davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-09-18

big "bombards," as the English and
Italians called them, "quenon" the
French ard "beechsen" the Germans
were several notable pieces, such as
the "Dulle Groite" of Client, and
Mons Meg" still frowning from the
ramparts of Edinburgh castle This
famous cannon is said to be the old
est in Europe, with the exception of
a somewhat similar piece at Lisbon.
1t was built for James II. of Scotland
for the special benefit of the DougIases,
whom he was besieging in the Castle
Of Threave, in Galloway, in the year
1856. In the middle of the last CEN
tury this venerable cannon was re-
moved to the Tower of London, but
on the representations of Sir Walter
Scott, the great novelist, it was re-
turned to Scotland and placed in its
present position.
BIG GUNS OF TURKS.
The Turks were fond of using big
guns, and did so both at the siege Of
Constantinople and at that of Rhodes
when it was defended by the Knights
Of st. John. Their guns were not very
dissimilar in construction to "Mons
Meg and other guns of that period in
the West, but even bigger. num-
Der of them are still in battery and
LOl III d pOI tIOil VI the QSI6nSeS OF the
Dardanelles. They were known as
'kemerlicks," and were constructed by
Hungarians in the Turkish employ.
They were of tWenty-seven-inch cali
Der, throwing stone balls of from $50
to 1,200 pounds, and could only be fired
four times during the day. One of
them burst at the siege of CONSTANT
nople at the first discharge, with de-
Structive effect. Bishop Pocock de-
scribes one Of iron, twenty feet long.
in two parts, after the old way of
working cannon of iron in several
pieces. The bore is two feet. so that
a man may sit in it; two and half
quintals of powder are required to load
1t, and 1t carries a ball of fourteen
quintals. The size Of these old world
monsters may be realized from the
fact that on one occasion six midship-
men crawled into one Of those at Cha
max.
AS contrast to these short, gaping
relics of the middle ages, is Queen
Elizabeth's Pocket Pistol" which looks
out over the channel from the heights
of Dover castle, as if it We're ready to
try and perform the impossible feat
claimed for it by the following distich:
Load me well, and keep me clean, -
And I'll carry my balls to Calais Green
This is handsome type of ord
nance, and must have had a long
range for its day. Another extremely
handsome weapon is depicted in the
illustrations This is the so-called
gold" cannon, which is now at Berlin
There seems to be no authentic his
tory Of its origin. There is a. similar
one in Hamburg, from which place the
former was recently brought and it is
supposed that they were made in Hol-
land. The date on them, 1913, assigns
them a considerable age. They are Of
peculiar construction, consisting of an
inner and outer copper tube, the spaco
between being filled with a cylinder OF
pine covered with leather. The outside
Is beautifully decorated and brilliant
ly freight. The knob at the breech
end Is In the form of an elephants
The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-09-18

head, and pulls out, disclosing the
tOuch-hOle, while the handle repre-
sentS nude Wrestiers. The carriage is
also work Of art. 1t is made of oak,
veneered with pear wood, which is
carefully polished, while the numerous
bands and rosettes are of polished
steel, deeply engraved, and filled in
with black, which has the effect of
throwing UP the design. 1t would
seem from it's weak construction and
elaborate decoration that this gun was
designed for some purpose of show
rather than Of use Still there were a
good many guns of peculiar and some
what similar construction in use in
the seventeenth century. These were
the
LEATHER" GUNS
used by Gustavus Adolphus in the
Thirty Years War Their inventor
was either Col. Wurmbrandor, or, ac-
cording to other authorities, Col. Rob
ert Scott. This bore, or inner tube
was copper, rather thicker at the
breech end, and strengthened by iron
rings. The whole, after being coated
with three layers of mastic, was then
wrapped round and round with several
coils Of rope and twine A coat Of
plaster followed, to give it an even
sui 4dCS, anu AIldlly 1t was enclosed IN
leathern covering. Being very light
for their size, they were very portable,
and so frequently found to be of great
use; but the charge was necessarily
light, and they retained the heat after
hiring so much that at the Battle Of
Leipsic, in 1851, the charges ignited as
they were being placed in the guns.
This led to their being discarded as
dangerous.
But for eccentric pieces of ordnance
we need not go back to the Middle
Ages, or even to the last century,
though the gun and it's motor car"
shown in the picture are in all con-
science striking enough. Most likely
it never had any existence outside of
the old print which has preserved the
inventors project. A short note eX-
plains that the machine is made to
travel by means Of the man at the
handle in the rear. How this organ
grinding business made the ponderous
affair move is hard to surmise The
man in front Of him is the steersman,
who, with a pair of reins. turns the
The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-09-18

