The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1896-10-29
GUNPOWDER'S FIRST USE

Mohammedans Were the Earliest to.
q p Cannon in Warfare:
People outside of military life who
nave no connection with the making
OF gunpowder know it only as a coarse.
black powder like sand which will
flash off with 4 loud report if shut I'D.
IN a case OF any kind and set on fire.
1t is a very queer mixture, made I'D.
OF three simple and we'll known sub
stances, no one of which will explode.
although two will burn. No one knows.
when or how it was discovered, for as
far back to the dark ages as records.
or tradition will carry us we find that
gunpoWder, though not used for guns.
was known. It was, no doubt, looked
upon with awe and fear by the an
clients on account of it's flame, it's noise
and its rending force, but their limited
mechanical skill could suggest very
little use for it.
Possibly it was used in warfare long
before the beginning of history, but
h first man in historical times to
form an idea of the terrible destruc-
ton Which this awful, bursting. fiery
substance might produce was an Eng
lish monk named Roger Bacon. Monks
in his day were the chemists. scholars
and writer's of the world, and this
Roger Bacon travelled and studied
much and made continual experiments
in his laboratory to prove for himself
and to develop what he learned from
others. He probably saw gunpowder
among the Moors in Spain, and tried
for himself it's explosive effect. Then
he wrote of it's composition in the year
1897 and in hiS yvritinr c11rpnctn6 that
it could be used in engines of war to.
deal death and destruction to armies
Of men.
Soon after Roger Bacon's time his:
suggestions were taken up and guns.
were constructed. first by binding iron
bars together with hoops, to form a
tube, then by casting a tube out Of
brass, with one end closed. Stones Of
suitable size were selected as shot, and
the powder had to be carried around in
chests or barrels and shoveled into the
muzzles of the guns. In spite of these
drawbacks, very large guns were built,
for there was n used by Mohammed
II. against the Greeks at the siege OF
Constantinople in 1853 which threw 4
stone weighing 600 pounds a distance
Of one mile.-St. Nicholas.
Pillow Fragrance.
This is the time of the year for max
ing pine pillows. 1t may be impossi-
bic to obtain the best balsaln pine that
grows in the Maine woods, but there
is a sweet fir that is found all over
our Northeastern states, growing wild,
and in other parts of the country, as
cultivated evergreen. Nearly every
one has seen the tall, gray stem that
shoots up so straight and smooth and
points to the sky without a single
curve. Out of the blistered-lOoking
bark of this fir tree OOZeS a reSinOus
fluid, the odor of which is said to be
extremely healthful. The needles Of
this fir, " pine, are laden with fresh
perfume, and will keep sweet for
months without any care save to in
cas- them in a bag. Make a stout
muslin pillow, of any size or shape,
and ill it perfectly tight and full, as
the needles break into 4 kind OF pow
der when dry, and the cushion will
look 1abby without an abundance Of
needles The outside of the pillow may
be as rich or as plain as taste may sug-
gest. A loose slip of silk, with a de-
sign of pine cones worked in silk Of
the natural color, OF a motto in heavy
silks, will be appropriate. Some pill
lows are lowered with sacks Of silk,
tied near the mouth with a ribbon of
a contrasting. color, and finished on the
edges with a lace rutfie. Another Gov
er is made of strips of fine wool OF
silk, cut SO as to look like sections of a
melon, and in the shaded yellows that
are seen in the muskmelon. A pillow
of this sort, no matter how elaborate
OF plain the cover may be, will prove a
solace for many a pain, and a friend
that will bring comfort when all else.
fails.