San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1894-08-02

TAILOR DOVE SHOWS HIS
HIS ARMOR.
palace windows and cause the rene
gold-stick i'll waiting to eject him from
the premises.
The idea at the bottom of Herr
Doves bullet-proof material is famil-
lar enough, says Harper's Weekly, the
question of multiplying the blow of
proiectile by the use of yielding sur
faces has always been considered for
the protection of forts and vessels of
war. Gen. JackSon's use of cotton
bales at New Orleans was repeated
several times during the civil war.
And while cotton has the demerit of
infiamma bility, iron and stone breast
works have been generally given up
for earth or sand, because the latter of
fer slow and cumulative resistance.
The same principle is used by Herr
Dove to arrest the fight of bullet.
Some time ago he brought his inven-
ton to the notice of military men, and
was received with as much disdain as
befell the Brave Little Tailor in the
nursery tale when he met the giant.
The giant Militarismus looked with the
utmost scorn at the clever tailor. and
to his claim of cOmradeship merely an
swered: On Lump! Du miserabler
Kerl-' But the tailor took off his coat
and showed the giant that size does not
always count in this world.
From the first of his present eXper-
L, l., |, ID
feet confidence in the impeuetrability
of his metallic and cloth shield. He
asked to wear it and have soldier fire
at him point blank. The authorities
refused, and compromised on an oak
stand and a plaster bust. The bust
was uniniured. Then the shield was
hung against a living horse. The
animal was quiet at the time the bull
let struck the shield, and hardly seemed
to know that anything was happening.
1t was only after these experiments
that Herr Dove was allowed to show
the courage of his own convictions by
enacting the scene of William Tells
son with a difference. He assured the
cOncourse of experts and military men
that he did not feel the bullets when
they struck.
Doves bullet-prOOf cloth is made in
part of compressed material supposed
to be hemp, like the prior invention Of
the Austrian engineer Scarnes, in part
of network of iron wire. The wire,
1t is said, is embedded in the hempen
felt. The material is fully an inch
IL Nl,,A l,
term cloth has to be stretched to cover
it. One merit was particularly noted
during the April experiments. The
bullet does not rebound, and does not
glance if it strikes the surface at an
angle. 1t sticks in the cloth, and quite
fails to indent the inner surface. When
the bullet is plucked out it looks all
cracked and crumbling, like the inside
| of a mushroom.
To utilize this invention a breast
| plate of Doves cloth has been sug-
| gested, not for constant wear, but to
be kept In the soldiers knapsack, and
| used in various ways as shield from
bullets. Another use is for parapets
and shields for gunners handling big
| x uho III Aoi 70 vi IL PcaOLiB uho Oh DOdCo
ship. 1t is is curious how often mod
ern inventions seem to repeat those
naturally evolved in the remote past
The Mexicans wore wadded cloth
armor, and so did some of the Indiar
armies encountered by the Greeks
Linen loricas were used by soldiers in
Roman armies as substitute forbronzt
and iron cuirasses. The main differ
ence between the arrangement of the
classic loricas materials and those O.
Doves shield seems to be that whereas
the ancients fastened metal plates OF
rings ON hide or linen, Dove increases
the resisting power of cloth enormous
ly by pressure, and sandwiches The
metal between layers of cloth.
In the eternal fight between protec
tiles and armOr the honors just nov
seem to be with armor.