Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1894-07-01
DowEs suLLrr-rnoor car
He Invented II solely because Ne y,
Tired of ueIng Poor. N

iHtu VI beink FOOr. tNF||
Modern life. with all its tales Of H.,
fortune, can show very few more intares,r' 4
examples OF the rise from poverty apd I.
security to fame and afilueuce than Nc
which Is contained in the story az I, ~
Dove and the invention OF his bulet. s.,
coat. Only few months ago DOVE NY XVI
poor and needy tailor with shop in Mss,
helm. His wife had died, several child.
were dependent upon him, business q
growing worse and worse, and 1t seemed !,
though all hope Of good luck had desa,,.,
him. Now his name is known throuyb,.. v
the civilized world, and tho future MI,
nothing but rosy promises for him ard n
motherless children.
Herr Dove is about thirty-flye wear, !.
age, rather under mcdium heirht T.,
strongly built, He has square-cut 4.
and clear blue eyes, and the expression i
his face indicates the tenacity OF purnal
which is his leading characteristic. 4,
dresses in good style and has dapper 4,
and manner. He cannot speak English
Herr Dove is under contract with Caut.,
Frank Marten, an expert marksman, 10 -
exhibitions in public places for two va,
and 1t is more than likely that one Of ,I
cities in which he will be seen is New You (
His performance is as follows.
At the beginning rino ball Is A..
through block OF oak. Then the bul4.
proof cuirass is put upon horse and /.
bullet is shot into 1t without injury h, IA /
animal. The climax is reached whom Dow.
the inventor, dons his wonderful garme.
and allows Captain Marten to take shot !,
him, which, of course, is the final test Of IA.
utility OF his invention. So many bulh..
have been imbedded in the coat that II no.
weighs several pounds more than IL did yh.
1t was first made
In giving the history OF the evolution Of II,
cuirass Herr Dove has said that tho idea
becoming an inventor was suggested to In
by the success OF neSt-door neighbct
whose ingenuity had won for him n thousa,3
marks. He determined that he, too. would h.
vent something, and he was practical enous
to realize at the outset that II must be so1e
thing akin to his trade, for he had no knovI
edge Of anything foreign TO his bushes
that would justify him in hoping to create u
new idea.
@hbpht NiuN tiAlt bttuult EEtdtlN iI+H
terested in reading accounts of the inyentin
of new guns and their terrible power Il
destroy human life. 1t presently oceurre
to him that II he could produce somethr,
that would counteract the force Of bulA
fired from such a gun his ambition woudh ,
realized. For year and half he workot
what was TO result in the cuirlss. audh
says that he probably tested 1t thousatl
times before 1t was perfected. All day low
he was occupied with his little business, and
when evening came he used to carry tile cot
out to shooting ground and experimsat
with 1t. At first the bullets went clean throun
It, Then they were stopped, but their fors
was not neutralized, and finally they wers
rendered harmless, SO that, according to
Herr Dove, when Captain Marten shoots a
bullet against the coat the man behind itdces
not feel 1t as much rs when he places lila
finger against his chest.
The first public trials OF the ouirass wers
made at shooting tournaments in Germany,
where Herr Dove hung 1t over the targets
and invited the riiemen to fire at It, They
received his offer with derison, but in tue
end their laughing turned to wonder and
admiration. They day came ut last when
Prussian officer sent an order to Herr Doss
for coat to DO used on an expedition to tho
Cameroons. Full OF joyful anticipation, the
little tailor set TO work and finished tn
cuirass in day and half. Success had
come. His fortune was assured. From
that time on everything was plain sailing
and the only question to be determined was
how much the profits OF the invention wes
to be.
This singular coat is fourteen inches long
by nine and half inches wide, which is "
enough to protect the vital parts Of the bod
1t is three inches thick and weighs aboa
eight pounds. The inventor hopes to V
able to reduce the thickness consldenbI
and the weight to three pounds.
As for its practical use, Herr Dove assert
that it is just as available for cavalry as ior
infantry and that it can be made to proteA
the horse as well as tho rider He declares
that the weight OF the curass for horss
would not be greater than the general weight
of his trappings, and that coat to cosef
both back and front for mounted nan
would not be heavier than the armor nov
carried by soldiers in the German and Eng.
lish horseguards. For infantry uses he pro
poses knapsack, covered with the bullet
proof cloth, to be employed as a shield ia
battle.
Herr DOVE thinks that his material spread
about the sides Of war vessel would render
it absolutely impenetrable and would make
the ship much lighter than 1t could be with
steel plates.
As yet nobody but Herr DOVE knows what
the coat is made Of. No ono has ever seen
the inside OF it, and he will not allow any.
body to touch it. Except when he has 1t On,
it is kept under lock and key and guarded as
carefully as didmonds II any one wants 70 (
know Doves secret he must pay prlcs
which is not small one by any means. 4
is probable that the Information will eyentu'
ally be bought by one Of the great Europeas
governments.
Here, then, Is marvellous acheyement
the motive for which was simply desire %
the part of the maker to be removed from the
of poverty.
On the summit OF Alpine Peak in California
rests an electric rock So highly charged tbS
1t is dangerous to touch it. "a
Not on His Knees.