Evening gazette, Wednesday, June 1, 1898 · page 2

 

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BEGI

THE YEAR

18'

RICH

 

BY

SUBSCRIBING

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FOR THE

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AND

II. Y. WEEKLY TRIBUNE.

Born PAPERS

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FOR

One— Dollar?

ADDRESS ALL census T0 enzsrrn

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ZIITTE

. \

mrmn or THE KEGS.

FIRST TIME THE TORPEDO WAS USED
IN THE WORLD’S HISTORY.

Bruslmell’s Invention Did but Littll
Damage at That Time but It Can Well
be Claimed as the Father of All hinder]
Submarine \Varfare.

It is a long step ii: the development

of invention from a tiny tea-kettle buz- I

zing on the grate with the force of its
escaping steam, to the modern locomo‘
tive with its powerful driving wheeli
and train of freight cars.

The im!

l

provements in submarine warfare hav‘a ,

had quite as wide a range and as in.
teresting a history from the primitive

herring kegs charged with gunpowder;

to the modern submarine torpedo boa!
which dives under water, and carrying

its deadly charge in any direction re-;

quired, sends the mightiest mau-of—war
with all its turrets and barbcttes spin-
ning into the air. -:~ 4.. .

And as the idea of the locomotive
was first taken from the domestic ket.
tle, so that of the torpedo was devel«
oped from the common beer or herring
keg. The “Battle of the Kegs" is little
known but one of the most decidedly
interesting in American history. It wal
one in which the British were worsted
after that famous ferrying party it
which Washington crossed the Dela.
ware and was one of the most amusing
and facetious .incidents of the entiri
Revolutionary war. It was also the'
first real battle in which the torpedd
ever figured, if a keg charged with gun
powder to be exploded by contact, and
floated down the stream towards which
the British lay, could be called a tort
pedo. And yet such was the first tort
pedo and the father of all modern sub‘
marine warfare. ,

“The Battle of the Kegs" was fought
Jan. 7, 1778, in the Delaware River.
when four Britishers were killed and
several others wounded. The Kegll
would have been given a better account
of themselves only that for some rea<
son the British merchantmen that were
anchored in the river moved close tc
shore, otherwise the kegs would have
played havoc to the British shipping.
Whenever the kegs came in contact
with any obstruction it promptly went
skywards and the repetition of this
then strange phenomena, so terrified
the British Admiral that he ordered
some boats to be manned and a picked
detachment of marines to go forward
and suppress this strange uprising oi
water and stones and flames. One
witty Quaker, who viewed the scene
fromshore remarked that “The infer-
nal regions must have opened their
windows in order to enable the King’s
- troops to escape from the merciless'fire
'aof Washingtoi’s sharpshooters." A9
“Isoon as the detachment pulled their

‘ boats over the floating buoys to which

the kegs were attached, they exploded.
killing four men and wounding several
others.

The Hon. Francis Hopkinson, the
father of the author of “Hail Colum‘
bia" and of “Columbians all the Pres-
ent Hour,” and who was himself a na.
tional hard of no small fame, thus comt
memorates the incident in these stir-
ring stanzas:

The soldiers flew, the sailors, too,
And scared almost to death, Sir,
Wore out their shoes and spread the
news
Running till out of breath. Sir.

“Arise, Arise!" Sir Erskine cries:
The rebels, more’s the pity, .,
Without a boat are allafloat 3;
And ranged before the city." Vj'ji":

The royal band now ready stand .;
All ranged in dead array, Sir. '

With stomach stout to see it out
And make a blood day, Sir.

Such feats did they perform that day,
Among those wicked kegs, Sir,
That years to come, when they gel
home
They‘ll bay and boast and bray, Sir.

