The Holt County sentinel. (Oregon, Mo.) 1883-1980, 1913-07-04
Reprinted by Courtesy

glimpse- OF more powerful nnd con-
plicatcd devices to he seen among the
many forms Ia which the bow aud mr..
row were constructed
\ new weapon Tow came to the cen.
the first real baud shooting machlue.
This was another big step toward the
day Of the rifle. The Idea was simple
enough. Wooden bows had already
been mndc M strong rs the strongest
man could pull. and they wished for
still stronger oncs-stcci ones. How
could they pull them; At first they
mounted them upon "a wooden frame
anG rested one cnd on the shoulder for
a brace. Then they took TO pressing
the other end against the ground and
using both hands Next II was
bright idca 10 put a stirrup on this
end IN order 10 hold II with the foot.
SIN they were not satisfied. "Strong.
er. stronger" they clnmored. Let us
try mechanics"
So they attached levers. pullcys.
ratchcts nni windlasscs until nc last
they reached the size OF the great
siege crossbows. weighing eighteen
pounds. These sometimes needed n
force Of LOO pounds 20 draw back the
string 10 It's catch. hut how they could
shoot. Notice the pictures of the
crosshows aud you viii see that nov
the weapons began 10 look u little Ike
guns ns We know them, They had
shoulder plpy,s
And Now For Chemistry.
Human muscle seemed Ia have reach
cd It's limit mechanics seemed To hnN.
reached It's limit. hut still the world
clnmorcl, stronger, stronger For
answer man unlocked one of the ST.
crcts Of nature aud took out terrible
force. II was force OF chemistry.
Gunpowlcr was probably ilrst dis.
covered Icy the Chiucsc. though our
civilization had to work out the prob
lem for itself.
II IL recorded that Roger Bacon. q
monk. discovered what was practical.
ly runpowder rs far back nv the thir
tccnth century,
Rcrthold Schwartz. u monk Of Frci
burg. studied Bacon's works and ear
lied on dangerous experiments Of his
own, so that he Is ranked with Bacon
Tor the honor.
And then began the first crude. clum.
~ efforts ut gunmaking. Firearms
were born.
II took centuries Tor guns 70 become
perfect enough TO take the place OF
bows and crossbows,
The Coming Of the Matchbox.
Hand bombards and culyerns were
among the early types. Some OF these
were 80 heavy that a forked support
had TO be driven into the ground, and
two men were needed. one to hold and
aim. the other to prime and fire. Hsw
does that strike you for duck shoot
ing proposition?
improvements kept coming, however
Guns were llghtened and bettered In
shape. Somebody thought Of putting
n fash pan for the powder by the side
OF the touchhole. and now II was de
cided 10 fasten the slow match In q
movable cock upon the barrel and L.
uitt " Win u tiIEEcT' iucrc Ihut'heH
were fuses OF some slow burning fiber
like tow. which would keep a spark fol
considerable time. Formerly they
had to be carried separately, but thu
new arrangement was great conven
fence and made the matchbox. Thu
cock, being curved like snake. wat
called the ''serpentine."
A Nuremberg inventor In 1915 hit OF
tho wheel lock. In this notched stee
~teel was wound up with a key iik'
a clock.
Flint or pyrite was held against tn
Jagged edge Of the wheel by the pres
sure OF the serpentine. You pulled tn
trigger, then--"whir"-the wheel re
volved, a stream Of sparks new OF int
the dash pan. and the gun was dis
charged.
And Tksn Came the Flintlset.
Everybody knows what the 0intlocl
was Ike You simply fastened . nak