6 WANU FACT U RING HIGH EXPLOSIVES Htm Importune" of Conprrand Air aa a Motor In Firing. It Is a long Jump from a pop-gun to a dynamite gun; and yet such a jump a certain schoolmaster made. This is how It came about: One day a mischievous urchin fired a paper hall from a pop-gun and struck his schoolteacher In the eye. So forceful was the impact of the wad of paper that Meford, the teacher, who was of an Inventive turn of mind, determined to see If compressed air could not be used as a motive power tor firing something more Important than paper balls out of a boy's pop gun. Vv'hy might not dynamite, or ether powerful explosives, be fired uafoly from a huge air-gun? was the question the wad of paper propounded ;o his mind. In this way, be thought, the shock liable to cause premature explosion might be avoided. The ex periment was worth trying, and he at unco set about devising such a gun. file success was sufficient to attract Lhe attention of Lieutenant Zaliusky, who had the crude gun of the school master brought to his station; and, working from it as a starting point, Unally produced the Zullusky Pneu matic Gun, the firßt successful gun capable of firing a shell heavily load id with dynamite. This is the part ;he small boy and his smaller pop i;un played in the invention of the icadly dynamite gun. The knowledge that several hun dred pounds of dynamite, gun-cotton TT nltro-gelatlne can be hurled from a great gun, mileß away, and exploded at the spot aimed at by the gunner, makes all anxious to know something •bout the nature and military uses of these dread substances. Five thingß are required of military txplosives. "1 —The substance must possess the greatest breaking effici ency for the smallest unit of weight snd unit of volume. 2—lt must pos 'es great Insensitlveness to sympa thetic explosions and to mechanical -hocks, especially those due to small •rojectilea, while It yet retains the roperty of exploding completely hrough the influence of an initial de tonation. 3—lt should be quite insen sitive to fire, or at least so much so hat there would be no chance of an znmediate explosion when a consid rable mass of It becomes ignited. I—lt should possess great stability, sod not only should its efficiency re gain unimpaired, but It should re main so under very extreme con ditions. s—lt should remain uuag iected by water." Thus far the chemist have produced ■>nly three substances which may be onsidered as approaching the fulfill ment of these requirements. They •sre dynamite, compressed wet guu •otton and military explosive gelatine. If these three gelatine comes the cearest to meeting the five required onditions. Weight for weight it has 5 per cent, more breaking efficiency han the best dynamite or gun-cotton, .nd for equal volumes it possesses 40 •er cent, greater efficiency than dyna mite and 75 per cent, greater than un-cotton. It is superior to gun atton or dynamite in its insensitive ess to great pressure or mechanical aocks; but stands below wet gun otton as regards fire and about on ar with dynamite. Wet gun-cotton annot be set on fire by either flame r spark. It must be dry before it an be ignited. This property of wet un-cotton makes it the safest of all xpUeives where the danger feared a fire. The keeping qualities of gela ine are equal to those of gun-cotton r dynamite; and it remains unaf ected by water. These properties of gelatine make t the most valuable of the explosives ar military uses. This will quickly .e seen if the question of transporta ion and storage is considered; for 25 er cent, more energy can be carried " explosive gelatine be used instead I dynamite and 40 per cent, more urce can be put Into one magazine if t is filled with gelatine in place of Then again smaller tor edoes, having the same destructive •ower, can be employed if loaded with .elatine rather than the other high xplosives. Gelatine is the most el ective filling for shells, now that it an be fired with comparative safety nd accuracy from pneumatic guns. A mall chloride of silver battery is en losed in each shell, and so arranged ■ hat the electric current fires the harge at the moment the shell trlkes. This battery nearly doe 3 .way with the danger of premature explosion; and also renders it possible d explode the charge from the rear, rhlch has been found to be the most •Ifective way. In the uavy compressed gun-cotton is sttU largely used for torpedo rharges aud other submarine ground but the army favors the more uowerful nitre-gelatine owing to its •narmous shattering power. When .;rldges, stockades, walls, forts or any •.tmilar obstructions have to be re moved gelatine is the substance that will do it the most effectively. Oelatine, as used for military pur poses, consists of 92 per cent, of nitro-gelatine and 8 per cent, of uitro lotton. A certain percentage of cam phor is sometimes added to this com pound, as a safeguard, camphor hav