The Van Buren press. [volume] (Van Buren, Ark.) 1859-1914, 1896-06-27
MADE THEIR OWN GUNS.
Cuban Patriots Are Armed with Weapons
OF Novel Construction.

Cuban Patriots Are Armed with Weapons
OF Novel Construction.
Many clever and ingenious devices
have been employed by the Cuban in
surgents to drive from their island the
Spanish invaders. Cannon have been
cast from crude bronze; have been eX-
temporized from captured sugar mill
steam pipes and quite seryiceable ones
have even been made from wooden logs,
wound with strips of green rawhide.
There grows in the interior of Cuba
n peculiar tree with winding grain.
The wood is remarkably tough, and to
split it by ordinary means is almost an
impossibility. When wanted for ar
tillery purposes the tree Is felled; a Sec
ton Of some five feet in length and one
foot in diameter is selected and cut;
the bark is removed and all knots and
uneven places on the surface dressed
down. The embryo cannon is then
placed on rude trusses and bore burned
in it with 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 working toward the
outer edge, as you would peal an apple.
When all is in readiness one end of
this rawhide band, which is about three
inches in width, is spiked to the wooden
cannon near the breach. A lever or bar
lie ottnoha1 RI hn latTtt Two ar IbTap
stout negroes grasp the arms of the bar
and slowly turn the followed log ON its
supports. The band of green hide is
kept under strain, and in this way the
core of the cannon is wound with zone
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
back toward the breach again to the
muzale and back until number of sue
cessiye layers have thus been wound on
and the promising piece of artillery has
grown several inches in diameter. It
is then placed in a draught of dry, hot
air and allowed to harden. When the
hardening and curing process is COM
plete the persevering patriots have
a really serviceable weapon, which will
stand greater strain than manufac-
turers of modern artillery would readily
believe. The resistance of this weather.
dried rawhide is next to metal, and
these rudely-constructed cannon have
proved far more satisfactory than those
made from east bronze, one of which
at the first fire bursts in hundred
pieces.
Shortly before reaching Pelayo Go
mez entered a sugar mill and took from
it piece of iron steam pipe, about four
inches in diameter which had a strong
screw cap on one end. Near the cap he
drilled small hole and had this sub
stituted for a cannon, mounted on
rough wooden carriage. The piece was
charged with gunpowder and nearly
filled to the muzzle with telegraph
wire which had been cut into pieces
about two inches long. The gun dur
ing 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 sur
render and, refusing, the cannon was
fired.
The aim bad been excellent. There
was an American boy behind it and
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 surrendered.
This most useful piece of pipe was then
trained on the second fort, which sent
up white flag after the first fire. The
second fort was in possession of Gomez,
but the cannon had cracked its whole
length. Nevertheless, it was moved and
trained on the third fort. Fortunately
for the insurgents this one surrendered
before it was necessary to fire, and the
two remaining forts followed suit
Chicago Chronicle