types of cannon were open at both |
ends. Probably the rear end was clos |
ed by a piece of wood or iron slid over
it, and supported by the two small
stakes sunk into the ground, so that
this primitive weapon may be called
a breech-loader. Most people are in
the habit Of talking of 'the old muz-
zle-loading gurs' and considering
breech-loading cannon quite as modern
invention; but, in point Of fact, the
latter system was employed in almost
all the first cannon that were construct
ed-in Europe at any rate-and it was
only the crude mechanism that was
employed to close the breech that rem
dered it inferior to the Misunderstanding
guns that supplanted it for some hun
dreds of years, though almost up to
the beginning of the present century
breech- lOading pieces of small caliber
were made use Of on the upper works
of ships. A small gun of the kind
called a "falconet" or a "Paterero,"
with its shoulder piece and swivel, re-
minds one of the quick-firing guns that
adorn the upper decks of our modern
naval monsters. It's fire for a time was
probably fairly rapid, as several du-
plicates Of the iron chamber contain
ing it's charge of powder and ball were
provided These We're lifted in and out
by the handle, and wedged in their
place before firing.
But what the old cannon lacked in
rapidity of fire and power, they made
up for in the formidable character of
their names and titles. Here are a very
few from q long list: Basilisk, Bastard.
BOmbard, Cannon Royal, Cannon-Ser-
pentine, Dragon MiniOn, Muir
derer, Saker or Sacre, Ribaudequin, and
a host of others as grotesque.
LONGER WEAPONS SOUGHT.
The early cannon were very short in
comparison to their bore. In some the
diameter of the bore was ten inches.
but the powder chamber was considera-
bly, smaller AS time went on. the adj
Vantages of length in a gun were rec
ognlzed as giving greater accuracy and
| penetration, so that longer weapons.
such as that used by Columbus and
shown in the Illustration, came into
vogue
A gun fshed up from the wreck of
the Mary Rose, and now at the Tower.
is interesting as showing both the con-
struction and breech mechanism of the
guns in use in the infancy Of our sail
ing navy This ship, which had been
one of the largest in Henry VIII. s
! lleet, was either Overset or capsized
by squaH when standing out past st.
HeIen's with an English squadron, to
engage French fleet which had ap-
peared Off the Isle of Wight, in 1915.
or was sunk by the enemy in the en-
gagement which ensued. Chroniclers
differ as to this point The gun is
fastened to a species Of wooden stock
| like the barrel of a rifle
IN 14Zl the English attacked Moos
| st. Michel with formidable siege BAT
terry of 'plGsieurs machines epouvant-
ables,' as says the French narrator
and among them were two enormous
bombards The bore of the larger of
these was nineteen inches in diameter
and that OF the smaller fifteen dhsehes
They were each about twelve .sft44f in
length and hurled huge granite balls
OF from zoo to 300 pounds weight with
The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-09-18

'front.' wheels in the desired direction
he IS seated in post of danger on tho
top or the powder magazine. The 9th
er Two are artillerists, and the gun
probably is a breech-lOader.
AN EXTRAORDINARY GUN.
HaskelIs multicharge gun" how
ever, surpasses them all for an extra
ordinary appearance. 1t is an expert
mental gun Of recent date and a sue
cesstul one. 1t has been nicknamed
old Sow" and was made of cast iron.
The idea was to accelerate the prog
ress Of the projectile through the bar
rel by its passing over four receptacles
Tor powder, which the flame of the
original discharge would ignite in sue
cesslon. a second and modified gun
was built of steel; but these weird
pieces of ordnance will not probably
be repeated
A gun made use of by the SeDov
mutineers, at Meerut in 1857. Is cor
structed from the iron socket of a
telegraph pole, strengthened by bind
lngs OF telegraph wire, and fastened
to the carriage by iron hoops. The
wheel and carriage were castings. and
rough elevating screw terminating
in a ring was provided. Several Of
these were made and loaded with
OitOPP0U Up VIE FIoDtply Iney prov
ed more disastrous to their makers
than to the British soldiers Another
Illustration shows q steam gun. q
weapon that has several times been
tried, but never so successfully as to
supersede the ordinary gunpowder can
non, or even to compete with it. A
steam cannon, invented by Jacob Per-
kins, was constructed in this country
In 1924, and was said to fire $50 bullets
a minute. The one shown in the
sketch was known as THE Winans
Steam Battery" and was used in pro-
tecting a viaduct on the Baltimore 81
Ohio railway in the American Civil
war. 1t was provided with a bullet
proof shield, and fired from 100 to 500
balls minute. Whether it ever took
part in active hostilities cannot be
stated. &C. Field,
Major r. NJ.
The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-09-18
GUN CURIOS MUSEUM
SCHEME TO PRESERVE GUN
POWDER TUBES OF ALL AGES

