Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 26, 1899)
4 T NOVELTIES E WARFARE New Battle-Ship to Revolutionize Sea FightingFor Harbor Defense. Whether or not the art of battleship construction Ik destined to be revolu tionized by the newly patented ttewn tlon of William Weegar, of New York city, rcmalnB to bo found out, but his Idea 1b unquestionably striking. He proposes to uplift from the hull of his vessel, by means of towers, a hugo ar mored chamber running from bow to stern and holding a battery of rnpld flro guns arranged In broadside Two of the towers, one at each end, will bo conning towers, but the other two, of largo size, will bo surmounted by tur rets containing pairs of 12-lnch brccdh loadlng rifles. There -will also bo four eight-Inch rifles, forward and aft, so that, with forty quick-firing guns In all, the armament will bo most formid able. Perhaps the most notable point about this novel fighting craft Is Its Invulner ability. It Is practically shot-proof, Its construction being such that a shell striking nny part of It must meet a slant and no glide off. In order to ac complish this end, the armored cham ber Is made polygonal In scctlon.whllo tho towers nro cylindrical. Tho deck Is a whaloback, Its upper part barely rising nbovo the sea, and all the ma chinery and ammunition are below water level, so as to bo safe from In jury. Staircases and ammunition hoists run up lnsldo of tho towers, and tho waves may wash freely across tho body of tho ship without entering the gun ports or Interfering with the operation of the fighting apparatus above. Not less notable than tho foregoing Is a method nowly Invented by a Cin cinnati, man, Androw Van Bibber, for rendering harbors Impregnable against attack by sea. It is guaranteed to ac complish the purpose with tho uso of a comparatively small force of men and without the aid of warships, thus be ing equivalent to an increase of tho navy, inasmuch as it relieves fleets to a great extont from tho duty of defend ing the coast. Of this latter point the importance was Illustrated In tho re cent war with Spain, during which tho operations of our maritime forces were seriously hampered by the ovor-present necessity of looking out for the protec tion of tho cities along the Atlantic seaboard. As tho inventor says: "Tho - greatly Increased range of naval guns demands that defensive works be moro remote from the place defended than formerly elso the defended city may be rulned while the attack Is being rc pulsed; A city, of course, affords a very large target, and Its protection is proportionately difficult, especially in these days of high-power cannon. Bo sides, tho fleet urgently needed for its defenfeo may not arrive In time. The Van Bibber system consists in txtend Ing from tho harbor mouth seaward two lines of embankments built of con crqto nnd so arranged as to form an artificial entrance to the port. On these, embankments are placed bomb proof forts, consisting substantially of revolving turrets containing high power guns. The tops of tho embank mcnts aro slightly below low-water Mere is the Filipino Kind of Courage, 'i At tho Filipino headquarters at Tar- lac tho courage of tho followers of Agulnaldo W kept up by tho firing of fusilades. Tho wbole populaco as- rambles one a day, while the Filipino mark, but submarine chambers are pro vided for magazines and other uses. Tho forts themsolves, ns a matter of course, ought to bo protected by armor thick enough to be practically Impen etrable by shell. From this brlot de scription it will bo understood that a hostile warship approaching a cltj .thus IS THIS THE COMING TYPE OP BATTLE (Armament, four 12-lnch and four 8-lnch rifles, and forty rnpld-flro guns. All turo practically invulnerauic.) defended could got into tho harbor only by passing through tho artificial channel referred to. and In doing so it would bo exposed to murderous at tack at short range by the forts on tho flanking embankments. Meanwhile, another fort, situated at tho landward end of tho entranco, would rake the latter from end to end with a storm of projectiles. Under such circumstances it would bo impossible for tho enemy's vessels to maneuver freely, and being confined to a narrow gut, they would face almost certain destruction by mines, while held at a distance from tho city by guns much heavier than their own and capable of smashing to pieces their armor plates. Tho chan nel may bo 200 yards or half a mile In width, but tho longer It Is tho more efficient it will bo for defensive pur poses. Charles E. Qulmbly of New1 York has Just taken out a patent for a method of preventing tho fouling of ships' bot toms which would havo been very use ful when our war vessels wero on blockado off tho Cuban coast, acquiring a coating of barnacles and seaweeds. It consists in enveloping the hull in n sort of case of canvas, which is drawn tight by means of ropes passing through eye-holes. Of course, as the Inventor says, such a case can bo mado to correspond accurately in slzo and Which Beats sunnors