The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1908-05-14
D WARFARE.
6trRnKe Weapons Men Used Az
Strengthening One Another.

Many Of the warlike appliances O;
the middle ages were of grotesque char
acter. As at no distant date the max
Ing of hldeous grimaces to strike terror
into the heart OF an enemy was culti-
waited as a branch OF the military art
by the troops Of the Celestial empire,
30 In medieval times the grotesque
seems to have been considered at least
as much a desideratum as the practical
by the inventors of offensive and de-
fenslye weapons. So we have such ex-
~traordlnary contrivances as a machine
to break the ranks Of an enemy" and
other dragonllke edi1ces.
How the machine-which appears to
BE- a kind Of med. sal motor car-got
over the ground and how It brought its
formidable array Of spikes to bear upon
those who had the hardihood to oppose
Its progress must be left to the mag
nation.
Ancient warriors had a great pen
chant for naming their various warlike
engines and machines after animals,
real or imaginary. Thus we have the
Roman "musculus," or "little mouse" a
machine for undermining the walls of
a besieged city; the battering ram, the
SOW, the scorpion for d~ischarging big
arrows from a powerful bow, the ma
ger for hurting stones. The onager,
according to tradition, was an animal
that had a pleasant trick OF kicking
stones with great violence at it's pur-
suers. Again. the Roman warships
were equipped with a spiked gangway
X own as a ~"corvus," or Grow" which
on being let fall upon an enemy'sr ship
grappled her and formed a bridge for
boarders.
Medieval soldiers made frequent use
Of the wolf" In the defense Of castles
and towns. This was a species OF huge
harrow, made of balks Of timber with
wooden spikes at the intersections,
which set Up outside the walls could
be thrown down and forward to crush
the besiegers as they crowded to the
assault When ann were invented
their names became legion. A ship or
a train Of artillery contained a perfect
geological garden Of birds, beasts and
fabulous animals. There were basIllsks,
brakes, dragons, volant, falcons, SER
penis and pelicans. not to mention
double dogs and partridge mortars
We have CT late years seen a good
deal In the newspapers about the train
Ing Of dogs for military purposes, such
as scouting, giving notice Of the ap-
proach Of an enemy and searching for
the wounded. In former days this In
telligent animal was also employed In
warfare. One method Of letting slip
the dogs OF war" was to equip them
with a pot Of blazing resin, a collar
Of spikes and a jacket OF leather scales
to protect their backs from the fire,
and send them among cavalry, much
to the confusion Of the horses.
A surprising medieval continuance
was an iron hat or helmet, which Is
described as having two crowns, each
with four pistols A voIley Of eight
shots from an opponents headpiece
must have been very dlsconcerting-
probably to all parties concerned. A
curious mortar in the Tower Of London
Is square In front and has no less than
nine separate bores The eighteenth
century was distinctly the epoch Of
sieges. The attack and defense of
carefully fortified places was carried
out in the most methodical and patient
manner.
There were many inventions at that
time especially applicable to the attack
and defense Of fortified towns. The
petard was much used. 1t consisted Of
a bell-shaped iron receptacle filed with
powder and clamped down to a block
Of hard wood. 1t was intended to be
fixed to doors and gates for the purpose
Of blowing them in. Another device
was the pot a feu or IRE pot, which
was a kind Of ball or globular Jar
filed with old tarred rope, which was
thrown upon the enemy's works, to
light them up at night and enable fire
to be directed upon them. Loaded PTS
tol barrels were attached to these to
prevent anyone from picking them M
and extinguishing them.
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