is the earth, and the moon is yourself." And they would go away delighted.
So, then, the moon displays invariably the same face to the earth;
nevertheless, to be quite exact, it is necessary to add that, in
consequence of certain fluctuations of north and south, and of west and
east, termed her libration, she permits rather more than the half, that
is to say, five-sevenths, to be seen.
As soon as the ignoramuses came to understand as much as the Director of
the Observatory himself knew, they began to worry themselves regarding
her revolution round the earth, whereupon twenty scientific reviews
immediately came to the rescue. They pointed out to them then that the
firmament, with its infinitude of stars, may be considered as one vast
dial-plate, upon which the moon travels, indicating the true time to all
the inhabitants of the earth; that it is during this movement that the
Queen of Night exhibits her different phases; that the moon is -full-
when she is in -opposition- with the sun, that is when the three bodies
are on the same straight line, the earth occupying the centre; that she
is -new- when she is in -conjunction- with the sun, that is, when she
is between it and the earth; and lastly, that she is in her -first- or
-last- quarter, when she makes with the sun and the earth an angle of
which she herself occupies the apex.
Regarding the altitude which the moon attains above the horizon, the
letter of the Cambridge Observatory had said all that was to be said
in that respect. Every one knew that this altitude varies according to
the latitude of the observer. But the only zones of the globe in which
the moon passes the zenith, that is, the point directly over the head
of the spectator, are of necessity comprised between the twenty-eighth
parallels and the equator. Hence the importance of the advice to try
the experiment upon some point of that part of the globe, in order that
the projectile might be discharged perpendicularly, and so the soonest
escape the action of gravitation. This was an essential condition to the
success of the enterprise, and continued actively to engage the public
attention.
Regarding the path described by the moon in her revolution round the
earth, the Cambridge Observatory had demonstrated that this path is a
re-entering curve, not a perfect circle, but an ellipse, of which the
earth occupies one of the -foci-. It was also well understood that it is
farthest removed from the earth during its -apogee,- and approaches most
nearly to it at its -perigee.-
Such then was the extent of knowledge possessed by every American on the
subject, and of which no one could decently profess ignorance. Still,
while these true principles were being rapidly disseminated many errors
and illusory fears proved less easy to eradicate.
For instance, some worthy persons maintained that the moon was an ancient
comet which, in describing its elongated orbit round the sun, happened to
pass near the earth, and became confined within her circle of attraction.
These drawing-room astronomers professed so to explain the charred aspect
of the moon--a disaster which they attributed to the intensity of the
solar heat; only, on being reminded that comets have an atmosphere, and
that the moon has little or none, they were fairly at a loss for a reply.
Others again, belonging to the doubting class expressed certain fears as
to the position of the moon. They had heard it said that, according to
observations made in the time of the Caliphs, her revolution had become
accelerated in a certain degree. Hence they concluded, logically enough,
that an acceleration of motion ought to be accompanied by a corresponding
diminution in the distance separating the two bodies; and that, supposing
the double effect to be continued to infinity, the moon would end by
one day falling into the earth. However, they became reassured as to
the fate of future generations on being apprised that, according to the
calculations of Laplace, this acceleration of motion is confined within
very restricted limits, and that a proportional diminution of speed will
be certain to succeed it. So, then, the stability of the solar system
would not be deranged in ages to come.
There remains but the third class, the superstitious. These worthies were
not content merely to rest in ignorance; they must know all about things
which had no existence whatever, and as to the moon, they had long known
all about her. One set regarded her disc as a polished mirror, by means
of which people could see each other from different points of the earth
and interchange their thoughts. Another set pretended that out of one
thousand new moons that had been observed, nine hundred and fifty had been
attended with remarkable disturbances, such as cataclysms, revolutions,
earthquakes, the deluge, &c. Then they believed in some mysterious
influence exercised by her over human destinies--that every Selenite
was attached to some inhabitant of the earth by a tie of sympathy; they
maintained that the entire vital system is subject to her control, &c.,
&c. But in time the majority renounced these vulgar errors, and espoused
the true side of the question. As for the Yankees, they had no other
ambition than to take possession of this new continent of the sky, and to
plant upon the summit of its highest elevation the star-spangled banner
of the United States of America.
