The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-07-31

century a French writer Describes with
awe how III passes through the air with
the brilliancy OF lightning and the voice
Of thunder. and III burned In the Wa
ter" and was northumberland in
the past tense. as N there were no more
naphtha or pitch left In the world.
10 leave these descriptions OF phe-
numrna and go behind the scenes. while
e may not be strictly true, a. Anna
Momnena seems 10 take Tor granted
ma Alexander the Great had artillery
and that Aristotle directed u for him
centuries before the great and holy
Cuntantine.' still there is evidence that
the science and art Of explosives began
In the eus. before the Christian era. one
Morienus. a native Roman, went 20 the
ancient university of AlrNandria about
4. u. go and studied chemistry, includ-
ing the chemistry of natron OF saltpr-
ter. After tina; Morfenus became "a her
mit In the nrlghDorhood Of jerusalem,
and there he was visited by the Arab
Prince Khaled. who was "A true enthu-
SIast FOR science. knaled WAS a son OF
the Caliph Yezyd, Who was the son Of
Moavia. who had been al one time q
secretary Of the prophet himself. In
this way. IL seems, The Arabs FIRST be-
gan TO acquire the k9owledge OF eNplo-
sives which they afterward developed
and which was used 10 their discOmnt-
ure less than a century later.
Most Of he Information about his
early knowledge Of the science comes
through a Latin writer ~ a. Mar
I Gus Graecus. or GRACIOUS. Marcus Grae-
Gus was born probably about the end
OF the 10Th century and died when VII
liam the ConquerOr was Yet young Tie
wrote a boob which he called The
Book Of Fires for Burning Enemies, %
which was translated into French eight
centuries later by order OF Napoleon.
one of these fires Of Marcus Gracious
was liquid. the other produced by a
powder. \ reading OF his work would
have been salutary Enlightenment 10
the Pisans before they faced the fire
vomiting heads Of beasts Of Alexis, or 20
the pious and agitated Sieur de Join
Vile. For handling the liquid fires ne
gave these directions: place IN front
Of the prov a tube covered with cope
TO throw fires upon the enemy Above
the tube a wooden scanpld should be
made. Soldiers must b. stationed there
T. fight from that point and discharge
the shots. This Is only one OF tive
kinds OF tubes which the author men
tl0us-the siphon and the cheirosiphon
Tne siphOu seems 10 have been only q
pipe through which the liquid combusti-
BILE was pumped or squirted at the enc.
nay. The liquid itself is described as
mixture OF pitch. saltpe-er. petroleum
anu lhth~dil ol 4 NuilF At keitDlr u
the French translation given by Rel
maud aud Fave il hOated. and It's fir
was not eNtinguisned by water. lik
honest tire.
But the ehrirusiphor is the more In
.eresting Wrapon 10 contemplate I
these days. because its description ind
Gates that the propelling force Of CUR
powder was known in the 10th centur
and that n William the Conqueror ha
been really abreast OF his times rocket
at least might have been used at n
battle Of Hastings. As its name-frol
the Greek "cheir"-indicates. IL was
hand tube. small enough to be carris
in and thrown by the hand Marcl
gives the recipe for the powder wi
which his cheirosiphon was load,
throughout. sulphur. l pound: lime
willow ash. : pounds: s~aI.peter.
pounds, Bruise on marble" Ii Vas.
] fact. a rocket made In two parts. o
; Of which the author calls the lack
D Tor flying and the other the ZACH
/; that makes the thunder The form
was a long and narrow tube, the lat
D a short and thick cylinder. The 4