The Bryan daily eagle. (Bryan, Tex.) 1895-1898, 1898-05-10
DIscHARGfNG A TORPEDO.


dUnited States Torpedo Boat stiletto.
Now in commifsion.)
centuries passed before Il was realized
that the effectiveness Of the torpedo de-
pended on the submergence OF the
charge at the time OF explosion.
l, was Captain David Bushnell. an
American engineer In the revolution
AIRY war who first experimental on the
principle OF submergence. He also In
vented one OF the very first submarine
boats. by which the first attempt at
actual warfare was made. lie was the
originator, in fact. OF submarine min
Tag as Il IL practicod today. The first
practlcal trial OF the submarine boat
was made In l776. when Sergeant Ez
IA Lee directed the craft against the
Britlsh frigate Eagle while she lay in
New York haibor The attack was
not successful In destroying the frigate
but the narrow escape from destrue-
ton sent cold chills down the back OF
Lord Howe. who used the vessel as his
flag ship. IN the year following Cap
tain Bushnell turned his attention 10
torpedoes. He nlled a number OF kegs
with gunpowder and time fuses. and
then set them adrift In New York
harhor with the hope one OF them
would lodge against the sides OF the
frigate cerberus.a British warship that
was anchored In the harbor. One Of
these kegs fioated alongside a prize
nchooner which was tied 10 the stern
OF the Ceberus The sailors saw It.
and. ignorant Of It's deadly character,
took Il aboard for examination. II ex-
ploded. and there was not enough left
OF the schooner to hold up drowning
man.
Twenty years later Robert Fulton.
the noted inventor. revived the ideas
OF Captain Bushnell. lie constructed
n submarine boat called the Nautilus
and tried to sell It TO the French navy
He showed the French the merits Of
the boat In August. 1901. by destroying
A launch In the harbor Of Brest, the
first case on record OF a vessel being
blown up by a submerged charge OF
runpowder For some reason the
French did not care TO buy the Maui
titus. and Fulton then offered her to
the British government. with the eX-
pectatlon that he would he allowed to
operate her against the French feet
~ Bou,ogne lie gave a successful
demonstration on q brig which he pur-
chased for experimental purposes. but
the British government rejected his
proposals as unsuted TO the interests
and dignity OF a nation that enjoyed
full sovereignty over the seas. Fulton
returned 20 the United States and tried
TO gain recognition from his own coun-
try. Commmdore Rogers Of the Am
erlcan navy made such a show OF oppo
sition that he finally abandoned hli
experiments In sumarine mining an'
turned his attention TO steam naviga
tlon. II Is a remarkable fact that Full
ton planned system Of torpedo war
fare upon which very little improve
ment has been made today lie de
vlsed four classes Of torpedoes-buoy
ant mines anchored in the channel 4
be defended and exploded by coniac
with the hull Of an enemy's vessel; lin
torpedoes. 10 be set adrift and foulei
By the cables Of n hostile fleet at an
Choir. harpoon torpedoes. to be dis
charged from a gun and fred by cloc
work after being attached 10 n yesseF
side. and block ship torpedoes. to b
carried on long srars projecting fror
a boats bow and exploded by contact
AN these devices except the harpoo
torpedo are included in the moder
system.
Colonel Samuel Colt. inventor OF IN
revolver that bears his name, was IN
next American genius TO take mp IN
study Of torpedoes and the first to u
troduce electricity as an ignting ager
for the explosive charge. After year
OF experiment he blew up brig unde
full sail in the Potomac river. APR
"A fsls. Il was a wonderful demon
strssIon for those days. and has nsve
been squalcd since Colonel Oh opel