flro off some old-fashioned 15- ceatcrmoter mortars which wero cap- tured by tho Tagals from tho Span- lords. Yhey aro not tho modern breech- loading mortars, but the old-style muz- shape to tho ship It Is meant to fit. Tho canvas, furthermore, is impregnated with chemicals hostllo to animal and vegetablo life. When tho vessel is rendy to start on a voyago the protec tion is slipped off, hauled on board and packed away in tho hold. A RARE DOLLAR. A Hlg fjiwiult Orer Its Ownership SliftOO Offered for 1U Tho Now York Evening Post re ports a curiously complex situation at nnnlnp. Wis., over tho ownership of a silver dollar of the colnngo date ot 1804. It !b said that only one of four of these dollars over left tho mint, and they aro consequently very valuablo. The dollar In question was given sov eral months ago by a woman whoso name, If known, is kept secret, to Lad islar Altmann, a clork In tho dry goods store of L. T. Hartnett In payment for goods bought. Tho woman did not know that tho dollar was worth moro than its face vnluoj in fact, sho hesi tated about UBing it at all for fear that It was not genuine. Tho clork, with out knowing how raro tho coin was, recognized It as an odd plcco and put It Into his pocket, handing over to tho cashier a dollar of hlB own. For sev eral months thereafter ho carried the 1804 dollar about as a pockot piece. One day ho showed It to a friend at a bank and was informed that it was worth not less than $500. In ordor to verify this estlmnto he sent It to a coin buyer In Chicago, who promptly ofTored $1,600 for It. Tho clork still did not sell, having heard that a sim ilar coin had sold for a still larger sum In Now York. But, though ho did not sell, ho talked, and the story reached tho cars of Mr.- Hartnett, his employer. Mr. Harnett promptly claimed that tho dollar either belonged to tho funds of tho store or to tho womnn who had tendered it without knowing its value. Ho domanded that the Old Dutch Style zle-loadlng ones, which mako a lot of smoke and a lot ot noise, which amuses tho Filipinos. This picture was taken by a British correspondent, who has raady access to the Filipino lines. How It be returned and held for tho wom an. If sho could not bo found ha claimed that tho coin belonged to him. Tho clork claims that ho was Justified, In substituting his dollar for the on paid In, and pertinently calls attention to the fact that had tho coin proved a bad one he would have been held re sponsible. Both sides have employed attorneys and a lawsuit seems ln ovltablc. t Calve a n Gardener. Singing In the opera nnd cultivating n farm aro about as widely different from each other as two occupations can woll be. Perhaps this Is tho very rea son why Mademoiselle Calve, tho great prima donna, retires ovcory summer to spend her vacation on a farm among tho Covonncs, a chain ot mountains in SHIP? ammunition below water. Suporstruc- southern Franco. The famous Blnger says tho Philadelphia Post, was very 111 and nervous when sho went to.tho Cevenncs, but this free, open air life and vigorous cxorclso soon restored, her to the most robust' health, and when friends asked her tho secret of her cure, she answers, "Spades and pota toes." Last summer sho wont into her kitchen garden and cared for her own vegetables. No ono was allowed to touch them, and the results wero far better than when her gardener cared for tho things. Mademolsello Calvo wore a short skirt of blue jeans, sabots, and a linen shirtwaist. She spaded and hoed and watered her vegetables day after day, and proudly sent gifts, of tho finest fruits of her labors to "Mends" lij Paris. Woman ni Bailor. Women sailors aro employed In Don- mark, Norway nnd Finland, and they aro often found to be most excellent nnd dollghtful marlnors. Fontanel, of Thibet. A sign of politeness In Thibet on meeting a person Is to hold up tho clasped hands and stick out tho tonguo Wheels ot Leather. Railway wheels mado of leather hav been experimented with in Franco. docs It happen that British newspaper reporters enjoy such u stnnd-ln with our armed adversaries in tho Philip plnps? American reporters would be shot Instantly they entered the llnei. CAMPFIRE SKETCHES. GOOD SHORT4 STORIES POR THE VETERANS. Death on the Field of Honor Too 111 to Bhoot Hoodwinking the Duke II In Hon lit. Commander The ltullrt log of it Nnliller, The Itulldlng of i Kottller. Joo Jerry hoed In n stony Hold. Under a sweltering sun. Tho boy nntl the rock nnd the unlive weed Fought for tho llfo In n battered seed And tho HtniERlo was Just begun. "(let out of tho mtid nnd follow inc." 8nld the mnn with better clothes, "Agnln you nro Vermin nnd drought nnd frost; You anger Nature with labor lost Como wheto ii ,fnlr wind blow.'" Hut til's boy digged on. In the stony field. With the struggle barely begun." "I put the need In thlit ground," ld ho: "I think I hhd better stay nnd seo Whatever may be done." ""' 'si Joo Jerry quarried and placed the stone And lltted the timbers true, Then his neighbors catno with fnvorcd eyes! "Gold! pans of