The unusually sober. and digni-
fied Philadelphians were like In-
dians around a ghost, dance that
day. When the alarm of the

first explosion spread the whole city
was in confusion. The British 501‘
diers ran from their shelters to their
assigned places of muster and both
city and riyer was filled with such an
appalling and unearthly noise that it
really seemed as if the bottomless pii
had burst its crusted roof and spat
flame and sulphur into the skies. - The
surface of the water‘ was placid save
for some blocks or floating ice which.
however, concealed the buoys. and
such a thing as a possibility of ex-
plosive beneath the water was at tho
time as unheard of as the ticker or the
telegraph. '

The kegs were charged with gunpow-
der and had a wad of wood separating
the explosive and a charge at stones
and scrap iron overhead which was
just far enough below the surface to
effect, concealment and at the same
time to do real injury as well as makd
a. grand spectacular demonstration
when exploded. A spring lock set off
this crude torpedo of 120 years ago.
The inventor was one David Bushnell,

and the season why more havoc was A

not then accomplished, was, he says
himself, because the pilot in the Dela-
ware was imperfectly acquainted with
that. part of the river in which the
[shipping lay. These kegs being placed
under cover of darkness were floated
too far from the ships, the distance at
night having greatly deceived Bushnell
and his friends. They set them adrift
with the ebb of the tide but much too'
distant, and they did not arrive until
after being caught in the ice, thus ex‘
ploding after the ships had raised an-
chor and in most cases in widely dis-
persed directions causing less damage
than the revcutionary leaders intend-
cd.‘

 

l trivance on board.

 

 

a

’ T BEE VE urn G GA 2 ET TE.

However, Bushnell's invention was
tried with greater effect against King
George’s Man-of-War Cerberus. While
this vessel was lying at anchor some
of the seamen observing a line towing
astern, and thinking it a mere fishing
line commenced. vigorously hauling in,
feeling confident that they had nothing
of less dimensions than a baby whale
at least, on the hook end. When the
sailors had about fifteen fathoms of the
line hauled in they were astonished
to find that it was buoyed up at reg-
ular intervals by little bits of sticks.
The necessity of these devices in fish-
ing were not apparent to the English-
men' but nothing daunted and with a
bee-haw the British tars kept towing
the anticipated whale. Suddenly the
refrain of the seamen ceased and they
found a machine which was much too
heavy for two men to haul up. “It can
not have been a whale,” thought they,
“though it may be the very devil him-
self,” as they pulled the peculiar co’n-
It weighed up-
wards of five tons, and all hands wera
called to get it upon deck. Command-
er Symonds who commanded the Cer—
berus was a little apprehensive that it
was “another trick of those damned
rebel Yankees” but nevertheless feeling
it a rich find that was destined to be
gazed on for ages in the British Mu-
seum, he, like a. brave disciple of Drake
and Cook, ordered the strange nugget
to be examined with a mixture of feel-
ing begotten half of fear and half of
fatal curiosity. The whale instantly
took breath, shooting a ‘volume of
flame and smoke into the Captain’s
face, killing three men and throwing a.
fourth into the water. One of the
ship’s boats was also blowu from the
davits. There was consternation upon
the deck of the Cerberus and for two
days at least the British sailors flut-
tered in quite as awful terror as had
the the Philadelphians. Commodore
Symonds at once sat down to solemnly
write a heavy report to the British
Admirality not to haul in any more
whales “filled with that kind of com-
bustible that burns though in the wa~
ter.”

Captain Symond's report concludes
thus—“The mode these villains must
have taken to have swiftered the ship
was to row off on the stream a. con-
siderable distance leaving one of their
internals on shore and floating the oth-
er end at the distance of the line. From
the quantity we have got aboard, near-
ly 70 fathoms, and what the men saved,
which was upwards of 15') fathoms
more, there must have been nearly 300
fathoms in all. They at the length of
this line put the other in the water
and left it forthe tide to float down.
As the'ingenuity of these people is sim-
gular in their secret modes of mis-
chief, and as I presume this istheir
first essay I have though it indispensa-
bly my duty to give you the earliest in-
formation of the circumstances to pre-
vent the like fatal accident happening
to any of the advanced ships that may
possibly be swiftered in the same man-
n‘er." ’ ' ‘ '

Suchwas the first use and the first
ofilcial report ever made, upon the tor-‘
pedo in's'ubmarine warfare!