ing the property of rendering the gel tine less explosive. Oelatine, at an ordinary temperature, is quite elastic to the touch and looks very much like •i beautiful straw-cclored jelly. When lighted with a match it burns with an intense white flame. It is insensible to shock, to friction, and to the pres sure or action of water. A powerful detonator must be used to explode It. Dynamite is made by forcing a cer tain quanity of nitro-glycertne Into some porous substance, usually slllcl -sus infusorial earth. Nitro-glycerlne is formed through the action of con- lentrated nitric and sulphuric acids in glycerine. It Is an oily liquid, slear, colorless or of a yellowish tint, 9f a sweetish and burning taste and without odor. A sudden blow will ex plode it Gun-cotton Is produced by treating ordinary cotton with concentrated nl iric and sulphuric acids. Notwith itandlng the extraordinary chemical :hange which has taken place in the nature of the cotton, It still looks like cotton. It Is a trifle less white, 'eels somewhat harsher to the touch grates slightly when squeezed and is neavler than cotton. When rubbed gun-cotton will become strongly elec trified and stick In lumps between the angers of a dry hand. Cotton will not Jo this. Gun-cotton explodes from a blow, or heat, particularly by Ignition; but when wet cannot bs lighted. A Sign of the Times. A few days ago a solicitor, while In itructing a man with regard to the cre mation of the remains of a deceased dlent, remarked: "You know well enough that the leadings 'Births, marriages, and leaths' also bear the description Hatched, matched, and despatch id?' " "Oh, yes," said the man; "but If iremation becomes more general than low, those words will have to be nodernlzed into 'Created, mated, and .remated!'" The First nnil the Lout. A short time ago a young fellow, laving heard wonderful tales of' the ikating-rlnk, made up his mind to visit ine. The sight of such a large num ter of young ladles and gentlemen [lidlng round and round In all direc- Sons led him to believe that skating vas the easiest thing in the world. He hastily made up his mind, and/ •fter ordering a pair of skates, and laving them fixed to his boots, he took . brave.bold step forward, and—bang te dropped full length on the Ice! An :3sistant at once ran up to help him ip. "Is this your first attempt at skat ng, sir?" he asked. "No," growled the young fellow; 'the last!" When two quarrel, both are In the vrong. BRINGING UP A YOUNG RASCAL. 1 /•, A boy— —^i r -+--J resolves on revenge— gives his mother a terrible fright— •nd dldn'tshe give him a walloping? THE COLUMBIAN, BLOOMSBURG, PA. THE SUBMARINE TORPEDO. A Connecticut Yankee Concolved the 1(1 on a Ceiituvy Ago. The basic Idea of submarine war fare was born, nearly a century and a quarter ago, In the fertile brain of that eccentric Connecticut genius, David Bushnell, when he conceived the project of disabling or destroying a ship by exploding a magazine of powder under it 3 submerged parts, and invented a submarine boat with which to convey the explosive to the bottom of the ship. This was the first submarine boat, capable of lo comotion while under the water, of which there is any accurate record; and, certainly, the idea of using such a vessel as a means of destroying an enemy's ships was entirely original with Bushnell. The shape of this first of submarine vessels was something like that of two upper tortoise shells of the same size loined together. The room Inside was large enough to hold the operator and a sufficient quantity of air to support him thirty minutes, without the ad mission of fresh air. An oar for row ing forward and backward furnished the means of locomotion. The boat could be made to descend or ascend at the will of the operator. In the top of ihe boat were two air pipes. A ven tilator drew fresh air through one of these pipes, and the Impure air was expelled through the other. Both air pipes were made to shut themselves whenever the water rose near their lops, and to open again Immediately when freed from the water. When under the water the operator was in darkness. He directed his course by i compass marked with phosphorous; and ascertained his depth by a water gauge, lit by phosphorous placed on a piece of cork. A large magazine, holding a hun- Ired and fifty pounds of powder, was placed behind the vessel just above 'he rudder. A rope extended from the magazine to a wood-screw in the front oart of the boat, which was so ar -anged that the man inside of the traft could drive this screw Into the clanks of the ship he wished to de ttory. When the wood-screw was 'irmly fixed the magazine was cast oil, Ihe boat backed away from the im- Iteded screw and the powder was left '.o do the rest of the work. When afloat so small a portion of this unique vessel showed above the water that a skilled operator might approach very close to a ship in the aight