IN THE NAVY.
How They May Be Used for the Purpose of
Spying on the Enemy Great Aid
: ' . , to the Admirals of Fleets.
Balloons 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
i.-bors , 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 ot
making reconnoissances of the Span
iards' positions. The fighting tops ,
yes , even the mastheads , are of little
avail for observation at the distances
imposed by the watchful batteries of
the 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
therin mere guesswork. Recent experi
ments in Germany , France and Rus
sia have emphasized 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 by virtue of its
shape and peculiar properties is es
pecially well adapted to the greater
range of naval work , and it is quite
to balloons will embody -
safe say our own
body the general features of the Ger
man design.
The balloons will really be three bal
loons acting in concert. The first and
largest is like an immense sausage ,
and bears the main burden of the load
ed car. The second is somewhat simi
lar in shape , but hugs the lower end
of the big balloon like a creeping
caterpillar. 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 steadying capacity that a
kite's tail does. In action , this triple
balloon floats with great steadiness or
Immobility when not under way-
something impossible in the pear-
shaped affair familiar to all of us.
The observation car is pendant from
the main balloon , which poises In the
air at an angle of about 45 degrees ,
practically like the position of the kite
f mmon to every school boy , and it
is just in that way that the force of
the wind is utilized 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 membranous walls 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
of a wonderfully light but very tough
fabrication of silk a strip a yard long
"being equal to bearing a burden of half
a ten ; and a balloon capable of rais
ing a party of four persons will scarce
ly weigh more than a good-sized boy
of 10.
The especial advantages of the bal
loon for naval work were discovered
so recently as 1894. In that year the
Russian monitor Rusalka foundered
with all hands in the Gulf of Finland.
An expedition , under Colonel Nicolas
d'Orloff , undertook to discover the lo
cation of the lost vessel by using a
captive balloon for the purposes of sub
marine observation , and while he was
unable to find the craft , still the re
sults of his search were fruitful in val
uable information for future naval pur
poses. The balloon , which was held
captive by a large naval transport fit
ted up for the service , ascended to al
titudes varying from C50 to something
just over 1,400 feet. Two observers ,
who were relieved every three hours ,
were constantly in the car , and it was
found that the naked eye was better
adapted to discerning objects at the
bottom of the sea than were the aids
of telescopes or glasses. With a favor
able light recks and sandbanks were
clearly defined at depths of from 19 to
23 feet. Large , light sandbanks such
as prevail about Cuta could be seen
more or less distinctly , depending upon
the color of the water , at a depth of
even 40 feet , but it was not possible
to distinguish the details of objects so
deeply submerged. The view from the
car reached to a distance of quite 45
miles , and it was possible to hear the
sound ot distant cannonading which
was Inaudible to persons on land. - Objects
jects on the surface of the water were
more easily detected than they could
have been on land , and the character
of distant craft , -whether mercantile or
naval , was easily discoverable ; and ,
finally , it was found that the steadier
nature of their currents over the
water made certain delicate observa
tions possible where the broken cur
rants over the land would have made
them prohibitive.
Backed by the reflecting bottom sand
about the Cuban ports , explosive mines
in the shallower water will stand out
strongly silhouetted , as would also
other obstructions opposed to our
ships' 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.
head.With
With a modern equipment of long-
distance or telescopic photography it
is possible , from a base so steady as
one of these balloons , to take pictures
of the enemy's coast , forts , 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 work will
be done in all probability. One 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 for 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 bo carried where most convenient
and fed directly into the great folds
of the "aerostat. " When all is ready ,
the observing officers step into the car ,
a fine 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 o a mile above. _
When they have completed their recorv
noissance the 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 opera
tions 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. The 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 the 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 , practically - ,
ly safe 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 informa
tion and such detection as it is impos-
sible for the foe to guard against be
fore an assault be made.
Blanco also has balloons , but they
are hampered by the fixed base esson-
tlal to military operations and the
shifting courses of the land breezes , but
we shall have a system of espionage
second to none not even his coast
wise telegraph ; and whether it be for
the massing of troops , the successful
bombardment by only one small 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 slecips , and the first thing ho
shall see as he looks up from the land
still clothed in the gray of dawn , will
be our guardian high above and touched
by the first slint of the coming day
an omen of heaven's guidance and a
promise of golden victory.
ROBERT G. SKBRRETT.
KEENE'S "RICHARD. "
The Actor's Fight on the Floor That
Represented the Bosirorth Field.
"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. Keena
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 his 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 Keene secured
Hayden for his manager it was under
stood that Hayden was to bill the show
and manage it as he pleased. There
was never anything in the line ot
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 hoard of it. I was
in a town where Hayden had billed his
attraction along with the Barnuin-
Bailey 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.
"Well Used Sword.