Man In Condensed Air.

Liebig, the greatest chemist of the
century, writes: “Science has dem-
onstrated the fact that man, the be-
ing who performs the greatest won-
ders, is formed of condensed air and
solidified and liquid gases; that he
lives upon condensed as well as un-
condensed air; and that, by means of
the same mysterious agent, he moves,
or causes to'be moved, the heaviest
quaint little egg-men to accomplish
weights with the velocity of the
wind.

“But the strangest part of the mat-
ter is that thousands of millions of
these tabernacles of condensed air are
destroying each other in pitched bat«
tles, using implements which are but
other forms of condensed air, the ma-
terial of which they themselves are
formed or composed.‘

“Chemistry supplies the clearest
proof that man is—to all appearances,
at least~—composed of materials iden—'
tical with those which compose the
structural being of the ox or the dog,
or even the .lowest animal in the
scale of creation.”

The Oldest City in the \Vorld.

Damascus is'probably the oldest city
in the world, and is estimated to be
about 4,200 years old. It is supposed
to have been founded by a great grand-
son of Noah, and for many centuries
was famous for its manufacture of
jewelry, silks and swords. In the Mid-
dle Ages a Damascus sword was more
highly prized than any other; but the
Damascene method of tempering steel
and the famous swords are no longer
made. In point of age Jerusalem comes
next to Damascus amongst the oldest
cities in -_the world, it having been a
Jebusite city in the days of Abraham
3.900 years ago. Athens is the oldest
city in Europe, being about 3,453 years
old. Rome is the next oldest, and after
that comes Marseilles, founded by a
colony of Greeks when Rome was still
a small village. London and Paris
have neither of them been in existence
‘.wo thOusand years.

 

(time, midnight): “Hark!

Wake up! I hear the
silk and the Clank of

Wife
Husband!
.ustling of
chains.”

Husband: “You do?
the reports are true.
house was hauntet." .

Wife (much relieved): “Oh, is that
all? 'I was afraid Fido had broken

Horror! Then
I was told the

' loose, and was tearing my new ball-

dress.”

Dl'anzatls.~lney re yelling for me
n from. l’ve never ~made a speech
:1 my life; what shall I say?

Leading Lady (had a bedtime of it)
*say you've a wife and three kids
.—., endent on you; throw yourself. on
....—:;:~ mercy. somehow.

 

 

 

M

 

TREATY WITH FRANCE SIGNED.
Agreemer‘ Benn": tho 'l‘wo Countries
to no Intonfl‘ect on June 1.
Washington, May 31.-—It is ‘stated on
good authority that the trade discus-
sions with France, which began di-
rectly on the appointment of Mr. Kas-
son, to take charge of reciprocity nego-
tiations, have come to a. successful con-

clusion. .

Tin negotiations have been conducted
under the third class of the tariff act of
1897.‘ It is said that the commercial ar~
rangement thereunder was ‘signed, last
Saturday by Mr. Cambon, the French
ambassador, on the part of France, and
by Mr. Kasson, special plenipotentiary,
on the part of this country. .

The agreement is to take effect Wed-
nesday, June 1, when the French Mini-
mum rates upon certain products of
the United States exported to France
will take effect. The proclamation of
the president announcing this fact will
be issued to-day. The agreement makes
the following tariff arrangement:

In favor of the United States, manu-
factured and prepared pork meats are
reduced from one hundred francs .to
fifty francs per one hundred hiloes (ap-
proximating 200 pounds); lard and its
components are" reduced from forty to
twenty-litre francs per one hundred
kiloes; table fruilt, canned meats, dried
or pressed'fruits, common woods, logs,
paving blocks, staves, hops and apples
and pears, crushed, cut or dried, at the
minimum French rate of duty.

The reductions in behalf of France
are as follows: Argois shall pay a. duty
of 5 per cent. ad valorem; brandies or
other spirits, $1.75 per gallon; works of
art, 15 per cent. ad valorem; still wines
and vermuth, 35 cents per gallon. No
reduction is made on champagnes,
which remain 'dutiable as fixed in the

Dingley tariff law. V

 

FATAL COLLISION 0N BICYCLE.