Illustration: BARBICANE HOLDS FORTH.
CHAPTER VII.
THE HYMN OF THE CANNON-BALL.
The Observatory of Cambridge in its memorable letter had treated the
question from a purely astronomical point of view. The mechanical part
still remained.
President Barbicane had, without loss of time, nominated a Working
Committee of the Gun Club. The duty of this Committee was to resolve the
three grand questions of the cannon, the projectile, and the powder. It
was composed of four members of great technical knowledge, Barbicane (with
a casting vote in case of equality), General Morgan, Major Elphinstone,
and J. T. Maston, to whom were confided the functions of secretary. On
the 8th of October the Committee met at the house of President Barbicane,
3, Republican Street. The meeting was opened by the president himself.
"Gentlemen," said he, "we have to resolve one of the most important
problems in the whole of the noble science of gunnery. It might appear,
perhaps, the most logical course to devote our first meeting to the
discussion of the engine to be employed. Nevertheless, after mature
consideration, it has appeared to me that the question of the projectile
must take precedence of that of the cannon, and that the dimensions of
the latter must necessarily depend upon those of the former."
"Suffer me to say a word," here broke in J. T. Maston. Permission
having been granted, "Gentlemen," said he, with an inspired accent, "our
president is right in placing the question of the projectile above all
others. The ball we are about to discharge at the moon is our ambassador
to her, and I wish to consider it from a moral point of view. The
cannon-ball, gentlemen, to my mind, is the most magnificent manifestation
of human power. If Providence has created the stars and the planets,
man has called the cannon-ball into existence. Let Providence claim
the swiftness of electricity and of light, of the stars, the comets,
and the planets, of wind and sound--we claim to have invented the
swiftness of the cannon-ball, a hundred times superior to that of the
swiftest horses or railway train. How glorious will be the moment when,
infinitely exceeding all hitherto attained velocities, we shall launch
our new projectile with the rapidity of seven miles a second! Shall it
not, gentlemen--shall it not be received up there with the honours due
to a terrestrial ambassador?"
Overcome with emotion the orator sat down and applied himself to a huge
plate of sandwiches before him.
"And now," said Barbicane, "let us quit the domain of poetry and come
direct to the question."
"By all means," replied the members, each with his mouth full of sandwich.
"The problem before us," continued the president, "is how to communicate
to a projectile a velocity of 12,000 yards per second. Let us at present
examine the velocities hitherto attained. General Morgan will be able to
enlighten us on this point."
"And the more easily," replied the general, "that during the war I was
a member of the Committee of experiments. I may say, then, that the
100-pounder Dahlgrens, which carried a distance of 5000 yards, impressed
upon their projectile an initial velocity of 500 yards a second. The
Rodman Columbiad threw a shot weighing half a ton a distance of six
miles, with a velocity of 800 yards per second--a result which Armstrong
and Palisser have never obtained in England."
"This," replied Barbicane, "is, I believe, the maximum velocity ever
attained?"
"It is so," replied the general.
Illustration: THE RODMAN COLUMBIAD.
"Ah!" groaned J. T. Maston, "if my mortar had not burst--"
"Yes," quietly replied Barbicane, "but it did burst. We must take, then,
for our starting-point this velocity of 800 yards. We must increase it
twenty-fold. Now, reserving for another discussion the means of producing
this velocity, I will call your attention to the dimensions which it will
be proper to assign to the shot. You understand that we have nothing to
do here with projectiles weighing at most but half a ton."
"Why not?" demanded the major.
"Because the shot," quickly replied J. T. Maston, "must be big enough to
attract the attention of the inhabitants of the moon, if there are any?"
"Yes," replied Barbicane, "and for another reason more important still."
"What mean you?" asked the major.
"I mean that it is not enough to discharge a projectile, and then take
no further notice of it; we must follow it throughout its course, up to
the moment when it shall reach its goal."
"What?" shouted the general and the major in great surprise.
"Undoubtedly," replied Barbicane composedly, "or our experiment would
produce no result."
"But then," replied the major, "you will have to give this projectile
enormous dimensions."