Capt. Weaver , who is going into thfe
war as captain of an Arkansas com
pany , wears a sword which has done
duty in three wars. His great-grand
father carried it in the Revolutionary
war , his grandfather in the war of 1812 ,
and uncle in the war between the
states , and now he expects if he gets a
chance to slash some Spaniards with it.
TVhat We'd T.Iko to Enow.
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 en fcr ?
T.
--i
MAKING OBSERVATIONS FROM A "WARSHIP.
PATHETIC WAR SONG.
"SOMEBODY'S DARLING" AND
ITS HISTORY.
Written by an Army Knrso Who
the Life Story of a Yoath Who Died
as a Itcunlt of the Night Attack of
Cedar Creek.
War songs have become popular of
late and some of the verses that were
popular when some of us were young
are being printed and sung again. Many
readers will be glad to once more peruse
the lines in "Somebody's Darling. " This
is one of the most pathetic pieces that
grew out of the civil war. Here it is in
part :
Into a ward of the whitewashed halls ,
Where the dead and the dying lay.
Wounded by bayonets , shells and balls.
Somebody's darling- was borne one day-
Somebody's darline , so young and so
brave.
Wearing : yet on his pale , sweet face ;
Soon to bo hid by the dust of the grave
The lingering light of his boyhood's
.grace.
Slatted and damp are the curls of gold.
Kissing the snow of that fair younff
brow.
Pale are the lips of delicate moulc -
Somebody's darling- dying now.
Dack from his beautiful blue-veined brow
Brush all the wandering waves of gold.
Cross his hands on his bosom now.
Somebody's darling is still and cold.
Kiss him once for somebody's sake ,
Murmur a prayer soft and low.
One bright curl from its fair mates take ,
They were somebody's pride , you know ;
Somebody's hand had rested there :
Was it a mother's , soft and white ?
And have the lips of a sister fair
Bee * , baptized in the waves of light ?
God knows best ; he has somebody's love ,
Somebody's heart enshrined him there ;
Somebody wafted his name above ,
Night and morn on the wings of prayer.
Somebody wept when ho march'd away.
Looking so handsome , bravo and grand ;
Somebody's kiss on hia forehead lay.
Somebody clung to his parting hand.
Somebody's waiting and watching for
him.
Yearning to hold him a aln to their
heart ;
And there ho lies with his blue eyes dim.
And the smiling , childlike lips apart.
Tenderly bury the fair young dead ,
Pausing to drop on his grave n tear ;
Carve on the wooden alab at his head :
"Somebody's darling slumbers here. "
More pathetic still is the story that
the lines fail to unfold. The poem was
written by Sister Lacoste , a member of
one of the 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
young man who had been fatally
wounded at the battle of Cedar Creak.
He proved to bo Patrick Fe-cnoy , a
young MicMgandcr , who enlisted at
Detroit. In some way his mother
learned cf his enlistment and she _ hast
ened to that city from the interior of
the state to save him. She was too
late , however , for her son was already
in a suit of army blue and ready to
march. His mother saw the general in
command and asked him if she could
see her darling boy. "He is my only
one and so precious to us all , " she 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 few seconds and
then a look of admiration came to her
eyes. The sight of her brave boy In
his new suit of blue touched her pride.
She was the mother cf one willing to
sacrifice his life while fighting for his
country. She embraced him and said :
"Heaven has blessed ino with such a
son. I caine to take you away , but now
I wouldn't if I ccnld. If you como back
alive I'll thank God , but if you are
killed it will bo a joy to mo to Inicx ?
that you died a seed soldier. "
Tears came to the eyes of those near
at hand as mctcer ant ! son parted never
to meet again , for a few months Inier
a letter came from Sister Laeosto say
ing that Patrick Feency had been
wounded ucto death , but that he had
lived to receive tie Isct sacraments of
the church and to send word to his
mother that ho hsd been shot during a
night attack of the enemy. "Had I
been awake they could not have killed
me. "
It was a month after his death that
the poem first appeared in print. I be
lieve that it was first printed in the
Southern Churchman of Savannah.
Previous to the war Sister Lacoste had
been a school teacher.
We are told that Sister Lacostc after
wards married a young lieutenant of
; he confederacy , with whom she fell in
love while nursing at Savannah.
Appearances T7ero
A servant lass at an inn once made
i funny mistake. Opening the door of
3ae of the rooms , she saw , as she
: hought , the handle of a warming pan
sticking out near the foot of the bed.
'Bless me , " she cried , "that stupid
Martha has left the warming pan in the
oed ; she might hr.ve set tha place on
Ire. " Taking hold cf the handle , she
; ave it a violent jerk , when up jumped
i traveler , shouting lustily , "Halloa.
; here ! leave my vocclcn leg alone , will
rou ? " Ex.
Ex.TV
TV > Jcon > at Sncli ! i Time.
Mrs. Benham "I see by the paper
hat a western nan has thrown up a
food position , sold all his property and
cone to Cuba to fight the Spaniards ,
[ "here's patriotism for 5-011 ! " Eenbain
- 'Probably his wife was houscclean-
The 3Iucs Will Ko Gone.
Mule meat is selling for $4.50 a pc"nu
n Havana. Unless the town is taken
iretty soon by the Americans it is clear
hat the most valuable part of tlic
Spanish forces will be lest forever.
Ton Cent * Xot
Citizen "Unless my cyc-s deceive me ,
ou are the party I gave tea cents to I
esterday. " Beggar "I am , sir. Did
ou think a dime would make a new
nan of me ? " I
Purified Blood \
Was Weak and Nervous But Hood's
Made Him Healthy and Strong.
"I was feeling very dull and could not
sleep at night. After I had taken two
bottles of Hood's Sarsaparllla I felt moro
like myself and was soon healthy and
strong. Hood's Sarsaparilla purified my
blood and did mo much good. " BOY M.
DALE , Hammond , Minn.
Hood's Sarsapariiia
Is America's Greatest Medicine. § 1 ; six for S5.
Hood's Pills cure indigestion , biliousness.
FROM BUCCANEER TO PIRATE.
Urcthrcn of the Coast Warred
Against Efory Nation.
Mr. Frank R. Stockton continues In
St. Nicholas his series of narrative
sketches of "The Buccaneers of Our
Coast. " In the May number Mr.
Stockton says : The buccaneers had
grown to be reckless freebooters. 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 mainly 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
Spain. So a new governor was sent to
Jamaica with strict orders to put down
the buccaneers and to break up their
organization , and then It was he set a
thief to catch thieves , and empowered
the ex-pirate , Morgan , to execute his
former comrades. But methods of
conciliation , as well as threats of pun
ishment , were used to Induce the buc
caneers to give up their illegal calling ,
and liberal offers were made to them
to settle in Jamaica and become law-
abiding citizens. But these offers did
not tempt the Brothers of the Coast ;
from active pirates to rc-tlred pirates
was too great a change , and though
some of them returned to their original
avocations of cattle butchering and
beef drying , some , it is said , chose
rather to live among the wild Indians
and share their Independent lives ,
than to bind themselves to any form
of honest Industry. The French also
had 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 San Domingo , and even from Tor-
tuga , they retained a resting place only
at New Providence , an island in the
Bahamas , and this they did not main
tain very long. Then they spread
themselves all over the watery world.
They were no longer buccaneers , they
were no longer "Brothers" o : 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 its 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
captain acting independently in his
own wicked way , were coming up from
the West Indies to afillct the more
northern sea coast.
Dr. Johnson was once consulted by
an old lady on tlie degree of wicked
ness to be attached to her son's rob
bing an orchard. "Madam , " sai.i
Johnson. "It nil depends upon the
weight of the boy. I remember my
school fellow , Davy Garrick , who waa
always a little fellow , robbing a dozpn
orchards with impunity ; but the very
first time I climbed up an apple tret-
( for I always was a heavy boy ) tha
bough broke with me. and it was
called a judgment. "
f
-9
Try Grao ! = 0 ! 9O
Oo Try Graio = G ! O
Ask you Grocer to-day to show you
a package cf GUAIX-O , the new food
drink that Likes the place of coflee.
, _ The children may drink -without
0 injury asprcll as the adult. All tvho
try it , like it. GRAIX-O has that
rich seal brown of ilocha or Java ,
but it is nizdo from pure grains , and
the most delicate stomach'receives it o
o
without distress. the price of coffee.
15 cents and 23 cents per package.
Sold by all grocers.
Tastes like Coffee
Looks like Coffee
Insist that yocr grocer elves yea GKAEf-0
Accept no Imitation.
ICTURE OF BEWPY
I EWBUllk W 1 L/L.SttM.1
To every r 'r < * n sondlmrn * 25 nt > .fori
L three month- . ' trial suh-.erlj , ! on to the
treat Trans.Mississippi farm ami family
7ceklv.
THE AMERICAN ifOVl ! ST AD ,
re via mall : i beautiful piciuro of Admiral
eorpuV i > iwt > y. the luMit of Manila. Tin- .
iti-turo i-i in colors and ia rare rn-ntlon of
rt. It is bulta.ile for framing and will bo
.dinlrcd byory member 'f the f.-millv.
Vrlte at once. : i < this oiler remains open bus
, short time. Addivsi
THE AMEKICAX HOMESTEAD.
Omah.i. N
< ToKetournewC.it-
ajosuc. Hiuulrc'Nof
* people slve huns -
s drcds of d llar se-
: ciliiK furniture. Draperies , etc. . from it.
etd for it. It gives prices and pictures.
URC1IAICD& AVII.IIiiM. CAItrKT CO. .
1418 Douglas St. . Oma.hn. Xob.
: AlRBANKS SGALEte
' for cons s. colds.
r FQU'O I nnrr itolm
ii fray s Lung caim
