The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1900-09-08
An ERA FOR THE :
! SUBMARINE BOAT.
While They Have Made No Great Inn
provement in the Past Few Years
There Is Hope for the Near Future.

GACvpL IOr the HOLLAND ana Lake /
submarines there seem to be no other |
sub-surface boats that work with sue.
cess.
1t is somewhat curious that after the |
great flourish Of trumpets with which |
the French lately set about the con- |
struction Of considerable number Of |
submarine torpedo boats news should
have come that their government has
recently issued orders that work on
them should be stopped.
One would have thought that the
"Narvals" having been ordered after O
set OF very extensive trials with the
Gustave Zede. Gymnote and other boats,
the French Admiralty had finally made
up Its mind as to the practicability OF
the new types. But now. almost be.
fore they have been In the water, all
progress Is suspended.
AN ANCIENT PROJECT.
The project Of submarine navigation
ls far from being new, or even q mod
ern one. Many boats were built to run
under water In the eighteenth century,
and the second of them (Bushnell's)
has, It may be claimed. a better record
than any that have succeeded 1t. de-
inventors Of the latter half Of the pres
ent century by the discoveries Of steam
and electricity. For though sub
marine vessel succeeded in blowing up
man-of-war in the American Civil
War, she destroyed herself into the
bargain.
Bushnell's boat. on the contrary.
though she failed in her attempt on the
British man-of-war Eagle. very nearly
succeeded. and got off scot free herself,
while on another occasion one OF his
similar boats did destroy storeship.
AN OLD SUBMARINE.
A print, dated 1911, shows a soldier,
or perhaps we should say marine.
or rather submarine" strolling about
at the bottom Of the sea. armed with a
sword and battle-axe, and clad in
diving suit Of the period, supplied with
air by means Of a tube, the upper END
of which is supported by bladder 1t
has also been stated that at the time
when the Turkish galleys were swarm
ing In the Mediterranean and Black
Seas, the inhabitants Of the Ukraine
contrived for themselves some sort OF
diving canoes, by the use OF which they
were frequently enabled to escape from
the clutches Of the ''unspeakable Turk"
| CLAUS Magnus has a most circum-
stantial account Of the submarine boats
which were used by the pirates OF
| Gruntland. This Is what he says:
There are pirates in Gruntland VINO
make use of skiffs and vessels con-
structed of leather. for the purpose or
going wherever they wish, either above
| NSNA hNy
they pierce and make great holes IN the
bulls OF passing merchantmen. IN the
year 1905 I saw two Of these leatnern
| vessels or skiffs In the Catheorai
Church of ASIDE, in the western porch
They were dedicated to st. Haiuaro'
and placed there on exhibition, and are
said to have been captured by King
f9aouin while passing with his ships
Of war along the coast of Gruntlano'
when the pirates by their wickedness
tried to sink his vessels"
There ia a we'll authenticated account
of a submarine boat which was in
vented In the time of James /. by Cor
nelius van Drebbel, native or AK
maar. In Holland. This Dutchman. by
the way, would appear to have been a
snecies Of Edison, in his way, and MS
own countrymen not supporting MIS-
schennes. he went to England ana was
Amounted engineer to the Scotch Pc
liant who then occupied the throne.
In a diary of the visit OF the DUKE
NJ wurtemburg- Mumpelgard to James
In. in 1910, there Is the following entry'
"ist May.-His Excellency went TO the
mark Mt Ethan to see la perpetuum
mobile The inventor is called Cor
nelius Trebel, native of Alkmaar, 9
man very fine and fair, and OF very
pleasant manners, very different to most
reniuses of his kind This machine
IL described elsewhere as "a rare IN
strument of perpetual motion, withou,
the means of steel. springs or weights
His curious submarine boat, too
would seem to have been an ingenious
piece of work, and to have peen OF con-
siderable size, as it is said to have ac'
commodated number OF passengers
besides a dozen oarsmen.
A FRENCHMAN'S INVENTION.
In 1873 another diving boat, the IN.
vention of a Frenchman. was exhlbltee
at Amsterdam, and In IT'S the HlVe'
Dart was the scene of another expert
mont with either submarine boat o.
some species of diving machine, the DE
sign Of one Symons A quaint picture
NJ this was published in l74O. I'M
hladder-like objects shown at the bot
tom Of the weird looking vessel wer'
said 10 be bottles or bags OF goat
akin A gentleman struggling with
lover was supposed to be pumping wa
tor either into or out of these recep
tacles The idea was, Of course, tina
tho admission Of water would cause IN
boat TO sink. and its expulsion woul'
bring 1t once more to the surface.
David Bushnell of Connecticut, IN
vented a submarine in the year lu'
and it may be said at once that LOT IN
t;,nes n was a most creditabie an
nractical invention. Indeed, IN LII
matter of horizontal stability, IL cout
prohabjv give points to any that nav
heen d. signed since.
Fultou's boat was in all propaplilt
surst st to the inventor by Bushneil
"turt IS" although in form 1t Will Q
.aor nat II approximated more neari
~ n,od. ~ ideas. He called 1t "Ba
,eau Poisson" or Fish Boat" He al
tanonted In vain to get the French Gov
eminent to adopt 1t, but with no suS
cess. although her trials promiseu Buy
J results. But Admiral Decres "o.i
have none of it. Such boats ne w
clared. were At only for AIgerlnes
! corsairs.' Fulton constructed nrst
model in mahogany, then reai boat
called the Nautilus. The latter we
not firished till 1901. and was tried
\ Rouen, Nre t, Paris, and Havre'
AIRIG BLOWN UP.
Fulton next tried England, ana PIC
I'm a brig in the Downs. on Waiu
CASTE. his boat being navigateo
Ideutensnt Robinson, of the Royal ~
} zines; hrt here scsin the naval au. .,o
ties 'ookea ask. re at the innoVauo
ard refua.d to have anything 70
with ii.