Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1913-07-04

gllmpses OF more powerful and com
plicated devices TO be seen among the
many forms la which the bow and ar
row were constructed
A new weapon now came 10 the cen.
ter OF the stage II was the crossbow.
the hrst real hand shooting machine
This was another big step toward the
day OF the ride. The idea was simple
enough, Wooden bows had already
been made az strong as the strongest
man could pull aud they wished for
sim stronger ones steel ones How
could they phil thems At drst they
mounted them upon a wooden frame
and rested one end on the shoulder for
brace. Then they took 10 pressing
the other end against the ground and
using both hands Next It was a
bright idea 10 put a stirrup on this /
end IN order to hold Il With the foot
still they were not satisfied strong
er. stronger" they elamored- Let US
try mechanlesr'
SO they attached levers. puleys. |
ratchets aud windlasses until az last |
they reached the size OF the great /
Siege crossb0ws, Weighing eighteen /
pounds These sometimes needed
force Of Loo pounds 10 draw back the
string 10 It's catch but how they could
shOotl Notice the pictures Of the
crossbows aud you will see that now
the weapons began TO look a little Ike
guns as we know them They bad
shoulder pieces
And Now For Chemistry.
Human muscle seemed to have reach
ed It's limit. mechanics seemed to have
reached It's limit but still the world
rlamored. Stronger. stronger For
answer man unlocked one OF the Sc
rrots OF nature and took out terrible
force. II was a force OF chemistry.
Gunpowder was probably drst dis
covered by the Chinese. though our
had 10 work out the prob.
EN- for itself
It Is recorded that Roger Bacon, a
monk discovered what was practical
Y gpupowder a. far back as the thlr
ecnth century
Berthold Schwartz, a monk OF Frei
burg. studied Bacon's works and car
led on dangerous experiments OF his
iwn. so that he is ranked with Bacon
or the honor
And then began the first crude. clum
y efforts az gunmaklug Firearms
we're born. q
II took centuries for guns 10 become !
'erfcct enough to take the place Of /
COWS and cross bows
The Coming Of the Matchbox.
Hand bombards aud culverns were #
mong the early types Some OF these 4
fere SO heavy that a forked support G
al 70 be driven into the ground. and RI
wo men we're needed one 70 hold and Ct
lm, the other 70 prime ana Gre Hsw II
oes that strike you Tor duck shoot OF
~ proposiilon3 n
improvements kept coming. however r,
nns were hghtened and bettered 10 Al
ispe Somebody Thought OF putting n
Cash pan for the powder by the side n
the touchhole. and now Il was de W
dei 90 fasten the slow mdtch 10 a a,
.ovsble cock upon the barrel and *
be e With q trigger These matches
ere FUSES Ni some SLOW burning tNefi n,
10 tow. which would keep a spark for !,
considerable time Formerly they :,
"a 10 be carried separately but the n,
.w arrangement WIS great conven y,
nee and made the matchbox The =,
ck. being curved Ike q suase. was !,
lied the "serpsDtine1
A Nuremberg Inventor 10 1915 hit on 81
e wheel lock Ia ihis a notched steel n
heel wss wound up with key iike =
clock =.
Flint OF pyrite was held against the =,
g~ed edes ~ the wheel by the pres
re of the serrentine You pulled the a
icger. whlfF-tlic wheel re
lived. q stream or sparks aew on into m
e dash pan. and the gun was as AZ
.arged pu
And Then Came the Flinsioek. y
Everybody knows what the aintlocs M
as Ike You simply fastened a fake n.