The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-07-17
STORY OF THE RIFLED CANNON.
How the HOtchkIss Gun Was Per-
fected by the Inventor.


Sharon station. 1t is about twenty-five
miles east from Poughkeepsie, and in the
immediate vicinity of one of the widely
known and celebrated condensed milk fac
tories of the Borden company. About
mlle east of the station and Just within
the state of Connecticut, is Sharon val
ley, and a mile east of that is Sharon
village lovely place surrounded with
high hills, and lying on either side of a
street one mile long, and 200 feet wide.
AT the north end the street ends abrupt
ly, and branches either way, the west
ward branch leading down the hill to the
valley and station. To the north of the
head of the street is an ancient cemetery
and two or three farms and beyond these
rises abruptly a large hill about 200 feet
nigh, known as Ray mountain. Nestled
close in at the western foot of the noun
tain Is little sheet of water half a mile
or more in diameter known Tor formerly
known) as Nudge pond
From this pond there issues a consider
able stream, which forty-three years ago
furnished water power for a fiourishine
factory situated at the valley, about half
a mile below Near the factory was a
modest house, in which lived a man about
% years If age with several sons, two of
whom were old enough to be in business
with him in running the factory At this
factory We're made mouse-traps monkey
wrenches and harness snaps and there
was foundry with malleable iron ovens
IN connection. The articles mentioned
were either invented or improved by a
crippled son, who at this date QS5O was, IL
I remember right, about 30 years old.
This man, Andrew, was born without
any feet, having legs reaching only four
inches below the knees. These stump
were never sound and often broke out into
running sores at the extremities, causing
Andrew much paip and suffering and con-
filming him for weeks or months TO the
house. When well, however, he was very
active and cheerful and busy: In fact his
mind was never idle, and being of an in
ventive turn, he devised several things
for the manufacturing of which his father
abandoned his former business of wool
carding, and erected the factory mention
ed. Andrew got round on crutches and
was so active and muscular that he would
take hold of the side OF buggy seat with
one hand and with the aid Of the other
crutch would lift himself into the vehicle
The birth of this crippled son was a
great trial to his mother, and II was re-
ported In the village that she often ex-
pressed the hope that he would not live to
grow up and be constant sufferer as well
as a care to others Providence, how
ever had designed IL otherwise, and this
suffering, crippled boy finally laid the
foundation for large wealth for his broth
ers, and made a worldwide reputation as
the inventor of various missiles and pro-
jecHles used In warfare.
In the winter of $685. I was a boy of IA
at the boarding school of my grandeur
Gle. Rev. G. L. Browneu, whose widow
afterward became the second wife of the
elder Hotchkiss and stepmother to the
crippled Andrew. On pleasant autumn
Saturday afternoons It was the custom of
my schoolmates and myself to take short
cut across the brier-grown cemetery to
Nudge pond, then follow the stream down
past the old carding mill by the mill pond
to the new factory and watch the various
operations there. and chaff the homely
unkempt girls, who put the mouse-traps
together.
During October Andrew was busily en-
gagged in fnishing a brass four-pounder
field-piece, to shoot a new projectile his
busy brain had devised Rified cannon
had been made before, but the trouble
was to make a ball that would At closely
enough TO prevent leakage, and go like
rifle ball. straight to the mark. One can
non had been spoiled In making, and az
the new one approached completion, we
watched operations with great interest
and almost every night some of us would
run down to see if Andrews gun was not
almost done. The terrible Crimean war
was at fun blast at this time and more
paraphernalia of warfare Although
boy of A. I well remember how anxiously
I watched the coming of the Tribune, and
with what interest / read the tWo-page
letters from the seat of war.
The main reason we boys were so inter
ested in the completion of the gun was
that 1t was to be used in target practice.
In trying a new projectiIe that Andrew
thought would revoutionize artillery and
forever retire smooth-bore cannon. Some
of us were faVOrites of Andrew, and he
promised us that the target practice
should be held on Saturday afternoon, so
all the boys of the three schools In the
place could witness IT, If they choose. How
anxiously we watched and how we wor-
ried " anything happened to put Off the
expected event. Sometimes Andrew would
have a bad spell and not be at the shop
for two or three days, and then again
Geiger, the gunsmith, would be too busy
to go over and help about the rihing But
finally one beautiful day in early Decem-
Der the gun was complete; Andrew was
well, and the trial was held at Nudge
pond, a yoke of oxen drawing the cannon
while Andrew followed in a carriage es-
corted by a crowd of noisy boys. The
brass field-piece, much shorter and thick |
er than such pieces are now made was
placed on the west side of the lake and |
a sheet was hung up on the east side, at
The distance was a little over half mile |
The oonical projectile, about the size OF |
a coffee-cup, had rebate on the back end, |
which was one inch long and one-eighth |
Of an inch deep at the angle and tapered |
to the back end. Behind this when loaded |
into the gun was a plug the size Of the |
ball, but only ~ inches long or thick. with |
a rebate on the forward end similar to |
that OIL the bali. In form 1t was something |
like five-pound weight A leaden band |
connected the two, and the outside Of plug |
band and ball were all of a size that just |
fitted easily into the bore Of the gun
When the gun was fired the tapering re-
bates on plug and bail were forced into |
the lead ring, and this in turn was forced |
into the rihed grooves and made them air
tight and thus used the whole force Of the
powder and gave the projectile the spiral /
direction of the twist. In practice the /
plug and she'll both dropped into the water
about 50 rods from the gun, and only the
conical ban reached the mark.
The first afternoon the target was not |
hit, but the next Saturday a bail was put
through the sheet, and reward of s. was
offered to any one who would dig 1t out.
kgII tafss