The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1900-12-25
MAGAZINES.

Use Of the "Pornpom" In tn,
Anglo-Boer War.
The gENTURYs LAST CHRISTMAS
Al Appeal to Make the Days Cele.
bration Simpler and More Rational
Chinese System of Banking THE
Ar OF sarah Bernhardt-Two Plan.
For Christmas Eve.
The accounts Of the South African
war always include some accounts OF
n the effects OF the fire Of the SO called
'tpompom.' This to the majority OF
readers, even. those who were Of the
military profession. was obscure, and
It was not known just what was refer
red to. Briefly, the ''pompom" is a !
FOUNDER automatic gun. writes Captain
g. Il. Zalinski in Casters Magazine
for December. 1t uses metallic car
tridges similar to those used in small
arms, but Of a caliber of ~ inches.
throwing a shell weighing one pound.
The cartridges are placed in a looped
belt. and this is attached to the gun.
By a simple operation one of the car
tridges is inserted in the barrel and is
fired BY pulling the trigger. After this
the force Of recoil is utilized to con-
tinue the firing automatically as long
as belts with cartridges are supplied.
Attempts were made to get this u
into the British service, but it was OBJ
jecteG toon the ground that the projec-
tile was unnecessarily large to kill a
man and not large enough to be consid-
cred a piece Of artillery, 1t was stated
that an entire battery of these guns
could be quickly put out Of action by q
single piece of field artillery and that
there was no place for them in either
service. Had it been stated previous
to the South African war that a British
field battery Of artillery could be put
out of action by a single l FOUNDER in
the hands Of half a dozen farmers the
statement would have been regarded as
ridiculous. There is no question that a
single piece Of field artillery would
stand a very good chance of putting a
! FOUNDER Maxim automatic gun out of
action on a perfectly level field with no
cover. But the Boer did not fight these
guns in that way. They did not come
out into the open to fight. With a piece
Of ordinary field artillery the charge is
such that sufficient dust and gas are
blown into the air to make the gun WIS., !
ible even when using smokeless pow |
der. 1t is difficult also to conceal a !
piece of artillery. with it's horses and
other accessories. Moreover, a piece Of
artillery recoils and has to be brought !
back into position and resighted after |
each discharge. ~%
With a ''pompom" the recoil is all
taken up inside Of Q stationary casing. |
and but little of it's force tends to dis |
place the carriage. The gun does not
bulge when it is firing. The
gunner takes deliberate aim, guessing
at the range. He fires about five shots,
which q be done by holding the trig-
ger in the pull" position for about one |
second. As soon as the projectiles ex-
plode. he is able to observe exactly |
where he is hitting and quickly read
justs his sights. After a few trials he
is able to explode the projectiles on the
exact spot required. and as the recoil
does not disturb the position of the gun
he can go on firing as long as he
wishes. III
It is stated that the Beers seldom
fired more than II shots at a time
without waiting for the gas to blow
away. If they fired more. their posi-
ton might be discovered by a cloud Of
gas and dust sufficient to make them
1t Is now admitted that one Of
chief surprises of the South Afri-
can war was the "pompom," and Brit
lsh officers very 500 found that it was
the most troublesome piece Of artillery
with which they had to contend.
Making an appeal for a simpler
Edward Box in the Deem
Der Ladies' Home Journal considers
his Christmas, because it is the last of
the century. q good time to change
about and go back to the simpler
of earlier days. why not
'espond q little to our natural selves,
he selves that were given to us as
he asks. SIN other words,
Why not be simpler and be true to our
Why not give a true remem-
France to our children to carry them
through their iives-the remembrance
hat comes of true giving?
Not the giving that we feel for some
eason we ought to practice. not the
living that m Of any artificial or
motive. but the giving
ome Of great gladness, the Civ
ne prompted by real loving kindness,
he giving of sincerity. the giving Of
he heart It makes no difference how
nipple may be the giving. 1t need not
.e q gift Even a few written words
will suffice.
SkHI lLN H."