Omaha daily bee., 1899-07-27

Instruments of Death that Interest
ThOac of MRrIiIxe Nature.

Those of warIil<e Nature.
Somewhere in holy or other writ 1t Is
recorded that Hercules carried bow gun
and was very expert in its use, it being
said that three times out of five he could
hit an inch target at a distance of 100
PAGES Now, If Hercules could step down
into the Government building any day in
the week, he could see a gun which, while
1t may not be the one that he carried while
he was doing battle against his enemies, it
is presumed to resemble very closely.
Speaking of the gun carried by Hercules
1t is not out of place to state that there are
some guns in the exhibit in the Government
building, the origin of which are shrouded
in mystery, so far as authentic history is
concerned These guns are Of the crossbow
variety and are said to have been discovered
in the ruins of ancient Europe and are pre-
sumed to have been in use long ages before
the Romans were in the zenith of their
fame. The one that appears to be the most
aged has a straight stick for stalk. Some
thing like three inches from the upper end
there Is a mortise and through this an iron
bar, an inch wide, twenty inches long and
half an inch in thickness is inserted. Strong
thongs of leather are attached to the ends
of this iron bow, and then with a machine
similar to those used for jacking up wagons
that the wheels may be taken off, this string
is pulled half way down the length Of
the gun, where it drops into slot which
holds 1t in place until the marksman is
ready to do his work. 1t is presumed that
the darts or arrows used were straight
pieces OF iron, or iron tipped wooden sticks
In firing these guns the string was released
by pulling a lever that lifted the string
and allowed it to sweep over the top Of the
gun, taking the arrow along with 1t and
thus adding a fearful velocity.
After the date of this bow gun there was
a complete evolution in the engines of death
as becomes apparent by studying the i'm
provements made from time to time. After
the bow gun went out OF date the gun with
a barrel came along, but when, history re-
mains silent and 1t might just as well do so,
for the first gun with barrel would never
be called a gun II 1t did not have tag at
tached which assures the searcher after
knowledge that 1t is one.
It is recorded that the Chinese were the
first to use gunpowder and consequently
it is presumed that they were the first to
use a gun that was equipped with this ex-
plosive Whether they did or not, the gun
in the Government building exhibit carries
all of the marks of having been intended Tor
gunpowder and the ornamental figures upon
it might indicate that it was operated during
about six feet long, four inches in thickness
and caliber that is not less than an inch
in diameter. 1t was loaded at the muzzle
and was apparently fred by applying hot
iron at a small hole near the breech. The
stalk of this particular gun Is gem. 1t
Is a straight stick of wood, about the size
OF a wagon tongue, and runs from two feet
below the barrel to the muZZle. The barrel
is held in place by thick bands Of iron
The matchbox gun evidently came along
in more modern times and had more OF the
appearance of guns of the present date.
Those shown in the exhibit have crooked
stalks and barrels, showing finer work.
manship. The caliber still remained large,
the bullets, if bullets were used, evidently
being about the size of large marbles. To
shoot these guns fire was carried along and
when the gunner got ready to shoot he
tucked his lighted stick into slot in the
hammer and then pulled the trigger, the
fire striking down into the powder, which
was carried in little pan connected with
a small hole extending into the lower end
OF the barrel.
Next came the fintlock, which in most
respects was similar to the gun Of the pres
ent day. These old arms had a small piece
OF flint inserted in the hammer and when
1t came down 1t struck steel projection,
the contact producing sparks, which went
down into the powder. igniting 1t and caus-
ing the discharge of the weapon
After doing away with the fiintlock the
hammer and trigger put in an appearance
and improvements were made until now,
when the improved Krag -Jorgensen rs con-
sdered the par excellence of rifles for quick
work and accuracy.
One OF the most interesting weapons
shown is the blunderbuss-a gun that came
into use sometime after the lock and trigger
weapon was first placed in the hands of
gunners A number of these weapons are
on exhibition They are shorter than the
shotgun OF today and are single barrel
affairs. At the muzzle the hole in the barrel
is at least two inches across, tapering down
| as 1t reaches the breech. To load one of
these machines it appears as though a
pound of powder and a couple OF pounds OF
shot would have to be used They are the
original choke-boTe and, when fired, scatter
over a couple OF acres
ATTRACTS ATTENTION OF CHILDREN
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