gold! Just there U Ileal Shall we wait a day for you?" A sweet voice rifted the evening calm, Blnglng the death of day. A tired child camo and went with a klsd, "I have a wife, nnd n house nnd this; 1 think I hnd better stay." "War! warl" tho cry nnd tho cry came near "There Is fame, nnd to spare, for nil." "I havo left n dying wife nnd these. I'll stay with them, If Ood so please." Hut ho went at tho second call. "Come bnckl" they cried through tno metal hall To a soldier bleeding nnd grim, lie picked n rlllo out of tho dirt, Answering only: "Tho captain's hurt: I think I'll stny with him." Prcdcrlo Drush. Death on the Field on Honor, Theophlle-Malo Garret do Latour d'Auvergen, a brilliant linguist and a vnllnnt soldier, surnnmcd Tho First Grenadier of France, was born at Car halx, France, Nov. 23dt 1707, nnd mot a heroic death at Oberhauser, Bavnrla, Juno 27th, 1800. After quitting tho college at Qulmbcr, where ho already distinguished hlmBelf by his philolog ical studies and researches, ho entered tho military school, and was quickly ndmlttcd to tho regiment of Blnck Muskntecrs, and soon promoted to Bub lleutcnancy. Profiting by n leayo of absence, in 1781, ho hurried away to Spain, whore he did valiant service against the English. Whon the French revolution broko out, ho remained truo to tho national flag, and although ul rcady a captain boforo 1789, ho re fused all advancement. In 1792, ho was with tho Army of tho Alps, and contributed powerfully to tho first victories over thb enemies of France. Ho was tho first to enter Chnmbcry, sword In hand, at tho head of his com pany. Tho year following ho wns sent to tho Western Pyrennees, whore, though nominally a captain, ho found himself at tho head of 8,000 men. His division always formed the advanco guard, and soon became tho torror of tho enemy, by whom It was otylud tho Infcrnnl Column. Tho arrival of this corps on tho field of battle was always n signal for victory, tho Impetuosity of tho men, and tho rapidity of their movoments being Irresistible. In tho Intervals of inactivity, during the nine teen years of his military career, ho returned each tlmo to his favorite lin guistic studies, and It wns then that ho composed his famous Polyglot Diction ary, in which tho words and idioms of rXorty-two different languages and dia lects ai'S presented. Ills InBt term ot scrvico was in the capacity of a sub stitute for the twenty-second and last child, a delicate son, of his friend, Le Brlgant. Latour went to Pnrls, and obtained pcrmluslon to replace tho son of his friend, and Immediately after ward Joined tho army In Zurich. Hero his vullant exploits again brought him so prominently Into notice that Napo leon sent him a sword, with tho title of "Tho First Grenadier of France." This offer of promotion was also dis tasteful to him, and he sent word back to Uonapurtc, "Among us soldiers thoro Is neither first nor last." Ho begged permission to rejoin his troops In his old capacity not as the first, but as tho oldest grenadier of France. The French next Invaded Germany, nnd six days Inter he fell, pierced to the heart by the spear of a Ocrmun Uhlan. Ills last words wero; "I tile satisfied; It was my deslro to terminate my llfo thus." Tho wholo army went Into mourning, nnd each of his soldiers con tributed ono day's pay toward pur chasing a silver urn to hold his heart, which was carried at the head of tho compuny,. Ills liwdrd wus hung in tho "Invalldos," at Pnrls, and his namo re mained at tho head of the register of tho Forty-sixth brigade until 1814, and every driy. at roll-call, tho oldest ser geant responded: "Dead on tho Field of Honor!" From the French. II Ik Son lilt Commander, Out of tho hurry nnd bustle of the war thoro has como ono of tho most ro murkablo cusch of the reversal of fam ily authority ever known to military men. A son Is a commissioned officer In n regiment, while tho father Is a prl vnto In the same reglmont, Tho son gives the father commands: the father executes tho orders; he touches his hat when he passes his boy doing duty. On tho rolls of the First Colorado Infantry appear tho namrs of Hen Lear, second lieutenant, aged 19,and Benjamin Lear, Sr., private, uged 44. Tho father Is proud of the success of his son, and never tires of boasting to his follow privates. Lieut. Lear Is a lino speci men of the young Amorlcan soldlor, He has all the good qualities that aro known as "western." He has go and yuan aud grit, a very Intelligent mind, and an aptness for his work. He laughed when risked nbout tho family relations ,ln ihc regiment, "Why my dear fellow," ho exclaimed, "don't yo know that In a, regiment thero aro no family relations? Here we aro all offi cers or prlvntes or bondmen, and that ends tho whole business. But, seri ously, tho curious relations which I am bound to maintain with my own father nro ridiculous, and If ho did not have) a fine senso of humor himself they would ho well-nigh Insupportable. Ho comes In hero with a message, for In stance, and stopping at tho door ho stands at saluto until