"No! Be so good as to listen. You know that optical instruments have
acquired great perfection; with certain telescopes we have succeeded in
obtaining enlargements of 6000 times and reducing the moon to within forty
miles' distance. Now, at this distance, any objects sixty feet square
would be perfectly visible. If, then, the penetrative power of telescopes
has not been further increased, it is because that power detracts from
their light; and the moon, which is but a reflecting mirror, does not
give back sufficient light to enable us to perceive objects of lesser
magnitude."
"Well, then, what do you propose to do?" asked the general. "Would you
give your projectile a diameter of sixty feet?"
"Not so."
"Do you intend, then, to increase the luminous power of the moon?"
"Exactly so. If I can succeed in diminishing the density of the atmosphere
through which the moon's light has to travel I shall have rendered her
light more intense. To effect that object it will be enough to establish
a telescope on some elevated mountain. That is what we will do."
"I give it up," answered the major. "You have such a way of simplifying
things. And what enlargement do you expect to obtain in this way?"
"One of 48,000 times, which should bring the moon within an apparent
distance of five miles; and, in order to be visible, objects need not
have a diameter of more than nine feet."
"So, then," cried J. T. Maston, "our projectile need not be more than
nine feet in diameter."
"Let me observe, however," interrupted Major Elphinstone, "this will
involve a weight such as--"
"My dear major," replied Barbicane, "before discussing its weight, permit
me to enumerate some of the marvels which our ancestors have achieved in
this respect. I don't mean to pretend that the science of gunnery has
not advanced, but it is as well to bear in mind that during the middle
ages they obtained results more surprising, I will venture to say, than
ours. For instance, during the siege of Constantinople by Mahomet II.,
in 1453, stone shot of 1900 lbs. weight were employed. At Malta, in the
time of the knights, there was a gun of the fortress of St. Elmo which
threw a projectile weighing 2500 lbs. And, now, what is the extent of
what we have seen ourselves? Armstrong guns discharging shot of 500 lbs.,
and the Rodman guns projectiles of half a ton! It seems, then, that if
projectiles have gained in range, they have lost far more in weight. Now,
if we turn our efforts in that direction, we ought to arrive, with the
progress of science, at ten times the weight of the shot of Mahomet II.
and the Knights of Malta."
Illustration: CANNON AT MALTA IN THE TIME OF THE KNIGHTS.
"Clearly," replied the major; "but what metal do you calculate upon
employing?"
"Simply cast iron," said General Morgan.
"But," interrupted the major, "since the weight of a shot is proportionate
to its volume, an iron ball of nine feet in diameter would be of
tremendous weight."
"Yes, if it were solid, not if it were hollow."
"Hollow? then it would be a shell?"
"Yes, a shell," replied Barbicane; "decidedly it must be. A solid shot of
108 inches would weigh more than 200,000 lbs., a weight evidently far too
great. Still, as we must reserve a certain stability for our projectile,
I propose to give it a weight of 20,000 lbs."
"What, then, will be the thickness of the sides?" asked the major.
"If we follow the usual proportion," replied Morgan, "a diameter of 108
inches would require sides of two feet thickness, or less."
"That would be too much," replied Barbicane; "for you will observe that
the question is not that of a shot intended to pierce an iron plate: it
will suffice, therefore, to give it sides strong enough to resist the
pressure of the gas. The problem, therefore, is this--What thickness
ought a cast-iron shell to have in order not to weigh more than 20,000
lbs.? Our clever secretary will soon enlighten us upon this point."
"Nothing easier," replied the worthy secretary of the Committee; and,
rapidly tracing a few algebraical formulæ upon paper, among which -n-²
and -x-² frequently appeared, he presently said,--
"The sides will require a thickness of less than two inches."
"Will that be enough?" asked the major doubtfully.
"Clearly not!" replied the president.
"What is to be done, then?" said Elphinstone, with a puzzled air.
"Employ another metal instead of iron."
"Copper?" said Morgan.
"No; that would be too heavy. I have better than that to offer."
"What then?" asked the major.
"Aluminium!" replied Barbicane.
"Aluminium?" cried his three colleagues in chorus.
"Unquestionably, my friends. This valuable metal possesses the whiteness
of silver, the indestructibility of gold, the tenacity of iron, the
fusibility of copper, the lightness of glass. It is easily wrought, is
very widely distributed, forming the base of most of the rocks, is three
times lighter than iron, and seems to have been created for the express
purpose of furnishing us with the material for our projectile."