without fear of discovery, then live beneath the hull, fasten the mag azine and row out of harms way. At least its inventor thought all this might be done. During the Revolutionary war sev sral attempts were made with Bush nell's submarine boat and torpedoes to blow up the ships of the enemy. A Gi-gun ship, lying near Governor's Island in New York harbor, was at tacked one night. The operator dove under the ship and attempted to fas ten the wood-screw into her bottom. The screw failed to penetrate, prob ably striking a piece of iron, and the unskilled operator in trying to find another place lost the ship and was abliged to give up the attempt. Two ether efforts were made to destroy chips in the Hudson river; but both tailed. The cause of these failures Is plain y set forth In a letter from General Washington to Mr. Jefferson. Refer ng to Bushnell's strange craft Wash ington wrote: "Where It was to aperate against an enemy, It was no sasy matter to get a person hardy enough to undertake the variety of dangers to which he would be ex posed—first, from the novelty; secondly irom the difficulty of conducting the machine and governing it under wa ter, on account of the current; and Ihirdly, from the consequent uncer :ainty of hitting the object devoted to destruction, without rising frequently ibove the water for fresh observa tions, which, when near the vessel would expose the adventurer to dis covery and to almost certain death. To these causes I always ascribed the failure of his plans, as he wanted nothing I could furnish to ensure their success." Twenty years passed. Then Robert Pulton turned his restless genius to Lhe subject of submarine warfare; and invented the submarine boat. Nautil us," and the submarine bombs, to which he now gave the name of tor pedoes. The "Nautilus" had windows of thick glass, a wheel and a crank to give the boat locomotion above as well as below the surface and masts and sails, which could be quickly struck when it was desired to plunge beneath the water. He also com pressed two hundred atmospheres of air into a copper air chamber, to be held as a reserve air fund. With this boat Fulton repeatedly descended to various depths in the water, and while submerged moved about at pleaaure at the rate of a little over one mile an hour. On one occasion he remained i.nder the water four hours and twenty minutes, without suffering any tncon-' venicnce. In August, 1801, Fulton by means of his "Nautilus" placed a torpedo under a small vessel furnished him for the experiment and blew her Into frag ments. This Is the first destruction of a ship on record brought about through a submarine boat and a tor pedo; and at the time occasioned much excitement In naval circles. Notwithstanding their many fail ures, modern submarine wirfare owes the debt of fatherhood to David Buah uell and Robert Fulton. On a horse dying lately, its stomach was found to be partly filled with brok en glass, some pieces of which had pierced the tissue. Tho glass was of severaWklnds, going to prove that the horse uad a loudness tor the diet. OUR COAST LIGHTS. BEACONS WHICH GUIDE MARINERG SAFELY TO FRIENDLY HARBORS. May be First to liptect the Approach of au Kncmy—The Loneliness of the Light house-How They Ai<l In Time of Peace or War. All alcnj* our Atlantic and Pacific coasts, and usually situated on some lonely, storm-beaten point ,of land, where the great waves never, cease their sullen roarings, the lighthouses of the Uniteu stales, like giant sentinels, keep watch and ward. And then, far out from the shore, where the danger from rock and storm is greatest, with only the unquiet ocean and the chang ing skies for company, swing and tug at the moorings the lightships of the coast. Hundreds of brave men and thousands of dollars worth In ships and merchandise are saved annually from the waves and the rocks by these watchful guardians, who have eyes that never slumber and warning voices that even the noises of the storm cannot drown. The wildness of their situ ations, the lonesomeness of their sur roundings, the character of their dut ies—the saving of human life and property—cast a glamour over the lonely lighthouses and storm-tossed lightships and make all that pertains to them of fascinating interest. Stark and white upon the bare white beach of North Island, South Carolina, stands the historic Georgetown light house. The tower Is 86 feet high, and its light can be seen for fifteen miles. It throws a plain white light, which shines with unbroken radiance far out over the dark waters, a beacon of hope to the storm-driven mariners. This light has watched while history was made. It was built In 1801, and re built after the war. Another light, famous In history, Is the one at Cape Henry off the coast of Virginia, at the entrance of Chesapeake bay. It Is 108 years old; and its light has often guided "the father of his country" on the way home from his