The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-08-02
oor. Rrcg,s BoUNDEs.
Rubber-ermored Warship That
Ao.n1on Balls Will Bounce on OF


-, the Nsuv York Mad and Express.
ar aronose to reyolutionize naval war
nv the introduction of a certain kind
,,irdis rubber that will send the biggest
S.nron ball skipping back TO the iEoncled
~ fortress that sent it, )" said Col. James ID.
u - ov.auditor OF the state Of Indiana, at
~ ~ TSifth Avenue hotel the other day.
'p9 Sa, Rice has no patsnt and says 1t Is
Co,, ~ ar idea of his which Uncle Sam is
free TO use. -.o,o-a, o,-,,Iara+tor IF
,,,-,ce y said the colonel, provided you
"! not TO class me among the flying ma
as iso franks. What l say may sound i'm
ealnbI put who thought OF using voodlte
- calluloss in armored cruisers and IRON
nh NIs a generation ago3 The fight between
cIauS J . and Monitor revolutioniz5d
tne o.ooTnstrnction Of naval vessels and rsle-
tne 70 ~ the past the big wooden hulks with
80 npper and lower decks"
Tha colonel got some papers. Throwing
-, dowp on the table he pointed to the
-iotnrs of ship and said: THAT is one OF
- full-armed india rubber cruisers ana
NIJ.dN1nerter fighters. It is net ready for
Cl oS. INT il supposed TO be under full
go going toward the eneny's armored
,e.Is When the vessel is in action 1t Is
We, handicapped with outside rigging. In
~ .oad ~ having armor plate TO resist cannon
sis the vessel is completely protected 70
80 water line by india rubher eight feet
tbiek The top Of the vessel Is covered with
sLa same composition and the two
t,Trets fore and aft. are completely pro-
800 Nv the rubber and by steel. have
",ed the vessel the Bounder, and in
o5ar m fully illustrate the idea Of the
raU nuotection against cannon balls l will
describe her.
THE BoUNDER.
asbe is lust 100 feet 10 length and IS feet
,,ida in the center. Toe smokestack is in
che center. and when action begins 1t can
ba drawn down to the level OF the deck.
On each turret there Is LOOKOUT mast,
xshich can be taken down in just one min
MIA These masts are put up on the prin-
C,nIe Of a water tower, only more effect
tgeIv and quicker. However, these masts
are not essential and can be dispensed with
altogether. The turrets have three port
holes for capnops but only two oannons
are in each turret and they can be sud-
denly dropped beneath the deck, loaded and
sent I'D for discharge. India rubber, or
prepared naval India rubber, four feet
fbick. protects the outside 81 the turrets,
which are made of steel.
"a ball striking a turret would bound off
and have no more effect than a rubber ball
thrown against stone will. It is a we'll
known fact that cannon balls cannot go
HbrOugl Dd6e OIL COmIuosSou COtLOus ~ Oh,
this india rubber will have the resisting
power of many bales Of cotton compressed,
and an elasticity which will throw back any
projectile."
But suppose a sharp pointed projectile
should strike the Bonnder amidships, would
it not go through like rife ball through a
pane Of glass"
BALLS WOULD BOUNCE OFF.
mo, it would not. But in the first place
couical shell fired from a cannon does not
strike with the sharp point. 1t turns over
usually goes first. But even the sharpest
pointed projectile, If it struck the Bounder
in its most vulnerable point, would not go
iq, but would bounce off like a marble
buried against a wooden ediiee. Down to
the wateF line the Bounder is invuluerable
IN feet thickness of india rubber. 1t would
not do to subject the rubber to the action of
the water, and besides it would retard the
swift motions of the vessel. 1 have in
vented certain liquid to ssturate the rub
Der with which will preserve it for many q
long day against the saline moisture"
Suppose ball from a mortar falls on
top Of the Bounderp
Fifty thousand shells might burst on the
deck of the Bounder and each fragment
would bound into the ocean as gayly as an
acrobat leaps from a springboard over a
measy elephants back. If l had not taken
into consideration the explosive quality of
she projectiles TO be hurled at my vessel,
my invention would be useless. have
given some time to the study of trajectory,
and, Of course, know Just where and how
q cannon ball Is likely to be dropped over on
be made aAd possibly the rubber may smell
little from contact with hsat,
but that will be al. would
b perfectly willing to go aboard the
Bounder if | had it constructed according
70 my plans and specifications. and attack
the entire British fleet, iron-clads and all.
II it got too hot for me could sink an
ironclad or two and get away, but in fight
with three or four ironclads they would be
at the mercy Of the Bounder.
ONLY ONE FAILING.
III told just exactly how the rubber
was made and how it was put on the
Bounder, would be giving away a secret
that other nations would not be slow in
utilizing. am first, last and all the time
an American. forgot to mention" added
ttecolonel, that the Bounder Is also tor
pedo beat, and has aboard the apparatus to
launch torpedoes successfully But that part
OF 'tis secret which only Uncle Sam can
participate IN. Frankly, l confess that a
torpedo planted under the Bounder could
SEND 1t sky high and wreck it completely
out 10 the language Of the poet:
will
n But some Of the rubber wonld Aoat around II
still.
And on that rubber some OF our brave
yankee marines would cling until rescued
81 but why picsure the Bounder being de-
sV1oyed by toppedoes7 The cost of a rubber
d 4Moured vessel the size OF the Bouaderl
~ would not cost $l.000,0 900 all told. l
81 . mean With guns mounted 10 the turret
Inc closest figuring makes the entire cost,
guns and all included, $S93,000. And
sue rubber used would not cost 500, 900,
put something near it, with the liquid
pfeparation thrown in"
~ TIE POPE'S DAILY LIFE.