Ordnance Made of Wood and LentI-
err, the PrOgenitOr of the Maxim
Gun, Steam Gums and Guns of
GOId-MOnsters and Boomerang
WeapOns-CannOn of Huge Bore,
and Pipes That Damaged Owners.
Correspondence the st. Paul Globe.
LONDON, Sept. 5.-A museum for
ancient and modern cannon, showing
the evolution Of the heavy guns of to-
day from the old wooden tubes in use
when gunpOwder was first invented. is
talked Of as an interesting possibility
II IS graVely argued by one man who
faVOrS the plan that an alliance he
tween Great Britain and the United
States is a certainty, and that war
muSt soon be abOlished-hence the time
IS ripe for the opening of a museum
Tor the cannon that will soon be q relic
of the fighting days, so that future
gcneI atoms may be able to study the
weapons Of their fOrefathers of the
Sunp0Wder period. An enthusiast has
gotten. UP HstSOf~ the curious cannon
IN existence TO serve as a nucleus for
the museum. p Among them are many
quaint guns
First, there is a machine gun, of
NHlCH me IflpOd stand, at any rate, is
almost Identical with that now used
10" two or three patterns of machine
guns. while the gun itself has nothing
particularly antique about it's appear
ance. Yet 1t is nearly 200 years since
TINS machine was designed by one
Puckle, who may thus be regarded as
I0fefuhner of the famous Mr.. Maxim
ana ms deadly little gun, from which
bullets can be poured as water from a
nose. Puckle was born two centuries
too soon, not only from the preataT
scope his inventive genius would have
enjoyed nowadays, but because he
would have found a conspicuous nosi-
ton in the ranks of those who cry out
against the "unspeakabIe Turk" For
his weapon was unique in that it had
a second set of chambers firing square
bullets for the especial benefit of
Turks, the ordinary set, firing round
ones being intended for use against
Christians. Puckle evidently thought
that Turk deserved as nasty q wound
as possible But Puckle cannot claim
to be the first inventor to design a ma
chine gun.
OVER 500 YEARS OLD.
A two-wheeled car on which were
mounted four breech-loading pieces of
small caliber was constructed In Elan
ders as far back as 1347 A Scotchman.
toe, William Drummond by name, pat
eHted a thunder carriage" which is
supposed to have been a machine gun.
IN l623, nearly 11G0 years previous to
PUCI'e ard his invention
1T is remarkable that the very earliest
The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-09-18

fired 5O0-pound shot with a charge Of
300 pounds Of powder. among these
The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-09-18

crushing effect. In 1478 Louis XI. OF
France had a similar weapon which
The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-09-18
Golden Weddings.

Only one out of every thousand married
couples live to celebrate their golden we'd
ding.
El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1898-01-27
KlOndyke News.

