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| Blakeley Canon. |
The Cortland Democrat, Friday, May 30,
1890.
EXPLOSION
OF THE 12-TON GUN.
Exciting
Scenes in Perryville Tuesday—The Shell too Weakly Constructed—
History
of the Gun.
In response to the widely advertised event
to be witnessed at Perryville, Madison county on the 27th inst., hundreds of
people from large cities and neighboring villages assembled to see Dr.
J. G. Justin demonstrate the projectile principal with his big dynamite gun.
Fortunately the unlooked for tragical part of the program resulted in only a
piece of metal striking one person on the leg and slightly cutting the neck of
another. Briefly stated, the cartridge was fired from a 12-ton Blakely rifle,
of English make. Six shells had been made for this trial, differing slightly in
construction, the walls of the steel shell and the inner brass cylinder being
one six-teenth of an inch thinner than before. The service charge of powder was
used, being 30 pounds of hexagonal grained powder. The shell was about 45
inches long and nine inches in diameter.
At 8 P. M., the gun was loaded with one of
the shells, containing 16 1/2 pounds of highest power dynamite, with a bag of
30 pounds of gunpowder back of it. The shell, including bullet and dynamite, weighed
290 pounds. The regular service weight for this gun is only 250 pounds. Dr.
Justin applied the fuse, the crowd being scattered to a safe distance except
the newspaper men who took refuge behind large trees. There was a flash and
roar, succeeded by a sharp crackling sound, as if of heavy thunder and
lightning, and then the air was filled with huge pieces of iron, some of them
weighing a ton or two.
The muzzle of the gun was thrown a hundred
feet forward. A piece of the jacketing weighing about three tons was thrown five
hundred feet to the rear, almost to the dynamite store-house. A piece of the
barrel about three feet long and a foot wide, to which was attached the right
trunnion, landed in the brook a few feet away. Pieces of the huge jackets were
scattered all over, and also pieces of the steel shell which enclosed the
dynamite cartridge. These pieces were forced into ridges where the explosion
had flattened them into the rifling of the cannon and several were "buckled"
or wrinkled by the pressure of the powder behind.
The shell had evidently burst at the rear end,
not where the dynamite was, and no indications of dynamite or of the brass
inner shell were found near the gun. On the contrary a piece of the brass shell
and a piece of leather with dynamite still on it were nicked up near the target
and a section of the steel bullet, still hot, was brought down from the
neighboring village where it had buried itself. It is therefore believed that
the inner shell containing the dynamite and the steel bullet were thrown from
the gun and exploded at the target, the explosion throwing the bullet up over
into the village about a mile away.
A number of the spectators say that they saw
the shell, meaning the brass one, strike and explode at a target. If so, the
experiment was a success in spite of the explosion of the gun, and the latter
was caused by imperfections in the gun and the explosion of the powder alone.
The gun when fired at the last trial was weakened by the heavy load, and the
extra charge of thirty-five pounds of powder.
It is believed that if the cannon had been a
new one, and not an old war gun it would not have burst. The explosion of the
steel shell is accounted for on the ground that the shell was one-sixteenth of
an inch thinner than the old ones, six of which were fired successfully, and
that the explosion of the powder destroyed the steel shell, flaring it into the
rifling, thus wedging the shell and causing the explosion. Others believe that
the dynamite did explode in the gun, blowing it to pieces.
Among those who were present and witnessed
the trial were Lieut. Jewell, U. S. N.; Lieut. Commander Maynard, U. S. N.;
Hon. Young Wing, late Commissioner of Education for China, and Ex-Minister at
Washington; Lieut. Davidson, U. S. A., Fort Ontario; Congressman Delano, O. G.
Staples, Washington, D. C.; Major Abner Auer's battery, Syracuse; Capt. M. Cavana,
Oneida battery; Assemblyman S. R. Mott; P. S. Brayton of the Vanderbilt
passenger agency; representatives of various New York, Utica and Syracuse papers and others.
