Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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blown up by mine or torpedo. Marine Tragedi That Recall the Maine Disaster. sBm lion raagazines* an ‘ i * mmnni ' of our Civil 8 WarThe tLe vessels dMtroredbv i nu “ ber of form, or bv ani. . tor P e<1 oe8 in some 1 by 8ubl »anne mines makes a grewsome lisf r= ’ ma ,, known, for exam.,l« m * * general| y War seven , ln the Civil «n vessels ft ° rB an< ^ Novell wood- etroved bl / . Wero ^ally de- y Bubmanno mines? Had V/jlTtHEAD ^ IToRPEDo howtu. Torpedo ii I., the north ,edge of the harbor, ami that she had been attacked by three gunboats. It was surmised, but never known, that, to prevent the 'inuable supply of ammunition fallimr into the hands of the enemy, Somers tired her, destroying his own people and the Tripolitans swarming out of their boats into the hapless American tender. In June, 1829, the wooden shipFuI- ton, stationed as the receiving ship off J.rooklyn, blew up from causes never revealed. Seventy-five persons were killed and about thirty were wound ed. tradition has woven many a ro mantic, many an impossible story about this disaster. One yarn tohl creepingly how a gunner’s mate had been punished as he thought unjustly and in revenge destroyed the ship. In so doing he lost his own life, but failed in killing the object of his hatred, an officer who had left the ship quietly short time before the commission the crime. The real story seems to be that fuddled gunner’s mate by some error made his way into the magazine with an exposed lighted caudle, stumbled into the powder barrel of the period and thus blew the ship skyward In the English service there have been a number of notable cases of ex- plosion, but mainly i n action. One well known in time of peace was the destruction of the frigate Amphion, < aptaiu Israel Pellew commanding, off I lymouth, England. Here, too a I gunner s mate appears as the god in t ie machine—for apocryphal or not >t.. believe,1 thl/.u/Lt th, man in question went with a lighted lamp into the magazine to steal powder, which then had a ready market. Several hundred people were ' estroyed among them prominent of finals and citizens of ‘ were on board. give off a highly inilam- d as the first explosion e neighborhood of the this plausible theory is During the last twenty er cases have occurred— 1880 a Spanish gunboat in the harbor of Santiago the other in 1893, when ^ ging and distressing ex- plos rr ®d on board of the Ger- mau 3 ^ 8 hip Baden, then at Mc piel. f Qar inventions employed to Hggfis by submarine or aerial pyojir by mines the number is legi,® were among the earliest Jo I these, and our contribu tion 10 history of torpedo war fare heen very many and very notcThe famous “Battle of the Keg been sung in mock heroic vers the Philadelphians of 1777 hud 1 merry jest over the valorous att* 1 ® by the British grenadiers ujjqc innocuous barrels. that is shot from a tube, generally called a torpedo gun, and takes up its line of progress by machinery con tained in its body. There are many forms of these, like the Howell and the Whitehead, for example, and some extraordinary results have been ob tained with both. The Whitehead is discharged from the tube by steam or powder, and just as it leaves the muz zle a lock automatically opened re leases the compressed air carried in a flask and seisin motion the machinery. Three things must be done by it. It must go through water at a high speed, preserving its linear direction; it must float at a constant depth, and oa strik ing it must explode. The ingenuity and simplicity of the mechanism which effects these three things are really marvellous. The Howell torpedo is based upon the well-known principal of the gyro scope. Its speed and surety of direc tion are given by the functioning of an inner wheel, which is relatively very TORPEDO BOATS ATTACKING A FLEET. wo Raster to lied. struggles several vessels were blown up. notably the Bandolph, of immortal memory, but the most memorable case, and surely one of the most pathetic, was the de- etruction of the Intrepid, commanded bj the gallant Somers. She was fit ted out as a floating mine, and ou the night of September 4, 1804, started from off shore under sail for the inner harbor of Tripoli. Anxious eyes watched her from the blockading fleet, and at 10 o'clock a thunderous report the town who Among other crimes laid so unjustly to Irish sympathizers by the English onZ n d JT pIe W&9 the de8 trnction sLlb A A*? K "P boat D0 tterel in .the £ a ts of Magellan. She arrived off Pnnta Arenas about <]f a. m. ou in David Bushnell, of Con- , was one of the earliest ex- ters with torpedoes, though niton was the first to call a e of powder intended for use ater by this name. This great r made many experiments, and leans and opponents of the tern filled the journals of that ith acrimonious discussions, lure of torpedoes in the War 12 and the general feeling this mode of warfare as in- humaiand barbarous caused, how ever, a practical abandonment for many ; mrs. call, andmboat ten a. m. two terribl explosiotm were heard, .arid an im mense cloud of smoke) was seen hovering over the ship in the perfect calm of the morning. Projectiles of all kinds, masses of human beings, of ship equipage and of general wreckage were discovered flying through the air, and the water for a quarter of a mile around the ship