G. w. s. johnson of alistogs, Cal,
has JUST returned from the Klondyke
country and was passenger on the
last east bound Limited. He is the
reputed possessor of mining interests
in the North West Territory valued at
$3.50 OU0, and he returns thlt5er in the
arly spring. Mr.. johnson had in his
pockets sewers natural nuggets as
large as small dOughnuts which he
showed on the quiet to the interview
err. HeSsaid reindeer were OF no spe-
.,ial account up in that country: dogs
we're the proper motive power. The
perils of the pass we're gt eat, but not
To the extent many people 1maglne5,
and a. for starvation along the Yukon,
that was mostly Hromance. There was
iood enough to carry the winter impri-
5oned men there.
Mr.. johnson predicted that in the
ipring there would be a rush for Alaska
far beyod all expectation. The popula-
ton of Dawson City was bouud TO be
100, O0O at an early day, snd prospectors
would be scattered ali over the couD-
try. There was an immense amount of
gold there awaiting only the pick of
the miner to be brought to the surface.
Even at this early day, all the. sailing
accom- mOdations possible, and good
deal that was impossible wera spoken
for already, and the size Of the i'm
migration or exodus would be limited
ouIy by tee ability OF steamers to
candle the traffic.
AS to suffering up there, there was
20 more than could be reasonably ex-
pected. TIE sufferers were men who
would experience tribuiasion any
where, such as the idle, the shiftle.s
and the lazy. This class of people
will endure privatiOn in much more
favored chimes than Alaska, and their
experiences north must not be
taken as a criterion. The Industrious
and the frugal managed to get along.
In the last few days some extraorii-
nary rich strikes have been made in
the Kiond Ike. On No. 43 below, on
Hunker Creek, seven holes were sunk
to bedrock, and pan from each hole
netted So. On 90 uppar, Bouanza
Creek, the pay streak has been found
and is averaging from 81 80 to So to the
pan. On the upper end of FL DJrado
Creek, Nugget Gulch, Pure Gold and
Too Much Id Greeks the claims are
showing up unusually rich deposits of
yellow metal, averaging from 60c to
ST. 30 to the pan. All of thu creeks
Within the area bounded oa the west
~ the Yukon, on the south by the H.
an river as far east As The Dome. and
On Inc DOftu ny Lne
Troandi river have been staked and
are being rapidly developed. There
Gan be no doubt but that that scope OF
country is the richest in gold thai the
y orld has ever known. There is
-csrcely a hole in any of the claims on
these creeks but wha. is produe ing
pay dirt that is worth from 60c to 81 80
10 the pan. The output OF gold mex
year will be astounding. At present
here are over eight tons stored 10
Dawson and ready for sh pment in t. e
,priug. The most conservative min
ing men in the camp say that, not |
the scarcity of provisions
and the unsettled condition Of the
question of wages lwheiher or not the '
El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1898-01-27

WHILE the heavy interest demands
aud otner unusual demands upon the
treasury in the month of January
m o Ike 1t proba bic that there will be a
de tciency at the close OF January, the
satisfactory increase in receipts under
the Diugley law assure tho, e who are
following its operations that it is likely
in the near future to make good the
pre- misses of it's trainers by supplying a
sufficient evenue 10 meet The ordinary
expenses of the government. The
January earniogs are likely to be con-
s1oerably in Xcess of those of any pre-
ceeding mouth under the law, and 1t is
probable that the next fiscal year will
show u SUI plus for the first time in the
history OF the tire asury operations
since the enactu eat of the Wilson
law.
El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1898-01-27

Many mines are being opened in
north western Durango and southwest
arn Sonora. The country is being over
rnn with prospectors ard much work
will be done in the development OF
placers during the year.-Monterey
Globe.
The Santa Rosalia mine recently
shipped seventeen tons IL at brought
$4,000. There are two more carloads
on the way from Mexico. There is said
90 be four feet of ore in the shaft, which
is past the 250-foot Level. Good pros
poets have also been found in new
ground.
1t is reported that a remarkable cop
ger mine has been discovered near
Granite Wells, Calf. The percentage
of copper in this mine is so strong tn it
old horseshoes, wagon tires, or iron
hoop bands, when cast into the water of
The shaft,in a comparatively short time
are virtually transformed into copper.
This is caused by precipitation which
takes place whenever iron comes in
contact with liquid solution Of copper.
An ordinary brass pin suspended half
way into the wafer of the mine Is ex-
nib ed, showing perfect trans
formation, being half copper and half
brass, the copper proportion being
that part which was immersed in the
cater. A syndicate of capitalists is
now negotiating foe tie purchase of the
property, which is consider d very
valuable. The mine is owned iby
.'Toppy" Johnson. ''TOppy" is we'll
known character in mining camps
throughou the west.
El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1898-01-27
Not ce.