"But, my dear president," said the major, "is not the cost price of
aluminium extremely high?"
"It was so at its first discovery, but it has fallen now to nine dollars
the pound."
"But still, nine dollars the pound!" replied the major, who was not
willing readily to give in; "even that is an enormous price."
"Undoubtedly, my dear major; but not beyond our reach."
"What will the projectile weigh then?" asked Morgan.
"Here is the result of my calculations," replied Barbicane. "A shot of
108 inches in diameter, and 12 inches in thickness, would weigh, in
cast-iron, 67,440 lbs.; cast in aluminium, its weight will be reduced to
19,250 lbs."
"Capital!" cried the major; "but do you know that, at nine dollars the
pound, this projectile will cost--"
"One hundred and seventy-three thousand and fifty dollars ($173,050).
I know it quite well. But fear not, my friends; the money will not be
wanting for our enterprise, I will answer for it. Now what say you to
aluminium, gentlemen?"
"Adopted!" replied the three members of the Committee. So ended the first
meeting. The question of the projectile was definitively settled.
CHAPTER VIII.
HISTORY OF THE CANNON.
The resolutions passed at the last meeting produced a great effect
out of doors. Timid people took fright at the idea of a shot weighing
20,000 lbs. being launched into space; they asked what cannon could ever
transmit a sufficient velocity to such a mighty mass. The minutes of the
second meeting were destined triumphantly to answer such questions. The
following evening the discussion was renewed.
"My dear colleagues," said Barbicane, without further preamble, "the
subject now before us is the construction of the engine, its length, its
composition, and its weight. It is probable that we shall end by giving
it gigantic dimensions; but however great may be the difficulties in the
way, our mechanical genius will readily surmount them. Be good enough,
then, to give me your attention, and do not hesitate to make objections
at the close. I have no fear of them. The problem before us is how to
communicate an initial force of 12,000 yards per second to a shell of 108
inches in diameter, weighing 20,000 lbs. Now when a projectile is launched
into space, what happens to it? It is acted upon by three independent
forces, the resistance of the air, the attraction of the earth, and the
force of impulsion with which it is endowed. Let us examine these three
forces. The resistance of the air is of little importance. The atmosphere
of the earth does not exceed forty miles. Now, with the given rapidity,
the projectile will have traversed this in five seconds, and the period
is too brief for the resistance of the medium to be regarded otherwise
than as insignificant. Proceeding, then, to the attraction of the earth,
that is, the weight of the shell, we know that this weight will diminish
in the inverse ratio of the square of the distance. When a body left to
itself falls to the surface of the earth, it falls five feet in the first
second; and if the same body were removed 257,542 miles farther off, in
other words, to the distance of the moon, its fall would be reduced to
about half a line in the first second. That is almost equivalent to a
state of perfect rest. Our business, then, is to overcome progressively
this action of gravitation. The mode of accomplishing that is by the
force of impulsion."
"There's the difficulty," broke in the major.
"True," replied the president; "but we will overcome that, for this force
of impulsion will depend upon the length of the engine and the powder
employed, the latter being limited only by the resisting power of the
former. Our business, then, to-day is with the dimensions of the cannon."
"Now, up to the present time," said Barbicane, "our longest guns have
not exceeded twenty-five feet in length. We shall therefore astonish the
world by the dimensions we shall be obliged to adopt. It must evidently
be, then, a gun of great range, since the length of the piece will
increase the detention of the gas accumulated behind the projectile; but
there is no advantage in passing certain limits."
"Quite so," said the major. "What is the rule in such a case?"
"Ordinarily the length of a gun is 20 to 25 times the diameter of the
shot, and its weight 235 to 240 times that of the shot."
"That is not enough," cried J. T. Maston impetuously.
"I agree with you, my good friend; and, in fact, following this proportion
for a projectile nine feet in diameter, weighing 30,000 lbs., the gun
would only have a length of 225 feet, and a weight of 7,200,000 lbs."
"Ridiculous!" rejoined Maston. "As well take a pistol."
"I think so too," replied Barbicane; "that is why I propose to quadruple
that length, and to construct a gun of 900 feet."
The general and the major offered some objections; nevertheless, the
proposition, actively supported by the secretary, was definitively
adopted.
