Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1916-08-17
DODc|NC THE BOMB
Easy to Sidestep a Missile Flung
From a Zeppelin.
SIMPLE RULES FOR SAFETY.


: Matter Of Seconds and Agility.
9 There are well defined rules for tn
avoidance Of Zeppelin bombs. Thes
. rules, 1t seems, depend upon the law
! OF spherical perspective, and howeve
, esoteric and complicated the calcula
lions upon which they are based tn,
actual practice Of bomb lodging Il
relatively simple and easy to master.
When Yep" Is sighted In the offlnt
the first thing to do Is to determine iii
course. This Is done as follows: If Il
appears to be standing on end and ii
practically vertical you are, leaving oui
OF account any cross wind there may
be, pretty nearly In its path and should
get ready to run to right or left--that
Is. at right angles to the course 1t is
pursuing. Even If you are directly In
its path there is no danger from the
bombs except when 1t is nearly over
your head.
And because the bomb takes very
considerable time, to reach the earth
probably twenty-five seconds when the
Yep Is at an altitude of mile you
will have reasonable time to side
step" 1t even after seeing 1t start.
But any one who can't run hundred
yards, which is about the limit of the
destructiveness Of one of these mis-
sies, In twenty-five seconds, especially
with the stimulus Of bomb chasing
him, hasn't very much excuse for not
being blown up In this athletic age.
If, on the other hand, the Yep when
sighted appears to be tipped one way
OF the other-that is, its front or upper
end points to the left or right-you are
In no danger and can watch its destruc
tive fireworks without any of the I'M.
pleasant thrills associated with the
peril of imminent death. If the bow
appears inclined to the left the vessel
will pass to the left and If tipped the
other way, of course, to the right.
Some allowance, however, must be
made for cross winds, as these great,
unwieldy bags have a very consider
able side drift
1t is said to be usually easy to make
these observations by means of the I'M
aided eye with sufficient accuracy to
protect oneself. But in case the Yep
should appear very close to an upright |
position 1t may help the observer to
get into place where the vessel Is
partially covered by the edge of
house, fiagpole or other vertical line. |
II the Yep appears to be climbing the |
edge of the house or the fagpole to-
ward the zenith the observer is likely
to have an immediate personal interest |
in its visit In case there is no house
or fiagpole available a plumb line made
by stone tied to string will serve
the same purpose.
BY following these few simple rules,
says Professor e. G. Pickering, there Is
little excuse for any one ON the lookout
and able to get about with reasonable
speed being caught by either Zeppe-
lin or an aeropIane bomb
1t may be of interest while on the
subject to make few abstracts from
he description by British scientific
observer Of the fall OF these bombs:
THE bombs could be heard approach
ng as they rushed through the air.
The whistIing noise--a little like the
caring Of calico or the noise made by
gigantic rockee-became a cfescendo
hEiek Of terrific intensity just before
be bomb struck the ground and the
EXPLOSION occurred. estimated the
'eight Of the Zeppelin as about 1000
eet. and, DegIectlng air resistance, this
VoulA give the bombs a final velocity
+ about 500 feet per second The ac-
nal speed was probably less than this
nd rs considerably less than the veloc- I
" Of sound Q,Ic0 Feet per second, a
7hich accounts for the fact that the 8
ombs can be heard before their ar {
wax s
"St1ndn& as l was, at about 200 o
ards from where one Of the bombs n
III the noise OF the actual explosion
ID not appear to be very loud The 9
JASON II probably TO be sought in the Il
most complete numbing of ones n
snses. The feeling was much the o,
me as II one had Been given hard
ow botween the eyes with q bolster
some relatively soft object heard
piece OF bomb zip past me and after n
and found II imbedded In . balk of n.
nber about two yards from where =,
IS standing" ~
Upon The explosion Of the bombs a ar
Ige CLOUD OF black smoke rose into ~
e air. The destruction caused In No
cir immediate neigbborhood showed no
curious freakishness. The worst m,
I'm was done In what appeared to be or
ckets Of high pressure extending out y,
various directions, but apart from ~
; possibility Of being struck by flying rs
ssiles the danger zone did not much sti
iced twenty-five yards.-New York
St ]
ms