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Show Ig ' I" The Evolution of War Weapons from Sticks and Stones To Huge Projectiles and Machine Mach-ine Guns That Fire Six Hundred Shots Per Minute. Syndicate. SjROM tho dawn of history and Aay back Into tho realms of tradl- tlon thcro come records and ac-' ac-' counts of tho 'devices of man for the destruction of his fellow man and with the passing of time has come H' improvements on Jheso agencies from tho crudest club that dealt Its blows within tho range of a few feet to tho Busy Berthas that destroy life at a distance of many miles. Sticks And Stones. H; Sticks and stones thrown by hand were tho earliest weapons of war known and the early period of history records tho doings of a body of men H. called "Stone Casters," who formed a 1 Wft part of tho Greek army. The stick as a projectile in tho form of a throw-ing throw-ing spear still survives among the sav-ago sav-ago tribes. Arrows thrown from long H' bows wore used as far back as B. C, 1058. Slings came Into existence about B. C, 810. Lead bullets were used In these slings. Stones thrown from the slings were used by tho Gauls against tho Romans about 59, B. C, and stono shots pro-H; pro-H; jectcd by catapults came about a cen- H' tury later. Catapults for throwing heavy stones wcro. used for several H' centuries. In 1303, during the siege H, of Jerusalem by tho Romans, Edward I employed a huge catapult, -capable mml of throwing a three hundred pound shot. Stones and darts woro thrown from cannon by the Arabs at tho siege of Nlebla in Spain In 1267. During tho fourteenth and fifteenth centuries efforts ef-forts were made to produce cannon and the change of ammunition from stono to cast iron took place early in tho fifteenth century. About that period the Turks found a way to hurl stones weighing 600 pounds at the enemy, and at ono timo they had a cannon or catapult constructed on the coast that vas capable of hurling a stono weighing eloven hundred pounds. Stono balls werc used by the Turks' as late as a century ago. The bullets used by th'o Romans . and Greeks were frequently ornamented by somo word of defiance. Red hot shot was first used in B. C, 27, in the Quintus Cicero campaign when red hot earthenware pellets were shot from slings. Red hot shot from cannon can-non was employed by the French In 1418. Ancestor Of Poisonous Gas, Wild fire a rnixture of pitch, sulphur sul-phur and naptha made Into a ball was used about A. D 668. A chemical, known as Chinese Fire, which developed de-veloped such heat that It melted through armor when il struck was first used In 1232. This also formed a gas which killed those who happenod to bo near when it struck evidently tho ancestor of tho poisonous gases used In the war of today. The huge projectiles and giant cannon aro tho evolution of tho stones and catapults of tho ancients. Incendiary shells and hand gronades arc tho lnvontlon of tho Chinese, and were first brought into action' by them during tho twelfth century. Tho spear of tho ancients, tho forerunner of tho modern lance, dates from ouch early limes that its origin is not easy to trace. In tho days of tho Saxons foot soldiers wcro armed with a ivcapon called a bill that did duty as an ax and as a spear. "With the invention of gunpowder tho spear or plko was superseded by the arqucbuse, as tho foot soldier's main weapon. After a time it was found that the pike was Indispensable so the two were combined com-bined tho grandfather of tho rlflo with the bayonet attached. The shrapnel helmet Is but a part of tho armor of tho ancients for tho Assyrian foot soldiers used almost tho same style of head covorlnc about 700, B. C. Liquid fire w,as Invented by Callinl-cus, Callinl-cus, in the seventh century, and was used at that time by soldiers who threw it in earthen balls from tho houso tops or from towers. During the mlddlo ages burning substances were attached to swallows and other birds so that tho thatched roofs containing con-taining their nests might bo set on flro when they returned to them. Cats, rats and other animals woro treated In the samo barbarous fashion and served to communicate tho Arc to buildings whero they ran for shelter. Firo pots wero placed on tho backs of dogs and tho animals maddened by suffering wero driven towards tho enemies troops. Horsemen carrlod fiery torches which they threw at tho enemy while bowmen used Incendiary arrows. During tho middle ages ono of tho favorite methods of greeting invaders was to shower them with burning wood, which had been dipped in oil. As recently as 1S7S patents woro taken, out covering a contrlvanco for throwing combustible liquids by moans of compressed air. In this way streams of flro could bo shot at tho enemy. Obstacles. Tho evolution of tho military obstacle ob-stacle has occupied many years. In tho early days beams of wood from .which sharp points projected were sot up to delay the enemy. Then came holes dug In tho ground from which pointed stloks protruded vory llko tho wolf plt6 used by tho Germans today. Theso wolf pits aro especially effective against a cavalry attack. During tha mlddlo ages moats and walls were the popular obstacles. The barbed wlro of tho present day is perhaps per-haps tho best obstaclo for delaying tho enemy's advance. as it glv.es him no cover from flro and delays him as well. Small Arms. Tho Introduction of the pistol dates from tho early part of tho slxtocnth century and is of German origin. Its reliability at that period was too uncertain