"But," said Elphinstone, "what thickness must we give it?"
"A thickness of six feet," replied Barbicane.
"You surely don't think of mounting a mass like that upon a carriage?"
asked the major.
"It would be a superb idea, though," said Maston.
"But impracticable," replied Barbicane. "No; I think of sinking this
engine in the earth alone, binding it with hoops of wrought iron, and
finally surrounding it with a thick mass of masonry of stone and cement.
The piece once cast, it must be bored with great precision, so as to
preclude any possible windage. So there will be no loss whatever of
gas, and all the expansive force of the powder will be employed in the
propulsion."
"One simple question," said Elphinstone: "is our gun to be rifled?"
"No, certainly not," replied Barbicane; "we require an enormous initial
velocity; and you are well aware that a shot quits a rifled gun less
rapidly than it does a smooth-bore."
"True," rejoined the major.
The Committee here adjourned for a few minutes to tea and sandwiches.
On the discussion being renewed, "Gentlemen," said Barbicane, "we must
now take into consideration the metal to be employed. Our cannon must
be possessed of great tenacity, great hardness, be infusible by heat,
indissoluble, and inoxydable by the corrosive action of acids."
"There is no doubt about that," replied the major; "and as we shall have
to employ an immense quantity of metal, we shall not be at a loss for
choice."
Illustration: IDEAL SKETCH OF J. T. MASTON'S GUN.
"Well, then," said Morgan, "I propose the best alloy hitherto known,
which consists of 100 parts of copper, 12 of tin, and 6 of brass."
"I admit," replied the president, "that this composition has yielded
excellent results, but in the present case it would be too expensive, and
very difficult to work. I think, then, that we ought to adopt a material
excellent in its way and of low price, such as cast iron. What is your
advice, major?"
"I quite agree with you," replied Elphinstone.
"In fact," continued Barbicane, "cast iron cost ten times less than
bronze; it is easy to cast, it runs readily from the moulds of sand,
it is easy of manipulation, it is at once economical of money and of
time. In addition, it is excellent as a material, and I well remember
that during the war, at the siege of Atlanta, some iron guns fired one
thousand rounds at intervals of twenty minutes without injury."
"Cast iron is very brittle, though," replied Morgan.
"Yes, but it possesses great resistance. I will now ask our worthy
secretary to calculate the weight of a cast-iron gun with a bore of nine
feet and a thickness of six feet of metal."
"In a moment," replied Maston. Then, dashing off some algebraical formulæ
with marvellous facility, in a minute or two he declared the following
result:--
"The cannon will weigh 68,040 tons. And, at two cents a pound, it will
cost--?"
"2,510,701 dollars."
Maston, the major, and the general regarded Barbicane with uneasy looks.
"Well, gentlemen," replied the president, "I repeat what I said yesterday.
Make yourselves easy; the millions will not be wanting."
With this assurance of their president the Committee separated, after
having fixed their third meeting for the following evening.
CHAPTER IX.
THE QUESTION OF THE POWDERS.
There remained for consideration merely the question of powders.
The public awaited with interest its final decision. The size of the
projectile, the length of the cannon being settled, what would be the
quantity of powder necessary to produce impulsion?
It is generally asserted that gunpowder was invented in the fourteenth
century by the monk Schwartz, who paid for his grand discovery with his
life. It is, however, pretty well proved that this story ought to be
ranked amongst the legends of the middle ages. Gunpowder was not invented
by any one; it was the lineal successor of the Greek fire, which, like
itself, was composed of sulphur and saltpetre. Few persons are acquainted
with the mechanical power of gunpowder. Now this is precisely what is
necessary to be understood in order to comprehend the importance of the
question submitted to the committee.
A litre of gunpowder weighs about 2 lbs.; during combustion it produces
400 litres of gas. This gas, on being liberated and acted upon by a
temperature raised to 2400 degrees, occupies a space of 4000 litres:
consequently the volume of powder is to the volume of gas produced by
its combustion as 1 to 4000. One may judge, therefore, of the tremendous
pressure of this gas when compressed within a space 4000 times too
confined. All this was, of course, well known to the members of the
committee when they met on the following evening.
The first speaker on this occasion was Major Elphinstone, who had been
the director of the gunpowder factories during the war.
