The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-05-28
NOVELTIES IN MINES.
Col. McCarty Talks About His
Peaceful Agricultural
Pursuit.

Colonel w. f. NJ. McCarty, q we'll
known expert on torpedoes. arrived at
Taylor's Hotel last night from the South,
where he has been engaged for some
weeks past in mining the harbors ana
rivers for the Government. The work of
planting these deadly mines has been
thoroughly done, and the Colonel rubbed
his hands and said with a grim chuckle:-
Let a Spanish vessel once attempt to
enter our principal Southern harbors or
rivers and they will receive a warm re-
ception.''
The mines which the Colonel has prin-
cipally laid down are what he termed
..automobile or ascensional," and their
mechanism is extremely ingenious. The
torpedo or mine is anchored on the bed of
the river and in connection with the shore
by an electric wire. When the time ar
rives for the torpedo or mine to get in
its deadly work a button is pushed, an
electric current darts along that wire
from the shore to the mine opens a
valve, releases the compressed air, which
drives out the water in the
gives the torpedo buoyancy and causes 1t
to rise to within seven feet of the sur
face of the water.
In that position it will explode either by
contact or electricity. Let a ships hull
touch that torpedo and therell be a va
cancy in the feet. So ingenious is the
mechanism attached to these mines that
the officer on shore can tell when even a
piece of driftwood touches them.
How is that done?" the Colonel was
asked.
by q telephone. You are ~incredulous?
We'll, its a fact, nevertheless. To each
mine is a telephone wire with a receiver
at the shore end. With the receiver at
his ear an officer on the shore can
hear the slightest tap on that torpedo.
The 'microphone attachment OF the tor
pedo is very delicate and reveals anything
which comes in contact with the mine.
During the daytime, OF course, we have
4 camera obscura, which reflects the en-
tire bay or harbor and will show where
any hostile ship is. When it crosses q
line we know precisely which mines are
being crossed and at the proper time a
handle on the switchboard is pulled down,
and that's all-the torpedo does the resi-
How do you ascertain the whereabouts
of vessels at night?, he was asked.
oh said the Colonel, ~relighting a
big cigar, observation-disclosures,
puff-and by cross lines-puff, puff, puff.
The Colonel explained a novel scheme in
planted mines across the mouths OF our
rivers just adopted by the Government.
It is known among torpedo experts as the
trolley SYSTEM n in brief is as fol-
lows:-On the shore from any point of
the river where it is proposed to mine
-. 49, ~ xvii r-bof +no 1oifxv xya1116
call a stout bulkhead, but h the tor
pedo sharps call a revetment. Behind
that structure is a donkey engine, from
which issues a stout iron cable, which
passes under the reyetment and under the
surface of the water to the anchorage,
directly opposite, on the other side OF the
river or harbor. On this anchorage is q
| sheave, and the cable passes around 1t to
| another sheave further UP stream on the
same side, and from theme back to the
revetment, thus forming a continuous
| chain. just as if it were a dredge chain
working horizontally under water instead
of vertically above.
Behind the revetment and at the OPEN
ing where the cable slips into the water
through a tube stands a huge. stack OF
torpedoes, and these are attached to the
| chain at regular intervening distances. SO
thai, using the dredge chain as an Illus
tration again, take off the buckets and
put in their place torpedoes, and there
you are, don't you know. This deadly
| continuous. performance is then set in
| motion and the damage to a fleet crossing
that trolley can be more easily imagined
thar described.
The Colonel will remain here for a few
| days, when he will go to places in the
| North to continue his anything but agri-
nult1nral n11rs1ait of Manning mines