The news boy., 1896-05-23
HOMEMADE GUNS In CUBA.
Inventive Genius ON the OPP
pressed Island.

luton against spain in Cuba have
brought TO the front many clever de-
vices in the shape Of homemade
weapons. Almost everything has
been pressed into service which
would suffice for cannon. Cannon
in Cuba have been cast from crude
bronze; have been extemporized from
captured sugar mill steam pipes, and
quite servicable ones have been
made from wooden logs, wound with
strips of green rawhidc.
There grows in the interior of
Cuba peculiar tree, with winding
grain. The wood is remarkably
tough, and to split it by ordinary
means is almost an impossibility.
When wanted for artillery purposes
the tree is felled; section some five
feet in length and one foot in d.
ameter is selected and cut, the bark
is removed and all knots and uneaven
places on the surface dressed down.
The embryo cannon is then placed on
rude trusses and bore burned in it
with white hot crow bars or round
iron pipes from the sugar mills, This
burning out OF the interior serves to
still further tougher the wood. While
the bore is being burned green OK
hides are cut into long strips by
commencing in the center and work
ing toward the outer edge, as you
would peel an apple.
When all is in readiness, one end
of this raw hide band, which is about
three inches in width, is spiked to
the wooden cannon, near the brtech.
A lever. or bar, is attached to the
| butt. Two or three stout negroes
grasp the arms of the bar and slowly
turn the followed log Oh its supports.
The band of green hide is kept under
q strain, and in this way the core of
the cannon is wound with one of the
toughest materials outside of wire
in the world.
The first layer of hide is tightly
wound to the muzzle of the growing
gun and toward the breech; again
toward the muzzle and back until a
number of successive layers have
thus been wound on and the promis-
ing piece of artillery has grown sew
eral inches in diameter, 1t is then
placed in a draught of dry. hot air
and allowed to harden. When the
hardening and curing process is
complete, the presevering patriots
have really serviceable weapon,
which will stand = greater strain
than manufactures of modern ar
tillery would readily believe. The
resistance of this weather-dried raw
hide is next to metal, and these rude
ly constructed cannon have proved
far more satisfactory than those
made from cast bronze. one of which
at the first fire bursts into hundred
Lpieces. One OF these homemade
combination wood and rawhide can.
non is said to have withstood 1Gl
charges of powder before becoming
useless. The projectiles for it were
made of scrap iron, round stones and
fire hardened clay balls.
| When, in the early part of Octobe,
last, General Gomez started out
on his now famous raid in the west.
ern part of Cuba, he had under his
command but 200 men, and these
had hardly four shots apiece, although
they knew they were going to meet
90, 600 well-armed Spanish troops in
trenched along the first trocha, which
extended fifty miles across the is.
land near the east border of Santa
Clara Province.
One of the first places of General
Gomez's attack was the town OF
Pelayo, near the center of the trocha.
Shortly before reaching Pelayo,
Gomez entered sugar mill and took
from it piece of iron steam pipe,
about four inches in diameter, which
had strong screw cap on one end.
Near the cap he drilled small hole,
and had this substitute for cannon
mounted on rough wooden carriage.
The piece was charged with gunpow-
der and filled nearly to the muzzle
with telegraph wire, which had been
cut into pieces about two inches long.
The gun during the night was brought
up, under cover of the surrounding
rocks, until within 200 yards of the
nearest wooden fort. The fort was
summoned to surrender, and refusing,
the cannon was fired.
| The aim was excellent. There was
an American boy behind it and a
perfect hail of cut telegraph wire
swept the fort. The gun, or steam
pipe, strange to say, stood the strain.
AT the second shot the fort surren-
dered. This most useful piece of
pipe was then trained on the second
fort, which sent up white flag af-
tar the first fra Tho saaOp6 fort