This gun was one of the two famous guns used
in the defense of Charlestown, it having
been captured by the Union army during the bombardment of that city, and was
probably the largest field piece ever seen in the interior of this State,
standing nearly 8 feet high when mounted. A resident of Canastota recognized
the gun and said the original carriage was rosewood. The bore of the gun was 12
feet long. "Blakely’s Patent, No. 84, Fawcett. Preston & Co.,
makers, 1865" was inscribed on it.
Dr.
Justin’s Experiments: http://jeffpaine.blogspot.com/2015/05/dr-justins-experiments-with-guns-and.html
After a
Larger Gun: http://jeffpaine.blogspot.com/2015/03/after-larger-gun.html
A
Sleep-Walking Elephant.
The Forepaugh circus exhibited at Johnstown,
Pa., Saturday. At night the big tents, wagons and the other equipments were
placed on the special circus train, and shortly after midnight pulled out for
Bellefonte, where it was to show to-day. By some means the door of one of the
elephant cars was broken and allowed to swing open. The accident would not have
amounted to much had it not been for the fact that one of the huge pets of the
menagerie, whose docile disposition makes him an especial favorite with the
small boy, was troubled with an attack of nightmare. When the
train was near South Fork the dreaming monster, in moving about, fell through
the broken door. The train was not moving very fast at the time, and the big
traveller escaped with slight injury. His exit was not noticed by the circus people.
The elephant evidently realized that it would
only be a question of time until some one came in search of him and he began to
promenade up and down the railroad track. The oyster express from the East came
along and the engineer saw the elephant in time to stop the train. The whistle
was blown for nearly ten minutes before the monster got off the track. Several
other trains had a similar experience. Word was telegraphed to the circus people,
and the elephant car was sent back to South Fork, where it is expected the animal
will be corralled without trouble.
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| DEXTER HOUSE on Main Street, next to Sager & Jennings Drug Store (building at corner of Main and Clinton). |
Since assuming control of this house, our
former townsman Mr. C. H. Warren has given the matter of renovation careful personal
attention throughout the entire building, and the completion of the laborious task
places the well known Dexter House in the front rank of well managed hotels.
Pleasantly and centrally located with light and well ventilated sleeping apartments,
newly painted woodwork, late designs of wall decorations, electric and gas
lighted halls and rooms, the increasing patronage attest that the labor has not
been in vain. A stairway has been built in the rear part of the hotel for the
convenience of the help, an additional door communicates from the dining room
to the kitchen greatly increasing expediency.
Bright figured carpets and mattings are
spread in rooms and halls, and each guests room is provided with a means of
escape in case of fire. Mrs. Warren gives her individual attention to the
culinary and other departments, thus insuring visitors the best of table fare
and other comforts. Day clerk B. F. Samson is awake to the occasion and courteously
replies to all demands. The sample room is conducted by Mr. Charles Hudson.
The hotel is now ready for business and a
free conveyance from depots has been provided for the convenience of guests.
Deacon
William S. Hatfield.
In the death of William Smith Hatfield at
his home west of this village, May 23, 1890,
another of the pioneers of this town has been removed. For seventy-two years a
resident, he held various official positions in this town enjoying the full
confidence of the community, as an honest man. Uniting with the Baptist church
about forty years ago he was subsequently elected to the position of deacon,
being a senior deacon at his death, and taught a large bible class for many
years. He was twice married. Miss Parthena Jones, daughter of Amos Jones, was
his first wife, and a family of five children were laid to rest many years since.
Some years after the death of his first
wife, he united in marriage with Miss Elvira, only daughter of the late Deacon
Albert Benedict who survives him. Though enfeebled by disease he longed to
visit the sanctuary and the occasion of the last meeting of the Baptist
Association he brought his wife and friends assisted him into the church, he
remarking at the close, "It has been a happy day to me."
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