un-certain to mako it a popular weapon owing to the length of timo required In re-loadlng. Tho first really successful success-ful pistol was invented by Samuol Colt, an American, and this, with some improvements, is thft recognized ro-volver ro-volver used today. Tho successful use of hand firearms fire-arms for throwing projectiles dates back as far as tho fourtoenth contury. Devices of this kind woro only used to stampede cattle. These weapons woro Iron tubes covered with wood and lashed around with hemp or hide. They woro loaded with alternate layors of powder and Inflammable balls. Tho charge was Ignited at tho muzzlo and flaming balls went forth ono after another an-other llko tho Roman Candles of tho present day. It was not, however, until un-til tho eighteenth century that the blunderbuss, the forerunner of the present rlflo, came Into use. Anothor early eighteenth century hand fire-arm I ii i ill invention was the seven barrelled flintlock flint-lock carbine. The breech loader Is a descendant of tho rifles used in tho early seventeenth century by the Danish and Bavarian troops. Tho dlf-. Acuity of forcing tho tight-fitting bullet bul-let down the grooves so retarded tho loading operation that a slow rate. of lire was unavoidable, compared with I the old smooth boro muskot, whoso I bullet was dropped easily Into place. Artillery. The beginning of artillery In the modern acceptation dates from the fourteenth century; gunpowder, "as It Is known today, then began to be used in propelling charges and by the mlddlo of the century the employment of fire arms In Western and Central Europo was more or less general. Cannon wero used by tho French In 133S and Bonbards, as they wero called at that time, helped tho English forces materially at Crcecy in 1346. Tho early cannon was built up by means of wrought iron bars bound together to-gether with Iron hoops and was larger In diameter at tho muzzlo than at tho breech. Stono balls woro used In tho early models.. In tho sixteenth century they, were mounted on wheels and by gradual Improvement they have be- nnmn tYn rrnn t rlnnfVi aiIam- r The mortar, used In 1435, was Invented In-vented by the Germans, and was a short-barrelled cannon having a largo bore. It was mounted In such a manner man-ner as to throw its shot upwards at a high angle with tho Intention of causing caus-ing tho projoctilo to fall moro of less vertically on tho target Tho howitzer is an eighteenth century cen-tury invention and was the moro modern, mod-ern, form of the mortar. It was mounted mount-ed so that tho anglo of flro might be directed at tho will of tho gunner. Both mortars and howitzers woro usod with deadly effect In the Crimean War of 1854-5. Tho loss of time Inseparable from tho loading of tho hand guns placed the soldier at a disadvantage In tho early history of flro arms and efforts wero mado to provldo a repeating arm. Tho provision of several barrels fixed togothor on ono stock each barrel having hav-ing its own firing device, may bo considered con-sidered as tho primitive weapon from which tho machine gam of today ha3 ;u.lflf evolved. Specimens of this class wero araTt built about the end of the fifteenth aU ta: century. A revolving gun of German , design had ten chambers similar to gjjg. those of( a modern revolver; each ilemah chamber holding two charges fired by j Lomor separate touch holes, twenty shots be- Hal, ; ing flred in rapid succession without r reloading. Russia, too, has a revolving .Sent cannon, which flred about fifteen shots jq, 1 without reloading. 801 -Machine Guns. SfthZ In tho year 1713, a machlno gun : haa be was Invented which fired shots of two ; of age kind, squnrc bullets for Turks and before, round bullets for Christians. Jt was i'hose worked by a crank and was only more , la jay or "less useful. It was not until 1S66 ;! that a really successful machine gun cjier was put on the markcL This was tho ; Qeo, X. well known mettrailcuse. One of theso guns worked by live men could discharge dis-charge about 4S0 shots per minute. It '-Pavli was used by tho French with great ; the Tv success against tho Germans in 1S70. -,bex g Gatllng guns Introduced in England ran. i and tho United States wero used with T6nue deadly effect during our Civil Wcr MU beei Theso guns finally led to the lnvcn- lll he tlon of tho famous Bcni-Mercler and , .s'Teet Lowls guns of today. Itt of. been virtually discarded in tho present f- Lost-war Lost-war except for Illuminating purposes. r eks i It first appeared. In China during tho I- "to St thirteenth century. They wero used I . in Europo somo two centuries later I ,.Sue3 and were a part of warfare until tho f ed by early part of tho nineteenth century. Itw1111 but at that time projectiles gradually ji'a11 of took their place. Today they arc cm- We Pla: ployed for signaling and for night 8i ' fighting. hnti Military tractors first appeared in ' Uo warfaro in 1769, when a French cngl- J?tSQ neer constructed a road cngino which the j?1 was capable of traveling two and ono- - -5 half miles per hour. A3 timo went on Ul the steam road engines wero. gradual- E j . ly Improved upon and In 1870 Fowler's Wj steam traction engines mado good as : (jr0 Q transports over roads. Today wc havo If ( tho huge machines which go any- E ' qu., . whore, roads or no roads. j Juijjl War machines, llko ovcrythlng else. f old son havo passed through a long procoss of j; f0ro ' evolutions to reach their present stato Klagi 1 of perfection as destroyers of life and1 ' on m.0, Property. I |