The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1898-05-12

FIELD KIT FOR KITE PHOTOGRAPHY.
can be put. The experiment has been tried
by military men at Governors island,
where messages were sent by hoisting
code flags, line and pulley attached to
floating kite being used.
A Chicago inventor claims to have a
much better method. He sends up five or
six kites Of different colors in tandem rig,
each kite being attached to string fas-
tened in turn to a lever. Certain pulls at
certain levers would spell out the letters
Of signal code which would be as simple
as the dots and dashes of telCgraphy. II
the person watching did not understand,
such word could be flashed back by a SIM
liar arrangement of kites, which would be
visible for miles by the aid of fieldglasses
Night signaling by means of lanterns car
ried up on kites has been accomplished.
There is kite photography, which has
been SO highly perfected by W. A. Eddy
and other kite experts. Lieutenant Hugh
d. Wise of Madison barracks, SaCket's
Harbor, n. Y, has been conducting ca
periments in aerial photography for war
purposes by means Of the new Eddy-Wlse
kites. He has devised an ingenious field
kite for aerial photography and signaling.
He is anxious to try his new devices in
Cuba, where he expects to be ordered soon.
Photographs taken by the army officer
are to illustrate what can be accomplished
by an invading army in Cuba in discover
ing the position of the enemy. These views
are taken by means of kites while the
operators remain behind cover.
A third method of utilizing kites is in
telephoning at sea- English naval officers
| have experimental with the "kite tele-
| phone" and pronounced 1t a success. The
| kite used was Of the regulation sort, ex-
| cept that 1t was minus tail. 1t was 0
| feet long and feet wide at the broadest
| point. In place of the tail the kite carried
| two lines, one of which was retained on
board the Daring, the instructional tor
| pedo boat destroyer, from which the eX-
| periments were conducted. With the wind
| between the two lines referred to 1t was
| found that the kite was so easily managed
that 1t was no trick at all to drop letters
or even hawser into another ship, and in
this way establish communication.
Following this experiment came one
with " Ire. The end of the wire which
the kite bore away from the ship was
dropped upon the deck of II. NJ. s. Daunt
less, where it was secured by the electri
clan of the ship and attached to a tele
| phone apparatus in waiting. The othei
end, which had remained aboard the Oar
ing, was a'so attached to telephone, ant
as soon as this task was completed the two
ships were In perfect communication. ThC
kite remained suspended, secured by twC
lines, for more than four hours, duriI
which time communication between tbC
Daring and the DauntleSs was uninter
rupted.
The real war kite, though, Is the ont
which drops dynamite into an enemy
camp or on the deck Of u hostile warship
Mr.. Eddy has experimental in this direo
tion and has proved that 1t Is possible (,
send a dynamite projectile up on kit
string by means of messenger kites.
Mr. Eddy's plan to use the apparatu
for war purposes on land or sea " ould b,
to first send up strong line Of tandem
kites in the darkness, and when a mile o.
more of line is out to sail up the line
messenger signal kite with its lantern
and to follow this up with a dynamit