was littered w ith debris. Boats put off from the shore, and out of the whole ship’s company of Mi*riS OKUTED FROM SWITCH BOARD CM SHORE 4 % HOW A SUBMARINE MINE IS PLACED AND OPERATED. was heard, a column of flame was seen vibrating in the skies,- and then the roar of huudrels of guns mounted ashore. No one came back to toll the story, but it is believed that Somers kept his word not to be taken alive by the enemy, and blew up the ship to «scapa capture, over 150 souls, only eight were saved. Fenian plots were held to be the cans* of the disaster, and South America and Australia were the scenes of police in quiry for months. It is now believed that the explosion was due to the spontaneous ignition of a paiut then used in the British navy. This, under It was learned that the Intrepid had j deterioration or T/hoa exposed to heat. Submarine boats had been gener ally employed in all experiments up to the beginning of the Civil War, and it was really not until 1853 that mov able or fi'xed isolated torpedoes were brought into general use. Tho Con federate torpedoes w#re usually made of copper and filled with powder, varying in weights, according to cir cumstances of employment, from fifty to one hundred and fifty pounds. These were carried on spars attached to ships .or boats, were anchored on the bottom, or were sent drifting singly or in pairs, connected by long linos, down tide streams. The fuses fitted were generally of the percussion type, and fulminate of mercury en tered largely into their composition. The Housatonic was destroyed by a submarine boat, but the Albemarle was blown up by Cashing with a tor pedo, carried on the end of a spar. This torpedo was made of a stout cylindrical copper case and fitted with a hollow tube, which carried at its bottom a fulminate cap. A small- sized grape shot, secured with a pin, was held at the top, aud by releasing this at the eventful momeut Cashing destroyed tho Albemarle and his own boat at the same time, and then made one of the most daring and romantic escapes in the aunals of naval his tory. Many improved systems were em ployed and much ingenuity was dis- olayed, the most inventive of all-ex perimenters being a Confederate officer, who, previous to the war, had been a well-known dancing master. For a season towing torpedoes were in great, favor. These were handled from the ship, and by certain dextrous shiftings of'the connecting lines were carried off each quarter at a safe angle, and made to dive at the desired foment. They proved to be danger ous, however, and all effort was there after directed to the dirigible, or the automobile tarpedo. Generally de scribed the dirigible torpedo is one that contains its own propelling and firing iqechanisms, aud is piloted from the shore by means of electric cables, which function the machinery. heavy on the periphery, and revolves with such velocity and in such a con stant plane that high speed and great straightness of trajectory arc secured. There are many other forms, but these two are employed in our service, and the Whitehead is used by nearly all the navies of the world. The term “submarine mine” is ap plied to defensive mines or to those which would be used to obstruct the channels of a river or estuary, or the approaches to a fortified or unprotected seaport. Colonel Samuel Colt, the inventor of the American revolver,first demonstrated the practicability of blowing up vessels by submarine mines fired by electricity. In 1842 ho blew up the old gunboat Boxer and in 1843 he destroyed a brig in the Potomac IJiver while the vessel'was under way, sailing at the rate §>f five miles an hour. Many forms pf mijfls were need here thtT^emptoTBu’ War. Every systeri|of coast defense concerns itself with t^eir distribution and use, and every wlil-knbwn harbor of the world is at this day so mapped out that the planting of those mines may be done on a plan which prom ises the greatest utility. Some of these are constant depth mines—that is, such as will float always at a certain depth below the surface, no matter what may be the state of the tide; some are fitted to explode on contact, and most a'-e so arranged that they may be exploded at will by observers stationed at points of refuge, in bomb proof and lookout stations ashore. Uncle Sam’s l’l|fpoti Exhibit. There was a display of Uncle Sam’s homing pigeons at the poultry and pigeon show in Madison Squafe Garden, February 1 to 5. Mr. How ard Carter, who has charge of the cote at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, repre sented the United States Navy during the show. Eight of these carrier pigeons have seen active service in carrying dis patches from the fleet at sea to the home station, and several have made as many as thirty flights from various battle-ships. The longest distances were from tho Texas and the Annapolis, 150 miles, the birds carrying messages to tho commandant of the North Atlantic Squadron, The messages will also bo exhibited.