To- Tax Collectors: 1 beg to call
your attention to that portion of sec
ton 10. chapter lob, general laws of
1897, which provides that if any person
shall fall or refuse to pay the taxes
imposed upon him or his property ur-
til the 31st day of January next sue
ceeding the return of the assessment
rolls of the county to the comptroller,
q penalty of ten per cent on the entire
amount of such taxes shall accrue,
which penalty when collected shall be
paid proportionateIy to the state and
county. You are therefore earnestly
requested to make known this provi-
zion of the law as widely as POSSIBLE
throughout your county. Very Re
spectfully, r. w. FINLEY,
Comptroller.
El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1898-01-27

THERE l. no better test of bus ness
conditions than the reports of the
railroads. W hen times are bad their
carr ings fall; when times improve.
IN elr earnings increase. Here is that
evlGence CT prosperity in this new
year 1895 IL furt ished by raj road re-
por s: EARRINGS of all railroads in
tie Uni ed Slate5 reporting for
lie ember, S43, 364 ,279, indicate SUBJ
stantlal'y the same rae of in"rea Sc.
exc, eding last years by 1913 per cent
am the car inss of 1892 for the same
reads by l.6 per cent. Sint e 1892 was,
on the whole, the most pr Is porous year
thus IA, comparisons indicate, not
withsta- ding tie lowest prices ever
know n, that the volume of business is
larger, auo, in spi of some cutting of
ra es, the earnings of raj roads are
larger than in the b st year of past
history"
El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1898-01-27
Robbed the Grave.

A startling incident Of which Mr..
John Oliver of Philadelphia, was the
subject, is n srrated by MIN as follows
81 was in most dreadful condition.
My skin was almost yellow, eyes
sunken. tongue coated, pain continual
ly in back and sides, no appetite
gradually growing weaker day by day.
Three physicians had given me up.
Fortup ately, a friend advised trying
Electric Bltters, and to my great joy
and surprise, the first bottle made de-
cided Improvement. continued their
use for three weeks, and am now a well
man. know they saved my life,
and robbed the grave of another
victim" No one should fail to try
them. Only SO cents per bottle at W.
A. Irwin & Co. Drug Store,
El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1898-01-27

The south can doubtless beat New
England in cotton manufacturing If
slavery had no. existed, or if it had
been abolished earlier, the south's ad-
vsntages 10 this field would have been
revealed sooner, and many of the New
England cotton mills would have been
built on the other side of Mason and
Dixon's line instead. However. the
people who are blaming the tariff for
New Englaud's pres Mt troubles are
shOrt-si ghted. The tariff knows
neither latitude nor longitude 1t has
no especial favors for New England, the
south or the west, but treats all sect
ions and localities alike. The tariff
gave cottonf manufacturing start in
the north many years ago, but it wss
inevitable that the south's proximity
to the supply of raw material aud its
cheaper labor would give that section
q great advantage when it entered the
field as a competitor. No tariff can
these advantages, and no
nne wants them to be neutralized by
any sort of an enactment.-Globe DEM
ocrat.
El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1898-01-27

WHILE scientists from ali parts of
the world gathered in India to take
photographs and make other observe
tions oil the recent total &c ipse of the
SUI. the natives in maay parts of that
country regarded the Ito them) pheno-
melon rs presaglng the downfall of
their British rulers.
El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1898-01-27

YOUNG AMERICA has, in a recent
case in Illinois solved the question, so
often asked. shall corporal punish
ment be Inflicted in tine public schools ?''
Two brothers, aged 10 aud 20, were re-
emily whipped by male teacher near
Anna, H., and in retaliation they
way la the teacher while on his way
to church and beat him to death.
El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1898-01-27

The progressive ladies Of Westfield,
Ind, issued at ''Womans's Edition" of
the Westtield News, bearing date OF
April 3, 1896. The paper is filed with
matter of interest to women, and we
notice the following from a correspon-
dent, which the editors printed, reaiiz-
ing that it treats upon a matter of vital
importance to their sex: ''Tne best
remedy for Group, cold and bronchitis
that have been able to find is Cham
berlain's Cough Remedy. For family
use it has no equal. I gladly recon-
mend it," 25 and so cent bottles
for sale oy all druggists.