The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1896-07-23
HOMEMADE GUNS.
The Crude Artillery Which
Cuba's Patriots Use.
Forts Captured by Logs Wound
With Green RaWhide.

vices III the shape OF nome maue
Weapons. Almost everything has been
pressed into service which would suf-
fee for Il cannon. Cannon In Cuba
have been cast from crude bronze;
have been extemporized from captured
sugar mill steam pipes, and quite SER
yiceublc ones have even been made
from wooden logs, wound with strips
Of green rawhide.
There grows in the interior OF Cuba
a 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 diameter is selected, and
cut; the bark is removed, and all
knots and uneven places on the sur
face dressed down. The embryo can
non is then placed on rude trusses
and bore burned in it with white
hot crowbars 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 commenc-
ing in the center and working 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 breach. A
lever, or bar, is attached to the butt.
Two or three stout men 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 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 back toward the breach;
again to the muzzle and back until a
number of successive layers have thus
been wound on and the promising
piece of artillery has gown several
inches in diameter. It is then placed
in draught of dry hot air and allowed
to harden. When the hardening and
curing process is complete the per-
severing patriots have really service
able weapon, which will stand great
er strain than manufacturers OF
modern artillery would readily be-
lieve. The resistance of this weather
dried rawhide is next to metal, and
these rudely constructed cannon have
proved more satisfactory than those
made from cast bronze, one of which
1T the first fire bursts in hundred
pieces. One of these home made
combination wood and rawhide can
> non is said to have withstood one hun
dred and four charges of powder be
fore becoming useless. The projec
tiles for it we're made of scrap iron
t round stones and fire hardened ella,
balls.
l When, in the early part of Octobe
last, general Gomez started on his nov
famous raid into the western part O
: Cuba, he had under his command bu
), twenty-five hundred men, and thes
= had hardly four shot apiece, althougl
they knew they were going to NEE
3 fifty thousand we'll armed Spanis
/ troops, intrenched along the frs
: trocha, which extended fifty mile
across the island near the eastern bol
g der of Santa Clara province.
e One of the first places of generf
n Gomez attack was the town of Pelayt
t near the centre of the trocha. Shortl
II before reaching Pelayo Gomez entere
a sugar mill and took from it piec
n of iron steam pipe, about four inch'
in diameter, which had strong sore
cap on one end. Near the cap
~ , drilled small hole, and had this SUI
stituted for q cannon, mounted on
rough wooden carriage. The pie
'e was charged with gunpowder and file
nearly to the muzzle with telegral
a wire, which had been cut into piec
h about two inches long. The gun, du
ing the night, was. brought up, und
cover of the surrounding rocks, unt
ID within two hundred yards OF the nes