—New York World. To Tell Good From Had Engs. An ingenious German has recently invented a handy ogg tester for ‘ho special benefit of tho thrifty Teuton hansfrau. The microscopical apparatus in the upper tube reveals every defect: in the egg, and what is most satisfac- AMERICA’S TURQUOISE MINES. _ Worked by Indians Lon* Before the Arri val of Columbus. It was announced not long since in dispatches from Santa Fe, N. M. ( that two large shipments of turquoise had been made from that place. The ag gregate weight and reported value of the gems were very large, and It was intimated that they came from a locali ty in Southern Arizona never before sxplolted. As the American gem has Iriven the Persian stone from the mar ket by Its equal if not superior quality, ind as the demand for turquoise is lim ited, the alleged discovery, if true, might exercise an important influence on the price of these gems. George F. Kunz, of Tiffany & Co., the leading gem expert of the United States, was asked about the quality of American turquoise and the possibility of a marked fall in price from large shipments on account of recent discov eries. “The American gem,” he said, “is quite equal to the best stones im ported from Persia, and in the opinion of many buyers is superior. In color it is a deeper and richer blue, especial ly these examples which come from Grant County, which may be the locali ty referred to in the dispatches. These stones are sold along side of ahd at the same price as the imported turquoise. It is significant, however, that al though discoveries have been several times reported, no large amount of tur quoise has yet reached the large buy ing houses in New York and Chicago, where the gems would naturally be sent in the ordinary course of business. Heretofore the bulk of the supply has come from the mines at Los Cerrillos, on the Rio Grande, above Albuquerque, N. M." ' The mines at Los Cerrillos, referred to by Mr. Kunz, have been worked con tinuously for several centuries, but the output is small, and no method has yet been devised to operate them on a cpm- mercial basis, although at least one at tempt has been made. Los Cerrillos is about twenty-two miles southeast ot Santa Fe, N. M., and near the Indian village of Santo Domingo, on the Rio Grande. The mine Is an immense pit, with rough and craggy sides, with a scanty growth of pines In the fissures of the rock. The excavation, which is 200 feet in depth and more than 300 in width, has been made in the solid rock, thousands of tons of which have been broken out. There are several other pits in the vicinity of smaller sjze. The rock is of volcanic origin and is distinguished by its white color and decomposed appearance, from those which compose the surrounding mountain ranges. In appearan| closely resembles tufa and kaol QptU—; ' -nd has suffered j tfri escape through it ot heat( and gases, which have complet composed the original materi formed new chemical compounds. The most conspicuous and important of these is the turquoise, which is found in little veins and balls, called nuggets, coveted with a crust of white tufa. All but a small percentage of the turquoise is greenish in color, of ten intimately mixed with the matrix, or surrounding rdfck and of no value whatever to the jeweler. It is only now and then that a piece of sufficient size to cut and of a fine blue color is found. Blue-green stains are seen in every direction about the mine, but turquoise in mass is extremely rare and many tons of rock might be brok en up without yielding a single gem of value. It is on this account that no one has yet succeeded in making the mine pay even the expense of operat ing it, although thousands of dollars were sunk in the experiment in 1880. At present the mines are worked in a desultory manner by poor white men in the neighborhood and by Indians. The method is to build large fires against the base of the rock, which cracks off in large pieces when water is thrown upon it. Much of the tur quoise is ruined in the process, as the gem will not stand great heat. What remains is picked out of the seams with sharp pointed pieces of iron and sold to passing travelers on the rail road, who often pay the Indian ped dlers five times as much for a stone as a jeweler would ask them for a better one. The turquoise is distinctively the American gem. The Navajo and Pue blo Indians of New Mexico and Arizona value it as highly now as their'ances- tors did long ago. INGENIOUS EGG TESTER. tory in the new invention is that every housewife can immediately detect whether an egg is fresh laid or whether it; has undergone the abominable storage process, which gives the egg a peculiarly disagreeable taste, The queer testet hasn’t reached these shores, and when it does doubtless soine clever Yankee will improve upon it, so that it may be made cheaper and more effective. At least, here is the Tin automobile torpedo is a weapon | hint for some mechanical genius. “How can I get an article In your paper?” asked a correspondent of a Western Journal. “It all depends on the article you want to get Into our paper,” •replied the editor, “If the article is small in bulk, like a hair brush or a tea- caddy, spread the paper out upon the (floor, and placing the article in the cen- (ter, wrap it up by carefully folding the edges over it, and tie with a string. This will keep the article from slipping out of the paper. If, on the other hand, the article Is an English bath-tub or a clothes-horse, you would better not try it at all.”—Bazar. •pd'ldopu »q Pinoo j\ eieja *>j iedoS b eq pinoax ji dotrpi ‘.Goaoosip sjq t.q3{jidoa ton pinoqs ®H ‘AjaAoasip srq ^uj.xmouuu joj HPCJO sviAJosep Uuimisq jo guonamsui jaqSjq aoj snmpiA[puj SaiWB °1 -qici session eqj jo speau aqj 0} peisuf -pH aq pjnoqs raajsXs looqos onqnd eqi jBip SAaqove) aqj pioj oqAi uboi aqi