Illustration: THE INVENTION OF GUNPOWDER BY THE MONK SCHWARTZ.
"Gentlemen," said this distinguished chemist, "I begin with some figures
which will serve as the basis of our calculation. The old 24-pounder shot
required for its discharge 16 lbs. of powder."
"You are certain of the amount?" broke in Barbicane.
"Quite certain," replied the major. "The Armstrong cannon employs only
75 lbs. of powder for a projectile of 800 lbs., and the Rodman Columbiad
uses only 160 lbs. of powder to send its half-ton shot a distance of six
miles. These facts cannot be called in question, for I myself raised the
point during the depositions taken before the Committee of Artillery."
"Quite true," said the general.
"Well," replied the major, "these figures go to prove that the quantity
of powder is not increased with the weight of the shot; that is to say,
if a 24-pounder shot requires 16 lbs. of powder;--in other words, if in
ordinary guns we employ a quantity of powder equal to two-thirds of the
weight of the projectile, this proportion is not constant. Calculate,
and you will see that in place of 333 lbs. of powder, the quantity is
reduced to no more than 160 lbs."
"What are you aiming at?" asked the president.
"If you push your theory to extremes, my dear major," said J. T. Maston,
"you will get to this, that as soon as your shot becomes sufficiently
heavy you will not require any powder at all."
"Our friend Maston is always at his jokes, even in serious matters,"
cried the major; "but let him make his mind easy, I am going presently
to propose gunpowder enough to satisfy his artillerist's propensities.
I only keep to statistical facts when I say that during the war, and for
the very largest guns, the weight of powder was reduced, as the result
of experience, to a tenth part of the weight of the shot."
"Perfectly correct," said Morgan; "but before deciding the quantity of
powder necessary to give the impulse, I think it would be as well--"
"We shall have to employ a large-grained powder," continued the major,
"its combustion is more rapid than that of the small."
"No doubt about that," replied Morgan, "but it is very destructive, and
ends by enlarging the bore of the pieces."
"Granted; but that which is injurious to a gun destined to perform long
service is not so to our Columbiad. We shall run no danger of an explosion;
and it is necessary that our powder should take fire instantaneously in
order that its mechanical effect may be complete."
"We must have," said Maston, "several touch-holes, so as to fire it at
different points at the same time."
"Certainly," replied Elphinstone; "but that will render the working of
the piece more difficult. I return then to my large-grained powder, which
removes those difficulties. In his Columbiad charges Rodman employed a
powder as large as chestnuts, made of willow charcoal, simply dried in
cast-iron pans. This powder was hard and glittering, left no trace upon
the hand, contained hydrogen and oxygen in large proportion, took fire
instantaneously, and, though very destructive, did not sensibly injure
the mouth-piece."
Up to this point Barbicane had kept aloof from the discussion; he left
the others to speak while he himself listened; he had evidently got an
idea. He now simply said, "Well, my friends, what quantity of powder do
you propose?"
The three members look at one another.
"Two hundred thousand pounds," at last said Morgan.
"Five hundred thousand," added the major.
"Eight hundred thousand," screamed Maston.
A moment of silence followed this triple proposal; it was at last broken
by the president.
"Gentlemen," he quietly said, "I start from this principle, that the
resistance of a gun, constructed under the given conditions, is unlimited.
I shall surprise our friend Maston, then, by stigmatizing his calculations
as timid; and I propose to double his 800,000 lbs. of powder."
"Sixteen hundred thousand pounds?" shouted Maston, leaping from his seat.
"Just so."
"We shall have to come then to my ideal of a cannon half a mile long; for
you see 1,600,000 lbs. will occupy a space of about 20,000 cubic feet;
and since the contents of your cannon do not exceed 54,000 cubic feet,
it would be half full; and the bore will not be more than long enough
for the gas to communicate to the projectile sufficient impulse."
"Nevertheless," said the president, "I hold to that quantity of powder.
Now, 1,600,000 lbs. of powder will create 6,000,000,000 of litres of gas.
Six thousand millions! You quite understand?"
"What is to be done then?" said the general.
"The thing is very simple; we must reduce this enormous quantity of
powder, while preserving to it its mechanical power."
"Good; but by what means?"