Three Men Hurt, and Two of Them Not
Expected to Live.

Camden, May 31.-—A collision between
bicyclists near Lakewood, Sunday af-
ternoon, resulted in the serious injury
of three men, two of whom are not
expected to live. N. H. Barnard, 28
years old, of Merchantvrlle, and N. E.
Nogross, 21 years old, of Philadelphia,
were on a tandem, with Barnard steer-
ing. They were coming toward Cam-
den at a. high rate of speed, when Hugh
H. McMullen, 32 years old, of Philadel-
phia, approached from the opposite di-
rection, also going very rapidly. '

A large party of other bicyclers were
in the vicinity and some confusion re-

sulted. McMullen and the men on the.

tandem failed to alter their course and
as a. result the two wheels came to-
gether with terrific force. McMullen
was thrown fifteen feet. He suffered a
fracture of the skull and concussion of
the brain. Barnard was also thrown
on his head and suffered concussion of
the brain. Nogross had his scalp badly
torn. Both bicycles were total wrecks.

The physicians stated that McMullen
cannot recover and Bernard's condi-
tion is critical. Nogross was discharg-
ed after having his injuries attended
to. .

to MUSTER IN NAVAL RESERVE.

Admiral Erben Issues Orders for Addi-
tional Recruits in the Navy.

New York, May 31.—Admiral Erben
yesterday issued an order regarding
the enlistment of naval reserves for the
United States navy. These reserves
are now in the state service and are
to be regularly enlisted -in- the navy.
The order in substance is as follows:

The work of mustering in members
of the naval reserves throughout the
country will begin immediately. Re-
cruiting officers will be sent to the va-
rious states.

Recruits for the service will be oblig-
ed to undergo a strict physical exam-

ination, and will then be sent to vari-

ous stations along the Atlantic coast.
From these they will be drafted aboard
the auxiliary patrol fleet as they are
needed. Those who remain after the
auxiliary fleet has been filled will be
assigned aboard the various warships,
some of which are short handed.

Enthusiasm Over Proposed Alliance.

Greenwich, Conn, May 31.—-At a. pa.
triotic service held in Christ church on
Sun-day evening, the English flag was
used with the Stars and Stripes for
decorating. The rector, Mr. George
Thompson. said he hoped that before

the close of the present war America

and England would form an alliance
for securing liberty and Christian civ-
ilization to all the world. There was
intense interest and applause would

have been hearty but for the place. Dr.

Carl E. Martin of St. Thomas’s church,
New York, sang the “Battle Hymn of
the Republic.”

Attacked by Highwaymen.

Mt. Vernon, N. Y., May 31.—Dr. Louis:
E. Bertine, president of the board of
health of Mount Vernon, is in a. dying
condition at his home. He was attack-
ed and fatally injured by four high-
waymen late on Saturday night while
returning home from a meeting of the
Mount Vernon common council. Dr.
Bertine is one of the prominent resi-
dents here. He resides at North Ninth
and West Sidney avenues, in the heart
of the town.

Iowa. Volunteers on the “’ay.

Chicago, May 31.—-Fifty officers and
322 enlisted men of the Fifty-second
Iowa Volunteers passed through Chi-
cago Sunday en route for Chickamau-
ga. This regiment, which was the old
Fourth of the Iowa. National Guard
has been at Camp McKinley. The com-

manding officer is Colonel William B.

Humphrey of Sioux City.
Troops for Manila.

Atlanta, Ga., May 31.——It is expected
that 500 more recruits will leave Mc-
Pherson for Tampa soon. It is also
planned to forward 1,000 trops to San
Francisco to-day if their equipment ar-
rives. From San Francisco they will
be dispatched to Manila. The men'are
all enthusiastic and anxious for ser:
vice. .

Frechette’s Son Enlists.
Montreal, Que, May 31.—Louis. Fre-

chette, C. M. G., poet laureate of Cana—'

da, yesterday stated that his son had
enlisted at Exeter, N. H., as a. sergean‘

in the National Guard of New Hamp- '

shire.