I havo tlmo or nm In a disposition to receive him by acknowledging his Balute. Then ho does the goose-step and comes Into my tent, where he must stand nt attention until the business Is finished; then ho must salute again boforo ho goes out. Altogether It Is laughable, because I nm a stickler for discipline, eyen though it does Involve my own father. When it is my father's turn to carry wood, drnw rations, or do pollco duty, It Is my task to Ibsuo those orders to tho old gentleman, and ho touches hlfl cap and replies, 'Yes, air as respect fully as you please. When tho call for volunteers camo I was a first ser geant In tho Colorado National guard and volunteered. I went with my com pany to Denver and wo wero mustered in. I kept my old rank of first ser geant In tho First Colorado Infantry, When tho regiment wns recruiting father came to headquarters and want ed to enlist. I persuaded him not to Join, and when I left I wnB suro that father would stay nt homo, whero ho wns badly needed on his pnpor. But when tho recruiting officer went back to Denver for moro men you can Judgo of my nmazement to find my father In tho first batch sent us." New York World. Too III to Shoot. "Thoy toll a funny story In tho nrmy nbout Capt. Patlllo, tho crack Bhot," said ono of a party of Into diners to a Now Orleans Times-Democrat man. "According to tho yarn, Gen. Miles ana n high Washington official once visited a western post whero the captain was stationed nnd sent word that they would llko to seo a llttlo exhibition ot his skill. Patlllo happened to bo qulto sick at tho tlmo, but he couldn't very woll rcfuso, and presently ap peared on tho long-dlstnnco range. Ho blazed away and nn Irish sergeant who hnd been sent out to act as marker waved a small flag. "What does that mean? asked tho distinguished visitor. 'It moans I missed the wholo target,' replied Patlllo, gloomily. Ho tried again, with tho same result. 'I don't know what's tho matter with mol ho exclaimed, in deep mortification, 'I never did such work in ray life!' At tho third shut tho distant flguro varied tho wlg-wngglng and tho assembled officers applauded. Tho Bignal meant a bull's-eye. Thereupon li fired twority consecutive rounds nnd onch tlmo tho flag waved back tholiows that he had pierced the Inner circle It wns a marvelous record, nn unparalleled score; tho distinguished visitor was very gracious In his congratulations. Later on Patlllo, still boamlng, met tho marker crossing tho pnrado groundB 'Hello! sergennt,' ho said, 'I wonder whnt tho deiico mndo mo miss tho target those ilrst two ahotB?' 'WhlBt, captain,' repllod tho Irishman, drawing closo, ' 'tis dlvll tho tolmo yo hit It at all, nt all!' 'Didn't hit it nt all!' cried Patlllo, In nmazoment, 'then why did you signal all thoso bull's- eyes?' 'Faith, sor,' said tho sergeant, respectfully, 'I know ycr rlpytatlon was at stake.' " Hoodwinking tho Duke. Tho Duke of Wellington used to re late how he got famously taken in on one occasion. Tho troops had taken to plundering a good deal (ho said). It was necessary to stop It, and I Issued an order announcing that the first man caught in tho act should bo hanged on tho spot. One day, Just ns wo wero sitting down to dinner, three men wero brought to tho door of tho tont. The enso against them was clear, and I hnd nothing for it but to deslro thnt thoy should bo led away and hanged In some place whero they might bo seen by tho wholo column In its march next day. I had n good many guests with mo on that occasion, and amongst tho rest, I think Lord Nugent. The seemed dreadfully shocked, nnd coulc not cat their dinner, I didn't llko It much myself, but, us I told them, I had no tlmo to Indulge my feelings I must do my duty. Woll, tho dinner wont off rather gravely, nnd next morning, suro enough, thrco men In uniform were scon bunging from tho branches, of a treo closo to tho high road. It was a terrlblo example, nnd produced tho de sired effect; there was no moro plun dering. But you may guess my aston ishment whon BOino months afterward, I learned that ono of my staff took counsel with tho hospital surgeon, and as three men had Just died In hospital, they hung them up, nnd let the threo culprits return to their reglmonjts. "Weren't you very angry, Duke?" was the question. "Woll, I suppose I was at first; but I had no wish to tako tho poor fellows' lives and only wonted tho oxamples, and as tho oxamplo had tho desired effect, my angor soon died out, nnd I confess to you that I nm very glud now that tho threo lives wero spared." Making llllllaril Hall. It requires skilled labor to turn out a billiard bull. One-half ot it is first turned, an instrument of tho finest steel being used for the work. Then tho half-turned ball Is hung up In n net and is allowed to remain there for a year to dry. Then tho second hall la turned, nnd then comes tho poljsh Ing. Whiting and water and a good deal of rubbing are requisite for this. It is necessary in tho end thnt tho ball thall, to tho veriest fraction of a grain, be ot a certain weight.