travels. Recently a new house, 157 feet high, was built at this place and equipped with all the latest light ap pliances. electric light signals, a sieam siren, etc. A "steam siren" Is a trum pet blown by steam, which sings a scng to lure mariners away from de struction, and has a voice so loud that it can be heard for many miles at sea. The song.of this siren is a blast five seconds long, then a silence of ninety seconds, a blast five seconds, followed by a silence of ninety seconds, and so on through all the hours of the day and •light. The light is white in color, with red rays between southwest and west and south-southwest, aud shines steadily. The Cape Cod lighthouse Is connect ed with Boston by telegraph. A signal display station reads the messages sig nalled from passing ships, and within a minute these messages are In Boston. The light is situated ou the highlands of Capo Cod, facing the ocean two hun dret feet above the level of the sea. The building is all white and can be seen by vessels twenty miles away. Its Daboll trumpet sends forth continually blasts eight seconds long, with inter vals of half a minute of silence. The entrance to Delaware bay Is guarded by the Cape May lighthouse, 167 feet high. This light can be seen for a distance of nineteen miles. One of the highest lighthouses in the Unit ed States is the one at Block Island, Rhode Island. It Is 204 feet high, and shows a fixed white light than can be seen for a distance of twenty-two miles. The lonesomeness and the dangers of the position of lighthouse keeper are so apparent that one would hardly expect to find women serving in that capacity; and yet, in the United States, some twenty women hold this respon sible and ofttimes dangerous post. There are heroines, too, among them, whose deeds have been so heroic as to command the admiration of the brave everywhere. Ida Wilson-Lewis, the story of whose bravery is too well known to need retelling here, keeper of Lime Rock lighthouse, Newport, Rhode Island, has rescued eleven per sons. Five people owe their lives to the courage of Mrs. Blake, "keeper of the lighthouse at Robblns Reef, off Tompkinsville, New York harbor. He roic Janet Malby, keeper of the Elk Neck lighthouse in Chesapeake bay, during a terrible storm of wind and rain and hail In 1894, pushed her own boat out from the safety of Elk Neck Rock Into the angry waters, and res cued six men, whom she saw struggling In a frail boat, which the great waves threatened to swamp each moment. Few people, except seamen, know .anything about the number of light ships, which the United States keeps mcored In dangerous places, far out in the ocean and exposed to all the perils of the stormy sea. From Boston to Galveston there is an almost unbroken lino of these floating lighthouses, placed where they can best warn the mariner of danger. Fastened to the ocean's bottom with great anchors and strong chains or hawsers these light ships keep lonely vigils over the sur rounding waters; and when the heavy storms and seas sweep down the coast the bright flashes of their electric lights, the loud blasts of whistles or the deep boom-boom of their great bells warn the storm-tossed sailor lads from hidden dangers and guide them on their way to havens of safety. CIUIMI-RTTMNLNU. Mabel —"It Is very annoying. I hap pened to say that it was the moat in teresting novel I bad ever read." Laura—"Well?" Mabel—"Well, he Insisted on talking about* just those Incidents I must have chipi. Cl. — ——P— X - "A. PERFECT FOOD—as Wholesome as it is Delicious."/\ O SS WALTER BAKER & CO.'S O § if BREAKFAST COCOfll kS M Has atood the teat of more than 100 years* use amonp all yf SC classes, and for purity and honest worth is unequalled." W Ora Em! Coats less than ONE CENT a Cup. X VMI | Ktri ' Trade-Mark on Every Package. X OTIFFITHA;* WALTER BAKER & CO. LTD., X A thaoe-mark. Established 1730. DORCHESTER, MASS. X ALEXANDER BROTHERS & CO. DEALERS IN Cigars, Tobacco, Candies, Fruits and L T uts SOLE AGENTS FOR Henry Maillard's Fine Candies. FresL Every Week. ZF'TE.TSRTISR-S GOODS A. SPECI .A.I J T*X\ SOLE AGENTS FOR F. F. Adams & Co's Fine Cut Chewing Tobacco Sole agent s tor the following brandß of Cigars' Honry Clay, Londres, Normal. Indian Princess, Samson, Silver Ash Bloomsburg Pa. IF YOU ARE IN NEED OF CARPET, MATTIIYCi, or OSS„ CLOTH, YOU WILL FIND A NICE LINE AT W. M. MOWER'S 2nd Door above Court House. A large lot of Window Curtains in stock. „ _ A YEAR FOR ■- * SLQQ DEHOREST'S FAMILY The subscription price of DEMOREST'S 1 * is reduced tj SI.OO a year. AG AZI NE. DEMORF.ST'S FAMILY MAGAZINE IS MORE THAN A FASHION MAGAZINE, although gives the very latest home and foreign fashions each month ; tins is only one of iis many valuable features. It has something for each member of the family, for every department of the household, and its varied contents are of t lie highest grade, making