BALLOONS IN THE NAVY.
How They May Be Used for the Purpose of
Spying on the Enemy—Great Aid
to the Admirals of Fleets.
* r
finally, It was found that the steadier
nature of their currents over the
water made certain delicate observa
tions possible where the broken cur
rents over the lsnd would havo made
them prohibitive.
Backed by the reflecting bottom sand
about tbe Cuban ports, explosive mines
In the shallower water will stand out
strongly silhouetted, as would also
other obstructions opposed to our
chips' approach—something that could
not be detected with safety In any other
way. This seems a strange power of
the air, but it Is only because the eye
Is Carried above the highest angle of
the sun's reflected light, and the water
becomes as a sheet of glass faced
squarely with the light behind one’s
head.
With a modern equipment of long
distance or telescopic photography it
It possible, from a base so steady as
one of these balloons, to take pictures
of the enemy’s coast; forte, hidden
batteries and the locations of his ves
sels and his vulnerable positions. This
Is not speculation, but an accomplish
ed fact.
Now let us see how the tirork will
be done In all probability. Ono of the
auxiliary vessels will be assigned each
fleet to serve as a balloon depot ship,
and a good wide stretch of deck will
be set apart tor the stowage of the
balloon, Its Inflating and for its ascen
sion and subsequent return. The hy
drogen gas will be made either down
below and supplied by pipe to the bal
loon on deck, or stored, under great
pressure, In stout steel cylinders, which
can be carried where moat convenient
and fed directly Into the great folds
of the "aerostat.” When all Is ready,
the observing officers step Into the car,
a line steel rope, under mechanical
control. Is let out, and the balloon
rises like a great kite high Into the air.
The ship gets under way, and, with the
balloon appearing scarcely larger than
a good-sized orange, starts In toward
the coast on Its mission of observation
and detection. Telephonic communica
tion Is kept up with the occupants In
the car, and the direction and the
speed of the craft are at once respons
ive to the guidance of the watchers In
that tiny car a quarter of a mile above.
When they have completed their recoA
nolssance tho winding machine Is
started, and they are quickly and easily
drawn down, while a little skillful
maneuvering lands them on deck and
the nimble seamen soon have the bal
loon snugly anchored and covered
against mishap. The work can be car
ried on night or day and with wider
applications than possible to a fixed
military base, and Its use on board a
naval craft as an auxiliary to operas
tlons of the army would be of Inestim
able value.
The Illustration depicts the balloon
moored to a speeding torpedo boat and
the result, perhaps, of a very good
night's work In our behalf. Tho bal
loon has ascended from the depot ship
as usual, but when at the desired
height was fastened to the light
draught and fleeter torpedo boat. This
boat has crept In to the neighboring
coast under cover of darkness and
sought tho temporary shelter of some
Jutting arm of the land. As the first
mists of the early morning rise, the
balloon, like a poising eagle, soars high
above the enemy’s defenses, but not so
far as to be beyond the piercing reach
of its telescopic eyes. There, practical
ly safo from harm's reach, It absorbs so
much that is vital to the enemy’s wel
fare, and at the first shot of alarm the
boat darts out from cover, and before
either boat or balloon can be caught
in range they are hastening away to
the offing with a wealth of informal
tlon and such detection as it is impos
tUJiJf J.
Bible for the foe to guard against be
fore an assault be made.
Blanco also baa balloons, but they
are hampered by the fixed base essen
tial to military operations and tbo
shifting courses of the land breezes, but
we shall have a system of espionage
second to none—not even hln coast
wise telegraph; and whether it be for
the massing of troops, the successful
bombardment by only one wmall gun
boat, or the grand, concerted action of
an entire fleet, we shall have the am
plest means of information with the
least exposure of life.
We shall watch our enemy even
while he sleeps, and the first thing he
shall see as he looks up from the land
still clothed In the gray cf dawn, will
be our guardian high above and touched
by the first glint of the coming day—
an omen of heaven's guidance and a
promise of golden victory.
ROBERT O. SKERRETT.
KEENE'S •'RICHARD."
The Actor** Flgbt on tb* Floor Tbat
Rcprmcntad the !!<>• north Kidd.
"Thomas W. Keene was the only
Richard who ever finished a fight on
Bosworth Field to the satisfaction of
the gallery,’ said a Western man In
speaking of the tragedian, whose death
on Staten Island has occurred re
cently. “In his later years Mr. Keene
quit this, but when he first went out
as a tragedian under the management
of Mr. W. R. Hayden, he got down on
the floor of the stage In hia encounter
and fairly dragged himself across the
‘field,’ knocking things right and left.
while the gallery caused the roof of the
house to sag. When Kceno secured
Hayden for his manager It was under
stood that Hayden was to bill the show
and manage It as be pleased. There
was never anything In the line of
gorgeous lithographing that surpassed
Hayden’s posters during the first two
seasons In the West. The Bosworth
Field scene took up nine-tenths of the
big sheets, and If there was any color
overlooked I never heard of It. I was
In a town where Hayden had billed hi*
attraction along with tbo Barnum
Balley show, and I declare on my honor
that the stand put up by Billy Hayden
drew the crowd. I have been told that
the rolling around on the floor business
in the Bosworth Field scene was Hay
den’s conception of the fight and that
poor Keene was forced to soil his king
ly attire every night under protest. At
the expiration of the contract it was
renewed with the proviso that there
was to be no fighting on the floor."—
Ex.
—- - t
—— '* i .
Well 1'r.od Sword.
Capt. Weaver, who is going Into the
war as captain of an Arkansas com
pany, wears a sword which hag done
duty in three wars. His great-grand
father carried It In the Revolutionary
war, hla grandfather in the war of 1812,
and undo In the war between the
states, and now he expecta If he gets a
chance to slash some Spaniards with It.
XVlist We'd I.Ike to Know
First Society Beauty—I see, dear,
that It has been fashionable in Paris
to be photographed In one’s corset.
Second Society Beauty—Dear me!
what on earth do they want to put
them on for?
Makinu obu:ks4iiu,h> mow a wakamip
ralloonrs arc going to play an im
portant part In the work of our navy
around Cuba, and each day of delayed
action will make them more needful
In observing the Spaniard's strength
ened lines of defense.
The tortuous waterways and the
generally land-locked nature of the
« bor3, their narrow fortified en
trances, and the excellent retreats the
wide reaches of water offer to their
ships make it Imperative that we have
some fairly safe and reliable means of
making rcconnolssancos of the Span
iards' positions. The fighting tops,
yea, even the maatheada, are of little
avail for observation at the distances
Imposed by the watchful batteries of
ths enemy, and the captive balloon
alone solves the difficulty. This Is es
pecially so where high promontories
like those of Santiago de Cuba and San
Juan completely shut out the harbor
from view and make hitting a fleet
tberln mere guesswork. Recent experi
ments In Germany, France and Rus
sia have emphasised the Importance of
the captive balloon In widening a fleet s
powers of observation. Just In the same
way that the captive balloon will serve
the army; and the patient trials and
study of the Germans have evolved a
curious aerostat that t>jr virtue of Its
shape and peculiar properties Is es
pecially well adapted to the greater
range of naval work, and It Is <julte
safe to say our own balloons will em
body the general features of the Gor
man design.
The balloons will really be three bal
loons acting la conpcrt. The first and
largest Is like an Immense sausage,
and bears, the roaJo burden of the load
ed car. The second Is somewhat simi
lar In shape, but hugs the lower end
of the big balloon nice a
catwplllar. This second and smaller
balloon acts principally In the capacity
of a rudder, and aids materially In
holding the balloon in a peculiar posi
tion, while the third and small spheri
cal balloon- trails along Independently
behind at some distance and serves In
the same eteadying capacity that a
kite's tall does. In action, this triple
balloon floats with great steadiness or
immobility when not under way
something impotwlble in the pear
shaped affair familiar to all of ns.
The observation car i« pendant from
the main balloon, which poises in the
air at an angle of about 45 degrees,
practically like the position of the kite
common to every school boy, and it
Is Just In that way that the force of
the wind Is utilised to increase the
balloon’s buoyancy and to subserve
also to that peculiarly marked steadi
ness or directness of flight.
Made up, as It is, in three separate
parts, It Is less liable to total and In
stant collapse In case of puncture, and
It Is even possible to secure a wider
margin of safety by subdividing the in
teriors by thin membfa'nous waim and
fitting them with little valves some
what like those now used on a bicycle
tire, which would enable the balloon to
be filled, but which at the same time
would shut off automatically an In
jured compartment by virtue of the
unimpaired force of the neighboring
good ones. A happy, chance shot that
might damage one or even two of the
compartments would only cause the
balloon to sink slowly like an exhaust
ed bird, and would either enable the
aeronauts to prepare for a Jump In
safety or permit the balloon to be
drawn beyond the reach of further at
tack before touching the water. These
balloons are built up in sections, out
. wnnriai-fllllv liirhl but VCrv tOlmli
fabrication of silk—a strip a yard long
being equal to bearing a burden of hajl
a ton; and a balloon capable of rais
ing a party of tour person* will scarce
ly weigh more than a good-sized boy
of 10.
Thd especial advantages of the bal
loon for naval work were discover**,
so recently as 1S34. In that year th«
Russian monitor Rusalka founder.*
with all hands In the Gulf of Finland
An expedition, under Colonel Nicolai
d'Orlolf. undertook to discover the lo
catton of the lost vessel by using t
captive balloon for the purposes of sub
marina observation, and while h* wa
unable to find tha craft, atill the re
aulta of bla search were fruitful In val
untile Information for futura naval pur
poaas. 1 he balloon, which waa he!
captive by a large naval transport fit
ted up for tha aarvlc*, as* ended to al
tltudva varying from to somethin
just over 1.400 fael. Two observer*
who were relieved every thrse hour*
were constantly In the car. and It wa
found that the naked eye waa bait*
adapted to du«a<» ug t»bje»;a at th
bottom of lire »»s than were the aU
of telescopes or gln**e». With a favo.
able Ught rook* »»4 sand! mV* w>»
clearly degaad at depth* of (root 1> t
S3 feat large, light tan'bank* ~eu*
ga prevail about Ow ‘-a ■ • « old be vw
m re or la** d *tliv»il> d» > a.ttn* upo
Ike color uI th* water at a depth <
•sen fe«t. but H *** *.<t tenatpl
lo d!aiingut>h th* dutatla -rf object* a
deeply submerged Th* Vtaw from th
tar raaiQtU to n die'**** >»t gutta t
Milan. and It wo* puambiu to hear th
•*>*and *1 dtaunt cautg- aad>ng »h*'
waa taaudibie to potausM <m hMt|, 01
facts »a th* turfa** »l the water w*»
■aura soetly dvttetod the* th*v .«ul
hovw Men si land, eed lk« <israrl<
wl dim eat erw* whathar manaattia a
aa*a. waa aoaitp dtasurorwam am
PATHETIC WAR SONG.
‘'SOMEBODY'S DARLING” AND
ITS HISTORY.
Written by nn Army None Who Learned
the Life Mtory of n Youth Who Died
a* a Reeolt of the Night Attack of
Cedar Creek.
War Ron kb have become popular of
late and some of the vcraea that were
popular when some of ua were young
are being printed and sung again. Many
readers will be glad to once more peruae
the lines In "Somebody's Darling.” This
la one of the most pathetic plocea that
grew out of the civil war. Here it la la
part:
Into a ward of the whitewash'd hall*,
Where the dead and the dying lay.
Wounded by bayonet*. Hhell* and ball*.
Homebody * darling was borne one day—
Homebody's darling, *o young and se
brave,
Wearing yet on hi* pale, eweet fare;
Boon to be hid by tbe duet of the grave
The lingering light of hi* boyhood *
grace.
Matted and damp are the curls of gold.
Kissing the snow of that fair young
brow.
Pale aro the lips of delicate moult -
Homebody's darling Is dying now.
Hack from his beautiful blue-veined brow
lirush all the wandering wavee of go.d.
Crosa hi* hand* on hi* bosom now.
Homebody's darling Is still and cold.
Kiss him ones for somebody's sake.
Murmur a prayer soft and low.
One bright curl from Its fair mates take,
They sure somebody's pride, you know;
Homebody's bend lied rested there:
Was It a mother's, soft and whlt.eT
And have the lip* of a stater fair
liMu buptlcod In the waves of light?
Ood knows best; ha has somebody's love.
Homebody’s heart enshrined him there;
Bornehody wafted hlH name above,
Night and morn on the wings of prayer.
Homebody wept when he march'd away,
Ixioklng m> lianJaoiua, brave and (rand;
Somebody's kiss on his forehead lay.
Homebody clung to hla parting hand.
Homebody's waiting and watching for
hla.
Yearning to hold him again to their
heart;
And there ho 11m with hla blue eyas dim.
And the smiling, childlike lips apart.
Tenderly bury the fair young dead,
Pausing to drop on bis grave n tear;
Carve on the wooden slab at his head:
"Somebody's darling slumbers here.”
Morn pathetic still la the story that
the lines fall to unfold. Tho poem was
written by Ulster Lucoste, a member of
one of tbe sisterhoods that did service
during the conflict between north and
south. Coming Into the "dead room"
of the hospital she saw the corpse of a
yonng man who hud been fatally
wounded at the battle of Cedar Creek.
Ho proved to bo Patrick Feeney, a
young Mlcblgrsder, who cnll3ted at
Detroit. - In seme way bis mother
learn»d of his enlistment and she hast
ened to that city from the Interior of
the state to ssvo him. Bho was too
late, however, for her son wa3 already
In a suit of army bluo and ready to
march. His mother saw tho general In
command and aaked him If she could
see her darling boy. "He Is my only
one and so precious to us all," cho cried.
Then she shrieked with grief and faint
ed away. While in this condition her
son was brought in. She stared at him
In a vacant way for a fsw seconds and
then a look of admiration came to her
eyes. Tho sight of hor brave boy In
hts new suit of blue touched her pride.
She was tbe mother of one willing to
sacrifice his life while fighting for his
country. Sho embraced him and said:
"Heaven has blessed me with such a
son. I came to take you away, but now
I wouldn’t if I could. If you come back
alive I’ll thank Gcd, but if you are
killed it will bo a Joy to mo to know
that yon died a good soldier.”
Tears came to tho eyes of those near
at hand as mother and sen parted never
to meet again, for a low months laker
a letter came from Ulster Laco3tn say
ing that Patrick Feeney had been
•wounded unto donth, but that he had
lived to receive tho Inst sacraments of
tho church and to send word to bis
mother that ho had been shot during a
night atUek of tbe enemy. "Had I
been uwako they could not have killed
me.”
It wa* a month after hts death that
the poem first appeared In print. I be
lieve that It was flnrt printed In the
Southern Churchmen of Savannah.
Previous to tho war Slater Lacoate had
been a school teacher.
We are told that Ulster Locos to after
wards married a young lieutenant of
the confederacy, with whom she fell In
love while nur»l05 at Savannah.
App«irtnrr« Wer« I)M»ptlv».
A servant laaa at an Inu once made
a funny mistake. Opening tho door of
one of the rooms, she saw, as rho
thuught, the handle of a warming pan
sticking out near the foot o( the ted.
•‘Bless me,'' she cried, “that stupid
Martha has left the warming pan In the
hod: she might have set the place on
fire.” Tekuip hold cf the handle, ih«
give It a violent Jerk, when up Jumped
a traveler, shouting lustily. 'Halloa,
there! leave my woe don leg elune. will
yen'!*' E*.
Wee Wrirevs si *«**•* a time
Mrs r.eah-im "I tee by the pap r
1 that a westsrp map has thrown up a
I at-od position, e> Id all kb proper:y and
I gone to Cuba to Aik: the iipenla*it4
I There's patriotism for you1'' fhtphaw
I •—“Ihrobahly hla wife waa iyoMtectean
TW Mates Hal He loos*.
UuU u sal ie relUag lot f) «*> a , uej
In Hmta l els** the ,c'u Is tptyaa
pretty tent by lb* JtaMbmi N Is ele >i
the| the Wstst valuable part ef toe
ayaateb teeeee will he pset Iuever
isnei .. * "Tr"'“
tea t eats Mat SsssfS
rvisea “Vgtsea my eyea #e*eg*g ms
yaw ate the gatiy t #•*# tfi Mill ta
rasmrgay Beggar la* air iM
yaw thlah a 4Maa eesM taake a paw
aaa at aMf
Purified Blood
Wa« Weak and Narvoua But Hood's
Made Him Healthy and Strong.
“I >u feeling very dull and could not
deep »t night. After I bed taken two
bottles of llood’a Sarsaparilla I felt more
like myself and was soon healthy and
strong. Hood's Sarsaparilla purtflad my
blood and did roe much good.” Hoy m.
Dalis, Hammond, Minn.
Hood’s Sarsaparilla
I* America's Greatest Medicine. (11 sis for $0.
Hood's Pill* aura IndlgeaUon, billouaneaa.
FROM BUCCANEER TO PIRATE.
The Mrethraa of tha Ooeat Warrad
Against Every Nation.
Mr. Frank R. Stockton continues In
St. Nicholas his series of narrative
sl">tehca of "The Buccaneer* of Our
Co'ast.” In the May number Mr.
8torkton nays: The buccaneors had
grown to be reckle** freebooter*. And
when they became soldiers and march
ed In little armies, the patience of the
civilized world began to weaken. Pan
ama. for Instance, was an Important
Spanish city; England was at peace
with Spain; therefore, when a military
force composed mstnly of Englishmen,
and led by a British subject, captured
and sacked Panama. If England should
not Interfere with her buccaneers she
would have a quarrel to settle with
Hpain. So a new governor was sent to
Jamaica with strict ordere to put down
the buccaneers and to break up (heir
organization, and then It was he set a
thief to catch thieves, and empowered
the ex-plrate, Morgan, to execute bis
former comrades. But method* of
conciliation, a* well ns threats of pun
ishment, were used to Induce the buc
caneer* to give up their Illegal calling,
n vi .rl llhasul /iff ara w a rn m a/In to fkom
to nettle In Jamaica and become law
abiding citizen*. Hut these offers did
not tempt the Brothers of the Coast;
from active pirates to retired pirates
was too great a change, and though
some of them returned to their original
avocations of eattle butchering and
beef drying, some, It Is said, chose
rather to live among the wild Indians
and share their Independent lives,
than to hind themselves to any form
of honest Industry. The Trench also
bad been active In suppressing the op
erations of their buccaneers, and soon
the Brethren of the Coast, considered
as an organization for preying upon
the commerce and settlers of Spain,
might be said to have ceased to exist.
But It must not be supposed that be
cause buccaneering had died out that
piracy was dead. Driven from Jamaica,
from Ran Domingo, and even from Tor
tuga, they retained a resting place only
at New Providence, an island In the
Bahamas, and thia they did not main
tain very long. Then they spread
themselves all over the watery world.
They were no longer buccaneers, they
were to longer "Brothers" of any sort,
they no longer set out merely against
Spaniards, but their attacks were made
upon people of every nation. They con
fined themselves to attacks upon peace
able merchant vessels, often robbing
them and then scuttling them, delight
ed with the spectacle of a ship, with
all ita crew, sinking hopelessly Into the
sea. The scene of piratical operations
In America was now very much chang
ed. The successors of the Brothers of
the Coast, no longer united by any
bonds of fellowship, but each pirate
eaptain actlag independently In his
own wicked way, wore coming up from
the West Indies to afflict the moro
northern sea coast.
- — - ..
Dr. Johnson was once consulted by
an old lady on the degree of wicked
ness to be attached to her son's rob
bing an orchard. "Madam,” said
Johnson. “It all depends upon the
weight of the boy. I remember my
school fellow, Davy Garrick, who was
always a little fellow, robbing a dozen
orchards with impunity; but the very
first time i climbed up an apple tree
(for I always was a heavy boy) the
bough broke with me, and It was
I called a judgment.”
:TryGrain=OI ii
| Try Grain-O! ij
J Ask you Grocer to day to show you <•
0 u packagaof (IKAIN-O, the now food <i
e drink that tokos tbo place of coffee. 11
x x The children may drink it without < ’
2 injury aa well aa tho adult. All who <!
1 try it, like it. GHADf-0 lwt that J!
T rick seal brown of Mocha or Java, «>
2 l>ut it is muds from pure grains, aud 1!
% iha niostdi'icato stomach receives it 1 *
♦ without d st reas. } the price of coffee. < >
♦ 15 cent* uud Ho cents per package. {)
£ Sold by ail grooer*. < ►
2 Tastes like Coffee
♦ Looks like Coffee )!
2 l**W»Sat r< nr ymrergtvaaynaUnAlX-O j |
T A«c«pt an lieltatlae. A
l.wm.mmii.ml
; PICTU3E OF DEWEY F»g*i
T» *«•>** |e«i* wiotln t at 91 c ai, |,w .
a thM n .wik.1 iri«l »ui.„rm t,, n,„
1 V'Hi *,*M* Wln*l»sit>pt terut auu family
Itu AMI KHAN ItOMISTI AO.
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vuikit! n*u:r.rrv:r\:J
4 •*»•*« M •* \U ira.ee
HAM Acini' \N \|l
ifttMltM, \.l* eesi»4.
iT COSTS '.Tv'T,
NOTHING ZXSzi.rz
I m* kt**4 A«n»M«w. iM, 9f»>«a| Ms
1 14 It ftWH «»•* &4 %etsve
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FAIRBANKS SCALES am
. Dr. Ki| i last Mia
