care to do that sort Of thing. Besides
knew that the chances were ten to one that
the Indians would have me before got ten
miles of Although Slower wasn't very so
ciable, be was a heap better'n an Indian
81 took tho horses down to water and
when / came back l said to Slower: See
here, there's been some one ahead of you on
this here claim. There was a cabin down
there by the river that's been burnt down.
YES said Slower, quietly, that was my
cabin
Nonsense said now thoroughly con
WINGED that he was crazy; you don't expect
ne to believe that you were ever out here
beforen
"'If you 60 TO the other side OF the bluff
he said as quietly as ever, you will see four
graves with a rough wooden cross above
them, if the Indians have not taken it down
Those are the graves of my wife and three
children murdered by the redskins Ont
day when came home from bunting in tn.
foot hills found them there and the cabir
burned down.
come back here I said.
~ came back to settle up with the In
dams
Then you'll never leave here aiive,'
"'E,ver eTpecy to-
land = w about neN
Don't expect you viii, either hire
you
"'Great he2vens,' cried. jumping VI
DO you think hired to get killed for SIG
month";
"'Soldiers DO it for about that much sal
old Slower, as calmly as if it were an every
day bargain.
'''Yes, but soldiers know what they al
hiring for. l didn't
"'Well, you can give me months MOTIF
and quit il you want to-
"a months notice Where will We be
month if the indians get on 70 usf
BLAMED il know said old Slower.
We'll, next day the old man laid out
system OF forthcationS and set me at di
ging lie ran q shallow trench down to d
river and took out of one OF the boxes q c,
of lead pipe and uncoiled 1t down the dit
into the river and fixed up natty lit
pump inside the lines. 50 that if the India
did come they could not cut rs Off from t
water. Then ne covered up the trench, a
there we were-all right IS far water "
concerned, which is On important thing VIII
you're fighting redskins One OF the box
fixed 50 taac il was water tight, and tt
we pumped full Of water. Then Slower h
me working at the embankments went do
to the timber belt and got out some 10
which be snaked up to the top with the
horses and III the center Of the fprthCatiC
he framed his timbers together, making
mighty solid structure, partly sunk into
ground.
when I had the earthworks fnisE
Slower had his machine set up and it was
queerest looking arrangement over saw.
had all been made in Kansas City and
together there Then he had taken it apa
numbered each piece, and it went toget
again without hitch. There We're four II
OF short rifle barrels, about ten barrels
row, and one row under the other. The n
zles OF the barrels were slightly furt
apart than the butts, 50 that the battery
sort Of fan look The next row IN
was the way, bat the barrels were
exactly under each other. / suw that if
thing would shoot it would cover quite G.
OF territory. and cover il pretty well at Il
The whole affair was very clumsy loosi
but it turned quite easily on swivel
could be made to sweep the whole hOri2
Then the old man made me get lot of p
and sent me out around the fort and had
set up the poles at different points all arou
while he sighted the machine gun, Th
was one disadvantage about the thing,
that was that j. could not be raised or
cred and il the enemy once got within
range it would BE- useless. pointed this
to old Stoyer, but he merely smiled in
superior way and said be would like to
any one get past bis battery. After the p
were set ali around We tried the gun. Ste
had set out lot of thin steel bars pune
with ten holes, and in each Of the holes
placed rife cartridge He put the I
loaded bars in position, and closed up
clamped a sort of steel door lid aga
the breech. On tine outside of this door Y
four bars that cOrresponded with those on