Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1889-06-06
CAPT. ZALINSKI'S HOUSE
The Surrc findings of The Man Who Made the
Dynamite Gun

The Surrc findings of The Man Who Made the
Dynamite Gun
| Among the houses which constitute II e
officers barracks at Fort Hamilton, SAYS
| the New York Sun, is one set apart for
| the protector and perfecter of the pneu-
matte dynamite gun which will play so
emportant part in the reconstruction of
our naval armament. Capt. Zslinski's
house does not differ in architecture from
those OF the other officers quarters at
the fort, nor is it in any way remarkable
in its furnishing. 1t is simply commodious
and respectable within and without. The
visitor would comment, however, upon
the number of flags and revolvers he saw.
The flags are veterans collected by the
Captain for their association with ia
nous battles in the nations wars It gives
you slight start as you hang your coat
In the hall TO see two murderous looking
re Eolvers crossed upon the hat rack shelf.
They lay as if placed there awaiting the
grasp of couple of short range d9ellist.
Recovering rom, the start, THE visitor enters
the tag-draped parlor, and at once starts
again at the sight of two huge weapons
on the center table. He turns away, and
sees others on the wall and on the mantel.
They are all of different patterns. Flags
and revolvers are the Captains hobbies
when he isn't studying dyl emite. But
dynamite is Capt. Zalinskij's main brace.
i've never seen any dynamite, :" said a
young lady who was visiting his sister a
few evenings ago. The Captain at once
took small box from table near by, and
pulled out stick of amber gelatinous sub
stance resembling jujube.
"Wlll it go off if you drop it on the
foor?" asked the girl timidly.
81 don't know" said the Captain. off it is
made right it won't, but, of course, have
to take the manufacturers word for it
that 1t is properly compounded"
The company at once dispersed from that
immediate vicinity.
The study where the dynamite gun
was perfected is in the rear of the house.
1t Is plain room, plainly furnished.
On one side are rows of shelves filled with
hundreds of pamphlet boxes with backs
like books. In these are stored treatises,
clippings and papers, carefully classified,
upon the science of projectiles, strength
materials. explosives, pneumatics,
mathematical curves, practical gunnery,
and other subject relating to his special
ty. They supplement-, with the latest devel
opments of the world, the exhaustive
technical library that occupies another
side of the room. A long fiat desk,
filled with papers, occupies the center of
the floor, and neer it Is typewriter and
curious looking cabinet. 1t is to this
cabinet that Capt. Zalinski first takes his
visitors. He is probably thefrst man to
use the photograph in the direction in
which probably lies its greatest future
success. He uses it instead of a stem
ographer. All his letters, his lectures,
his memoranda, he talks into the open
mouth of his phonograph. His secretary
then writes them out at her leisure from
these verbal notes. Miss Zainski, his
sister, is his secretary. When his wife
died, his sister came to live with him.
She learned shorthand and typewriting,
studied out his problems after him, read
up his dry mathematics, and has become
one of more use to him than thousand
paid stenogra pliers, since she is almost
as much of an expert in dynamite, pneu-
MATES and gnnnery as her brother.