The Kendrick gazette. [volume] (Kendrick, Idaho) 1892-1968, 1914-04-17
NARROW ESCAPES
Hudson Maxim Has Figured In
Some PeriI0us Incidents.
LUCKY AT CHEATING DEATH.

On One Gun Testing Occasion q Suo.
den Impulse to Run, Which He Obey
ed, Was the Means Of Saving His
Lifs-A Magazine That Got Its Sec
,ond Wind.
One of the most thrilling adventures
in my experience took place at the gov
eminent proving grounds at Sandy
Hook, N. j., when the United States
government was testing maximite be-
fore adopting it.
Near light frame building in which
was filling shells with maximite.
ten inch gun was being tested. A num-
Der of shots had been fired from the
big gun. Just as l had concluded my |
work and started for the wharf to take
the government tug for New York, the
signal was sounded for another shot.
l was walking along stretch Of rail-
way track directly behind the gun.
At that instant l remembered that
several years before. when one of these
guns was being tested. the breechlock
had blown out, passed through the
bombproof and killed six officers and
men. but argued with myself that the
chance was infinitely remote that the
breechlock would be blown out of the
present gun on this discharge at the
very instant l was in range, but upon
a sudden impulse ran with all my
might.
The gun was discharged. l looked
round just in time to see the huge
breechlock pass through building near
the one in which had been at work.
1t came up the track. striking and
breaking one of the rails over which l
had passed. 1t ricocheted against the
top of the old granite fort and glanced
high into the air. A shower OF stones
and debris fell over wide area and
many fragments struck the ground
close to me.
/ walked back to the scene of the ac-
cident and found that the windows In
the little building where l had been
filling maximite shells were completely
riddled with partly burned cylinders OF
smokeless powder that had been blown
from the gun.
l once had another curious expert
ence at Sandy Hook during some trials
Of the Maxim automatic machine gun.
Among the severe tests to which the
gun was subjected was one intended to
simulate what might occur In making
landing upon the seashore. where the
mechanism of the gun might get filed
with sand. The test is known as the
sand test"
The gun being tested at the time was
of the kind using black gunpowder
cartridges. for it was before the intro
duction Of smokeless powder. There
was so much energy in the recoil OF
the barrel that great deal OF sand
could be thrown into the mechanism
without interfering with the working
Of the gun.
The commanding officer did not ar
rive to see the gun fired until after the
board in charge had completed the test
He then appeared and demanded that
the firing should be continued for his
benefit. The chairman of the expert
mental board demurred. saying that
the gun had passed through the test
admirably and that 1t was too bad to
fire it more than was absolutely neces-
sary, with it's mechanism filled with
sand. But the commander insisted.
schooner was approaching near
the line of fire. The commander said
he only wanted to see few rounds
fred and that the firing would be COM
pleted before the schooner would come
within range. Accordingly belt of
1888 rounds was inserted, and the firing
begun After perhaps fifty rounds were
fired the command was given Cease
firing" but the gun kept right on. II
afterward proved that the trigger was
blocked by sand, so that it was impos'
sible to stop the gun. The schooner
came into range. and the bullets few
over and around her.
My assistant. who was firing the gun
did his best to work the trigger anC
stop it. 1t did not occur to him on the
instant to unlimber the gun and swing
it round so as to bring the schooner
out of range AS the gun fred at thu
rate of $50 shots minute the firing
was all over inside half minute.
Fortunately no damage was done
When the same gun was undergoing {
sand test at Annapolis, Md, l came
very near being killed by it.
The gun had passed successful!
through severe sand test. but tn,
officer in charge wanted to see wheth
er he could put enough sand into tn,
gun to stop it. So he had the gun boz
filed full The gun fred about 15'
rounds and then stopped. My assistan
threw down the safe-that is to say
4 locked the trigger. so that it could no
be pulled-and began clearing the gul
box.
Thinking that the gun was safe,
/ was just about to step round in from
of it. Suddenly it fired a dozen 0