it, pre-eminently, THE FAMILY MAGAZINE OF THE WORLD. It furnishes the best thoughts of the most in teresting and most progressive writers of the day, and is abreast of the limes in everything, —Art, Literature, Science, Society Affairs, Fiction, I iousehold Matters, Sports, etc, —a single number frequently containing from 200 to 300 line engravings, making it the MOST COMPLETE AND MOST PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED of the GREAT MONTHLIES. DEMOREST'S MAGAZINE Fashion Department is in every way fur ahead of that con tained in any other publication. Subscribers are entitled each month to patterns of the latest fashions in womans 1 atti AT NO COST TO THEM other than that necessary for postage anil wrapping, NO BETTER GIFT than a year's subscription to DEMOREST'S MAGAZINE can he made. By subscribing AT ONCE you can get the magazine at the reduced price, and will also receive the handsome 25-cent Xmas Number with its beautiful panel picture supplement. Remit oo by money order, registered letter or check to the DEMOREST PUBLISHING CO., liO Fifth Ave., N. Y. City. GREAT SPECIAL CLUBBING OFFER_FOR PROMPT SUBSCRIPTIONS. (■ ONLY $1.75 FOR A THE COLUMBIAN | 1 and Demorest's Family Magazine. , Send your subscriptions to this office. J War Pads Of The Fair. Fashion Reflects The Beloved Rod. White and Blue. Patriotism is rife just now, and honors to Dewey are rightly the order of the day. One popular fancy is a chin how—the latest touch found in the scheme of decoration upon many ot the newest and mast elegant gowns made of Manila net. Net bows are much softer and are really more be coming than are the stiflfer ribbon bows, and as these nets come in all the shades, both light and dark they are really very desirable for the bows. The red, white and blue craze is in evidence everywhere. When conser vative business men wear as many as three or four quite good sized flags on their coats and are proud of them, small wonder that our women have fallen in love with the "Dewey" shirt waist. These Dewey waists are of blue and while stripes running bias in front with straight plait, as is fashion able now. They are in Madras, lawn or Japanese silk, with collar and cuffs of red. Besides being novel and ap propriate, their effect is very pretty and becoming. Probably one of the mdst popular ways women have of expressing their love for their country is in having patriotic cushion tops. The up-to date housewite can't have too many cushions, and is always eager for something unique. The Tobacco Trade Review says there is no doubt that cigarette smok ing is on the increase among women and that various branches of the trade have started to cater to women smok ers. The advanced female of the be ginning of the nexH century may be expected to take to chewing. OASTORIA. Bear the ri TI,B K' n(l You Have Always Bought *";r C&SitfMzA. The Successful Remedy for NASAL CATARRH must be non-irritating, easy of application, and one that will by its own action reach the inflamed and diseased surfaces. ELY'S CREAM BALM combines the im portant requisites of quick action and spe cific curative powers with perfect safety to the patient. This agreeable remedy has mastered catarrh as nothing else has, and both physicians and patients freely concede this fact. All druggists cheerfully acknow ledge that in it the acme of Pharmaceutical skill has been reached. The most distress ing symptoms quickly yield to it. In acute cases the Balm imparts almost instant relief. By Absorption. I Catarrhal sufferers should remember that Ely's Cream Balm is the only catarrh rem edy which is QUICKLY AND THOROUGHLY ABSORBED by the diseased membrane. It DOES NOT DRY UI THE SECRETIONS, but changes them to a limpid and odorless con dition, and finally to a natural and healthy character. The Balm can be found at any drug store, or by sending 50 cents to Ely Brothers, 56 Warren St., New York, it will be mailed. Full directions with each package. . Cream Balm opens and cleanses the nasal passages, allays inflammation, thereby stop ping pain in the head, heals and protects the membrane and restores the senses of taste and smell. The Balm is applied directly into the nostrils. Spain was only able to buy two At lantic liners to be converted into cruisers, the Normannia and the Col umbia of the Hamburg-American line. After the sale had been completed the German government expressed in strong terms its displeasure at the transaction. Germany had the like claim on these two vessels that the United States government had on the four steamers of the American line, the St. Paul, St. Louis, New York and Paris, and there was an implied under standing that they should be taken and converted into armed cruisers for the service of the empire, if they were ever to be needed for such purpose. OASTORIA. Boars tho I' l,B Kind Y° u Kara Always ButigK T"
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers