The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, March 21, 1897, Page 27

- ———r— A~ v e ——— e — - —————— ——— i | | i the muslin. *uusl Suddenly it rises as if impelled by From Beneath velous RRAYED in a gown of spotless y White, his coal black hair covered by a snowy turban with many foids, an Indian juggler, who calis him- = seif the Nawab of Jellabad, has been | startling the people ot ‘Paris nightly with a marvelous trick and then poking fun at them with his explanation of how simple itis 10 o. - Not so simple a trick, perhaps, to the unskillful, for it 1s nothing less thaa the production of a bicycle from be- neath that flowing cioak, where the great- est doubters in all the aundience wouid have sworn no bicycle could have been concealed. Most marvelous of all the details of this trick is the undoubted fact that what the juggler does he accomplishes unaided. His tant companion, who he declares is the Rainee of Champaran—although the statement is contrary to the rite of suttee | as practiced in India, for a Rainee is a queen widow—stands in the wings, if it is on a stage, or at one side, when in a pri- vate house, merely watching the per- | formance and smiling at the wonder cf the astonished auditors. There is something about this exceed- ingly clever man which makes one re- spect him instanter. Tall, with that clear olive complexion which is charteristic of the high caste Indian, he bows to those before him in a fashion that is positively he wab. eally what he claims to be, a Na- The true Indian Nuwabis a prince in all that the word implies, if he is not, in fact, more of a king. bowever, that our gentleman of the olive is a juggler of more than usual brain who shrewdly believes that the atmos- phere of former royalty will give him the entree where the plamn Indian juggler would fail of an audience. After the magnificent bow comes the wonder. If any one who reads this has ever seen an Indian jug ler arrayed in all the glory of his paraphernalia he has an ’rn_ncezv and makes one wonder whether idea of how preposterous the assertion | seems when the necromancer, in very ex- cellent French, states to the audience that be proposes to cause to appear before them | by magic a bicycle, cowplete in every de- tail. Not oniy, he says, will he cause this bicycle to appear, but will also ride upon | it, and thus deinonstrate the fact that it is no imaginary or “property” machine. It | shall’ be equipped with pneumatic tires, | he declares—in fact, just such a wheel as the ardent cyclist loves to own. | Inasthuch as it is manifestly impossible | to carry a bicycle in one's pocket or under the arm without being seen, the onlookers | puzzle their brainsin vain to disc ver how on earth this seemingly remarkable man | is goIng to carry out the promise he has rage. They are not long in discovering that he means to perform exactly what he bas promised. Eucdenly there is thrown to him, by his assistant, a large sheet ot | ordinary muslin, folaed. He unfoids this | sheet in full view of them, bowing politely | to those who are watching him, flings it | The chancesare, | A Fakir From the Punjaub JHow an Indian Juggler Produces a Bicycle His Goat—Mar- Tricks To begin with the rubber tires are al- lowed to empty themselves of air, and are then coiled about the man’s waist. Each | of the spokes folds in three pieces, and thus condensed about the hub of the wheel, the whole hangs down toward the man’s heels like the vig pendulum of a clock. Aluminum is the metal of which the wheel and the rest of the machine is constructed, as largely a3 possible, and of | course this makes the hub and spokes much lighter than would otherwise be the case. This part of the wheel is secured to the juggler in such a manner thatal- though it hangs down, it wili not oscillate <o violently as to become visible, or to | give evidence ot its presence beneath the | folds of the cloak. | The handle bars are fastened about the | waist. The frame of ihe machine is in five pieces, but fits together with snap- locks that muke it as firm as if it were all | castin one piece. The chain is wound around his legs, and the sprockets are at- | tached to the same limb. The saddle is | carried over his breast. As this is divided | so that 1t spreads out, 1t enables the jug- gler to wear it without danger of having the presence thereof revealed. With all this upon him, ‘weighing per- haps altogether eighteea pounds, the jug- gler has appeared before those who have come to see the wonder he has promised. The folds of his cloak so thoroughly con- ceal the dismantled bike that there is not the slightest evidence of its presence. The usual explanation is made and then comes the enveloping with the sheet. Instantly the sheet covers him, the juggler loosens from about him the sections of the bicycle that make a complete whole. First of all | he arranges the frame. Then the two | wheels are quickly turned into proper | shape. Following this be blows air into | the rubber tires and adjusis them. Then { comes the cearing, the adjusiment of sad- dle ena handle bars, and, lo, the wheel is | complete and ready for use. Then the juggler dextrously flings the sheet from | him and at the same moment mounts the | wheel. The rest has been told. This is the story of the event that has | interested Paris society high and low. It is the revelation of a wonder and the ex- emplification of human credulity so deftl combined that it charms you while it| arouses your indignation. As this indig- nation is always directed toward your- self, the juggler is in nowise disturbed. Therefore, the Nawab of Jellabad and the Rainee of Champaran have become both popular and prosperous. Theirs is the most clever of all the juggling feats tbat Paris has seen .or many a long day. The Schoolboy of Siberia. The miiitary rule that governs all Russia extends to the school and collezes. They are free pubiic schools, almost as tully as with us, ana are attended by the | children of the peasants and poor towns- people as well as by the sons of Govern- SIMS-DUDLEY PNEUMATIC GUN-BREECH MECHANISM. over himself and disappears beneath the | mausiin cloud. The disappearance is, of course, only so far as the view of the juggler unobscured is concerned. Beneath the muslin he re- | mains, but the muslia is in plain sight of | every one and too far from anything to permit even the suggestion of aid from an outside source. The cloth undulates like the tall grass on a rolling prairie when. the wind is blowing in stiffish fash- jon. There are regular billows of cloth. Then bere and there appears a suggestion of some object. All at once the muslin shows the distinct outline of a wheel. en the excitement does become intense. Why, the man is really going to do it,” is heard on all sides. The cloth moves more violently. A click, click sounds clear and distinet from under Then the cloth shakes vigor- a dozen hands and almost simultan eousiy with that iising there darts from beneath it thie figure of the juggier, riding a silyer- | mounted wheel, upon which he makes the circuit of the stage several times. Then he alights as defily as ti.e greatest of trick riders and bowing to the audience says, “Mesdames et messieurs, s'il vous plait.”’ It is 8one. The juggler has kept his word to the letter. And now for the ex- pianation. The Nawab smiles in his most charming Indian fashion as he tells those who are about him that what he has done is the simplest thing in the world if only jt is understood. ‘‘Any one of you could doit, I am sure,” be says. Could they? Lot us see. This s the explanation, con- densed from the elaborate fabric of lan- guage which the Indian juggier rears for the enlightenment of those who have ment officials and rich merchants, who later are to go to tbe university at Tomsk, or perhaps to Russia, for their college course, But here, though, some are nobles by birth and others are mere peasants, all dress in a uniform closetv copied from that of the army. Even the girls—who always have separate schools from the boys— wear a simple regulation dress, so that there is no heartburning in little Anna, from the cottage in the back street, because little Lady Anna, from the great house on the square, has a fine dress. The teachers are ail regarded as officers of the Government and wear a military uniform, The school is drilled in tactics every day, and conducts all its exercises after military models, training its boys into soldierly young men. Even their play is mixed up with this. The uniform is not so pretty as that worn by the cadets of our own military schools, and it is comical to see a little | | chav,'with a round, roguish face under his flat cap, wearing big boots, and a gray overcoat belted about with ekirts long enough to touch the ground; but when he has earned the rank of corporal or ser- geant in his school battalion, and feels the marks of his rank on bis cullar, he struts about as proud as a peacock. Gymnastics are cultivated everywhere, and eac « school has a large hall devoted to calisthenics and to exercises upon the bars, ladders, vaulting horse, swing rings, trapeze, eic., while many schools have out- of-aoor apnaratus to be used in warm weather. Everybody must go through these exercises and some excel greatly in them, as you would expect of the sons of PARTS OF SIMS-DUDLEY PNEUMATIC GUN BEFORE ASSEMBLING. watched him. In a word the secret is that the bicycle, all in pieces, is hung about ‘his body beneath the cloak. It seems as 1f it would be a difficalt task to do that so that ‘there. would be no knobby projec- tians, but the Indian isa clever man. Cossacks, as many of them are.—Harper's Round Table. s iy Organ-grinders in Vienna are not allowed to play in the morning or even- ing—only belween midday and sunset, = HOW THE INDIAN FAKER PRODUCES A PERFECT WHEEL OUT OF NOTHING. 1897. 27 The Sims-Dudley Powder Dynamite €un The Guban Insurgents Have Used It With Wonderful Effect— New Factor in Warfare HE domain of warfare has ever offered a fruitful field to the inven- r, ond never more so than at pres- ent when the armies of the worid are equipped as never before, and when the possession of an improved weapon may decide the future conflict. Now the in- vention of a new weapon of destruction may bring millions to the lucky origina- tor. Of the large number of such inventions naturally only a small part ever get be- vyond the Patent Offics, but occasionally one is brought forth which commands in- stant attention, and the adoption of which by the different nations quickly follows: Such an invention was the Gatling gun. A no less remarkable weapon, the Sims- Dudley powder dynamite gun, has just been introduced to the worid by the war in Cuba, where its practical utility has teen amply demonstrated. Each war brings forth some new type of weapon or new mode of fighting, which 1s quickly adopted. The Cuban war is no exception, and the new gun has come to stay with the added advantage of a large amount of free advertising. Those who havs followed the accounts of the Cuban war have been struck by the frequent mention of the use of dyna- actual effoct of a shell filled with a high explosive thers was the moral effect to be produced by the explosion of a substance baving six or seven times the force of gunpowder. Even the bravest and best disciplined troops are apt tosbecome de- moralized in the presence of an agent which nothing can resist. As a provelling agent in guns the high explosives, in spite of long-continued ex- periments, have proved unmanageable. Efforts were therefore directed toward its use in some form of shell. For this pur- pose gunpowder is entirely unsuited, giv- ing high and Irregular pressures and & dangerous temperature. Some propelling agent was needed which would start the projectile casily and give a continued pressure during all the time it was in the bore of the gun. Wiih 500 pounds of ex- plosive gelatine and a sensitive cap it would not do to make misiakes. Com- pressed air was found to be in most re- spects an ideal propelling agent and a long series of exhaus:ive experiments led to the perfection of the pneumatic dyna- mite gun adopted as part of our coast de- fenses. While compressad air serves admirably there are many serious disadvantages connected with its use, which will proba- SIMS-DUDLEY PNEUMATIC GUN AND PROJECTILE. nd especially of a field dynamite gun, to which, in large measure, the suc- cess of the insurgents 1s sai1 to be due There are indications that in the kaleid- oscope of change a new era of destructive- warfare has been inaugurated. In future wars, in addition to smokeless powder and long-range weapons, we may expect that the air will be filled with aerial torpedoes—flying missiles of death— any one of which on striking will anni- hilate everything within a radius of fifty feet or more. The number of 1en affected by such an explosion will depend largely on the number of flying missiles pro- duced, and this is necessarily limited. But against material objects and earth- works the result is bound to bs disastrous. Nothing can stand against a well-direoted shot. ‘The use of high explosive or tor- pedo shells in the next war has for some years been recognized abroad, and forts are now built with special reference to their ability to withstand them. Ever since the practical development of the modern high explosives, such as dyna- mite and ; elatine, it bas been the dream of enthusiastic inventors to apply these aeadly agents in warfare, Besides the bly confine the pneumatic typs of gun to permanent works of defense. 1Its only ap- plication thus far on shipboard has been on the United States steamer Vesuvius. To work the guns an elaborate plant of engines, boilers, air-compressors and stor- age tanks are required, making the sys- tem very vulnerable as well as expensive. A well-directed shot would put a whole battery of guns out of action for an indefi- nite period. The pneumatic gun is there- fore entirely out of the question in field operations, while the inherent defects of the system have led to many attempts to fire the high explosives from ordinary powder guns, using powder charges. In.the Sims-Dudiey gun this problem seems to have been solved at last, and the vrinciple is as applicable to the light guns for field service as to tiose of heavy type for permanent works or use on shipboard. Curiously enou:h the propelling agent is air, which was found to work so success- fully before. For the cumbersome plant of engines and compressors a small charge of orainarv powder is substituted. Its ignition produces an ajr pressure which starts the projectile and forces it safely out of the bore and on its way, The gun is hence a self-contained and complete weapon, available in any situation, ashore or afloat. The first public trial of the new weapon took place last April. Then a 4-inch gun was used. The results were highly satis- factory, but unfortunately a defective fuse caused a premature explosion and demol- ished the gun after a few rounds. The new 2}4-inch gun weighs only 270 pounds, or with carriage 550. Its length is 10 feet. At first sight the gun appears to have three barrels, but on closer exam- ination the middle and longest one is seen to be the main one and contains the pro- jectile. The right-hand barrel is con- nected at its forward end with the left- hand one and this in turn with the main barrel. The effect is that of a very long barrel. The charge of six ounces of ordi- nary powder is placed in the tube A, and by its explosion compresses the air column int etwoouter tubes A and B. By the connections shown in the cross-saction this pressure is communicated to the pro- jectile, w.ich is thus moved without shock, while owing to the small ¢ arge and long chamber there is an almost en. tire absence of smoke and noise. These featurs of the gun, combined with its lightness and portabitity, doubtless ac- count for the d flicuity the Spaniards are reported to have had in locating the in- surgent batteries. As the gun is a smooth-bore, some means must be found to produce the ne- cessary rotation of the projectle during flieht. This is effected by adding a tail or vane. As soon as the projectile leave the bore the resistance of the air causes the rotation. The projectile, including tail, is 34 inches long, weighs 11 pounds and carries a charge of 4 pounds ot explosive gelatine. Next to this main charge is placed a six- ounce detonating charge of dry guncot- ton, which itself is aearly as powerful an explosive as the gelatine, Explosion of the shell is produced by a mechanical fuse. When the projectile sirikes a steel ball is driven forward, igniting a percus- ston-cap. This ignites a train of slow- burning powder, which in turn communi- cates the flame to some fulminate of mer- cary, which explodes the guncotton. This in turn detonates the main charge of gelatine, The lightness of the gun will make it of great use in a rough or mountainous coun- try. By dismounting 1t the parts can bs easily transported on two mules. The number of parts of the new weapon is sur- prisingly small, and its general simplicity enables it to ke manufactured at low cost and in short notice in any numbers re- quired. ‘While, owing to the small number of fragments produced by the shell on explo- sion the new gun 1s not likely to super- sede the present field gun for general use, it will form a most valuable auxiliary, and for certain purposes, such as demolition of houses, bridges, earthworks, etc., it will bo indispensable. A —————————— Equality. All men sre equal in God’s signt; There is no biack and there is no white; There is no high and there 1s no low; There is no frie .d and there is no foe; And earthly passion and earthly pride The glance of the Godhead cannot abide. The petty distinctions of rauk and caste Are shriveled and shrunk fn the furnace blast 0Of God’s great love when the angel Death Has stilled the heart-beats and stopped the breath; And the gates of beaven as wide do swing. For the lowliest peasant as the lordliest king; And the fires of hell burn just as bright For the rich or poor, for the binck or white, —J, C, BRENNAX in New York Sun, The Humnan Electro-Magnet Marvelous Gure for Rheumatism and Other Gomplaints of Mortals by Scientific Methods ‘UMAN ‘MAGNETS? Yes, that’s what they are. Human electro- [ magnets. Electricity has lcng been used as a remedial agent in its application to the human body, but it has heretofore been employed as a local treatment, the current being transmitted through ‘the tissues, so that the nerves and muscles formed a portion of the electric circuit. Now comes a Frenchman of scientitic at- tainments who discards all old methods and treats his patients with the inductive effect of powerful currents—making them, in fact, actual electro-miagnets. Some marvelous cures of that terrible enemy to man’s enjoyment of life—rheumatism— are claimed for the application of Pro- fessor Monet's discovery. The practice of “medicine” is as yet largely experimental. This is no reflec- tion upon the ability of physicians. The medicament which may afford relief to one patient utterly fails in its purpose witi another. A few so-called *specifics” are claimed, but the action of even these is always largely modifiea by the condi- tion and the idiosyncrasies of the indi- vidual, afact well illustrated in ihe ail- ment termed rheumatism. Physicians are divided in opinion asto whether rheun- matism is an affection of the blood, the nerves, the muscles or the bones, whether its manifestation results from an abnor- mal condition of one of these, or of a com- bined disarrangement of any two or all. In the meantime a large army of sufferers will bail with gladness any reasonable method of treatment which promises relief. Recent discoveries of properties of elec- tricity have stimulated many minds to a further and more comprehensive stuay of electro-therapeutics, and Professor Monet, whoisan intelligent student of this branch of science, has reached certain conclusions which he bas embodied in his electro in- ductive treatment. He claims that the presence of the malady is due to & paucity of carbon dioxide in the sysiem, and that the lacking quantity may be reaaily sup- plied by polarizing the arterial circulation under the proper application of electro- magnetism, resulting from a current of high tension. The spparatus for administering the treatm nt is extremely simple. It con< sists of a coil of fine insuiated wire form- ing a helix 6 feet long, having an internal diameter of about 36 inches, the walls or layers of wire being about 4 inches in thickness. The patient is placed inside this coil, his body forming the *“‘core,” so to speak, and tie coil then connected with the secondary wire of an induction coil of extremely high voltage. Under such con- citions Professor Monet claims that car- bon dioxide is formed in the blood with great rapidity, with the gratifying result that rneumatic pains disappeer, the chalk nodules are reduced, and with continued treatment the ailment is eliminated. The beuaficial effect is not confined to the par- ticular ailment meationed, but is said to | and himself. There is nothing in materia medica, to be sure, which suggests this method of practice, but it is such & nov- elty in its way and it proves so successful that once generally known 1t is bound to prove popular. Every man Who is a physician and has & ‘practice ‘that takes him about in the country districts to any great extent knows how ‘hard 1t is to keep himself thoroughly posted as to the condition of his far-away patients. The city physi- cian’s clientele as a rule is more com- pactly located, there not being the oppor- tunity ‘for him to practice in so large & territory as his country brother. Now the country ‘physician practices over an im- mense extent of territory, infinitely great- er than nine out of ten of even his own patients think. He is quite likely to have two patients critically 1ll, the patients e- ing twelve miles apartand each living a like distance from the doctor's own home. - Easily it will be seen that paying daily calls and keeping posted with sick persons scaitered about like that becomes almost an impossibility. These conditions confronted Dr. Lang for many & long year, and he cudgeled his brain to some purpose in finding a way to help bimself and at the same time prove a benefit to his patients. The homing pigeon solved the problem. In other words, the doctor 1s the producer, the pigeon is the middieman and the patient the consumer—of medicine. In this par- ticular instance, however, the middleman benefits botn producer and consumer, a state of affairs as singular as Dr. Lang's project. The doctor has found time to keep up on medical topics, take good care oi his patients and cultivate pigeons, all three very successfully. It is the success, or, rather, the combination of successes, that has made life easier for him, more tran- quil for his patients and a source of amuse- ment and interest to every stranger who hears what is going on. The doctor says bis pian is a thorough success, and he rec- ommends brother practitioners to try it. There is nothing difficult about it at all. The method of procedure is this: In the first place the doctor keeps 1 mind con- stantly the patients whose condition he is anxious to be thoroughly posted upon. Then he sends to each of these one or more of the carrier pigeons, according to the severity oi the case and the necessity of frequent communication. The nurse, or some member of the family of the per- son who is ill, bas blanks which the doctor bas left, and these must be filled 1n with & detailed record of time, pulse, tempera- ture and respiration. A blank filled, it is inclosed in an aluminum capsule made to clasp on the leg. This done the bird is re- leased ana at once speeds away to the home of the waiting physician at the rate of a mile a minute. In this connection it is well to remember that while to the un- initiated the words ‘“carrier pigeon” in- clude all pigeons that carry messages, in THE HUMAN MAGNETS, be efficacious in a number of other maladies. The electric current is at no time msing the human tissues as a conductor. JIn fact, it does not contact with them. Whatis employed is the presence of the magnetic field created by the current, and in which the patient is actually bathed. The treatment is said ta be peculiarly beneficial in all kinds of neurotic ailments. No evil effects appear to follow. The patient under treatment experiences at first a sensation of rapidly changing temperatures, which soon gives place to a feeling of delicious warmth, un- der the effect of which ho quickly passes into a dreamless slumber, which usually continues for some tims after the treat- ment ends. He awakesto find his pains departed and in their place a sense of buoyancy. That the human body immersed in one of Professor Monet’s colis becomes an actual electro-magnet i« proven by numer- ous tests. The ola belief entertained by some people that sleeping with your head to the north 1s the most healtbful position is indorsed by this new discovery. There are no patents preventing the application of Professor Monet’s method by any one desiring to do so. F.M.C reality they do not mean that. The hom ing pigeon is the carrier pigeon trained to actual, solid, hard work. When the pigeon of the medico reaches his destination, Dr. Lang’s residence, he flies to ihe loft, which has been prepared especially for him and his comrades. In order to gain this loft, however, he must pass through what are called bolting wires. These open inward into an inclosure about two feet square, Here the prisoner is held until the doctor or some one designated to perform the service removes the message. The pigeon then is free and flies into the loft. In this way Dr. Lang is enabled to keep thoroughly in touch with his patien:s at a distance with about one-fiith the amount of travel he would have to endurs under other circumstances. Not only that, but he is really much better posted. because it would often happen that he would alto- gether be unable to pay visits to all the patients he should, and so, perhaps, miss ng a sick person at jast the time when he most needed to hear from him, st least. Under the system he has devised be can go away Irom Lome to visit pa- tients and feel sure that when he returns reports will be awalting hum from others. CROSS-SECTION OF SIMS-DUDLEY GUN. New Use for Homing Pigeons. Dr. Charles L. Lang of Meriden, N. Y., has set the pace for all other prac- titioners by establishing a carrier vigeon service between his patients Should these reports tell him that a call from him is sn absolute necessity, why, then, he goes, and that is a!l there is of it ‘The cost of & one-ma -diving appar- atus for a depth of 200 feet is £115,