 

um; Is on. .

No Shrinking, No Shirking,
But On! OM is the Cry—
No' More Time to
_ Be ‘Wasted; ‘

 

The war now being Waged oh land
and .sea. with the forces of Spain, is
duplicated by the. conflict eternally
gomg on In every human body with the
forces of disease and death. Mucous
diseases, resulting from colds develop-
ing 1nto catarrh, have for years been
steadily increasing in the United
State's. Their increase has been spec~
ially marked in Norwalk. But these
diseases have met a conquerer. For
seven months California Catarrh Cure
has fought for the health and comfort
of Norwalk citizens. The wonderfully
rapid decrease in catarrh, tonsilitis,
bronchitis, pneumonia, diptheria and
catarrh of the internal organs, during
these months, is traced directly to Cali—
fornia Catarrh‘ Cure. Norwalk citizens
can be no longer deceived. Old and
useless methods of treating this disease
have had to give way before the mar-
velous success of California. Catarrh
Cure. The people who want health
will no longer waste time and money on
other treatment when California Ca-
tarrh Cure gives results like the fol-
lowing:

Mr. H. L. Woodworth, of 1 Burbank
street, South Norwalk, says: “I have
been troubledwith catarrh for some
time; my head and nose seemed pretty
well stuifed 'up, and the quantities of
matter that run into my throat at night,
would cause me to hawk, spit,a.nd often
gag in the morning, before I could
clear my throat. I got some California
Catarrh Cure at Plaisted’s drug store,
and already these symptoms are very
much better. My throat is finely free
from all matter in the morning, and
my whole head feels much clearer.”

Do not sneeze and suffer from head
and colds or hay fever. California
Catarrh Cure cures one; it will surely
prevent the other. '

 

A LAPS'E OFl'IVIEM-ORY'. ' ‘ 1
0:- Why Pat Forgot Where He Buriedtho
Bottle.

“Pat where did you get the whiskey ?”
asked one section hand of another.

“Whistl” said Pat. “Oi swoiped
it from the private car dat was \here.“

”Pat, the brass collars are going to
miss it, by and by. You better hide it,”
said the first speaker.

“Let’s take this handcar and run
”down the track a. ways and bury it,”
said Pat.

The two got a. handcar 'and told the
foreman they were going down the
track to get some potatoes for dinner.
Away they went down the track about
a mile.

“This is a good place," Pat. The two
got off the car and buried the bottle
near the track.

“How will we know where we buried
it?" said Pat.

“Cut a. notch in the side of the car,"
said his companion. So a. notch was
cut in the side of the car above where
the bottle was buried and the two tar-
riers returned to ’their work. That
evening they decided to go and digzup
the bottle. Away they went. , '

“Where is the place?” asked Pat.

“I cut a notch in the car to SthW,”
said" the other. ’ I

“And begorra I forget all about it
and moved the car,” said Pat—Topeka.

State Journal. I
l

 

A Novel Uncool Citacomhl.

A great portion of subterranean Par-
is is_ honeycombed .with catacombs
which were once used as burying—
places. A novel use has now been
made of these underground galleries
that lie beneath the Jardin 'des Plantes,
for they have been converted, into a
laboratory and aquarium. A number
of them have been filled "with reser-
voirs and glass tanks, whilst in others
the niches that once contained human
bodies have been turned into cages,
so that scientists may be able to study
the effect upon animal life of total and
partial darkness.

Ho

 

 

LD

madam’!

 
 

 
 

 
 

 

housewor ; ‘-

 

" Washing Powder;
will save you nine:
tenths of the work
and do it easier,
more quickly and
bested?

The cake of pure white
Gchcrine Toilet Soap
given FREEfiin every
package IS anne worth
what the washing pow-
der costs: You get both
for the price of one .

THE J. B. WILLIAMS 60.,
qusroulunv. Conn.

Hall-9 0" likul-I‘ 'O'BU! “HUI-C "I“
» 'l' -f17 "'.’ V, II-z-