"I am going to tell you," replied Barbicane quietly. "Nothing is more
easy than to reduce this mass to one quarter of its bulk. You know that
curious cellular matter which constitutes the elementary tissues of
vegetables? This substance is found quite pure in many bodies, especially
in cotton, which is nothing more than the down of the seeds of the cotton
plant. Now cotton, combined with cold nitric acid, becomes transformed
into a substance eminently insoluble, combustible, and explosive. It was
first discovered in 1832, by Braconnot, a French chemist, who called it
xyloidine. In 1838 another Frenchman, Pelouze, investigated its different
properties, and finally, in 1846, Schonbein, Professor of Chemistry at
Bâle, proposed its employment for purposes of war. This powder, now
called pyroxyle, or fulminating cotton, is prepared with great facility
by simply plunging cotton for fifteen minutes in nitric acid, then
washing it in water, then drying it, and it is ready for use."
"Nothing could be more simple," said Morgan.
"Moreover, pyroxyle is unaltered by moisture--a valuable property to us,
inasmuch as it would take several days to charge the cannon. It ignites
at 170 degrees in place of 240, and its combustion is so rapid that one
may set light to it on the top of ordinary powder, without the latter
having time to ignite."
"Perfect!" exclaimed the major.
"Only it is more expensive."
"What matter?" cried J. T. Maston.
"Finally, it imparts to projectiles a velocity four times superior to
that of gunpowder. I will even add, that if we mix with it one-eighth
of its own weight of nitrate of potass, its expansive force is again
considerably augmented."
"Will that be necessary?" asked the major.
"I think not," replied Barbicane. "So, then, in place of 1,600,000 lbs.
of powder, we shall have but 400,000 lbs. of fulminating cotton; and
since we can, without danger, compress 500 lbs. of cotton into 27 cubic
feet, the whole quantity will not occupy a height of more than 180 feet
within the bore of the Columbiad. In this way the shot will have more
than 700 feet of bore to traverse under a force of 6,000,000,000 litres
of gas before taking its flight towards the moon."
At this junction J. T. Maston could not repress his emotion; he flung
himself into the arms of his friend with the violence of a projectile,
and Barbicane would have been stove in if he had not been bomb-proof.
This incident terminated the third meeting of the Committee.
Barbicane and his bold colleagues, to whom nothing seemed impossible,
had succeeded in solving the complex problems of projectile, cannon,
and powder. Their plan was drawn up, and it only remained to put it in
execution.
"A mere matter of detail, a bagatelle," said J. T. Maston.
Illustration: CAPTAIN NICHOLL
CHAPTER X.
ONE ENEMY -v.- TWENTY-FIVE MILLIONS OF FRIENDS.
The American public took a lively interest in the smallest details of
the enterprise of the Gun Club. It followed day by day the discussions of
the committee. The most simple preparation for the great experiment, the
questions of figures which it involved, the mechanical difficulties to
be resolved--in one word, the entire plan of work--roused the popular
excitement to the highest pitch.
The purely scientific attraction was suddenly intensified by the following
incident:--
We have seen what legions of admirers and friends Barbicane's project
had rallied round its author. There was, however, one single individual
alone in all the States of the Union who protested against the attempt
of the Gun Club. He attacked it furiously on every opportunity, and human
nature is such that Barbicane felt more keenly the opposition of that one
man than he did the applause of all the others. He was well aware of the
motive of this antipathy, the origin of this solitary enmity, the cause
of its personality and old standing, and in what rivalry of self-love it
had its rise.
This persevering enemy the President of the Gun Club had never seen.
Fortunate that it was so, for a meeting between the two men would
certainly have been attended with serious consequences. This rival was a
man of science, like Barbicane himself, of a fiery, daring, and violent
disposition; a pure Yankee. His name was Captain Nicholl; he lived at
Philadelphia.
Most people are aware of the curious struggle which arose during the
Federal war between the guns and the armour of iron-plated ships. The
result was the entire reconstruction of the navy of both the continents;
as the one grew heavier, the other became thicker in proportion. The
"Merrimac," the "Monitor," the "Tennessee," the "Weehawken" discharged
enormous projectiles themselves, after having been armour-clad against
the projectiles of others. In fact they did to others that which they
would not they should do to them--that grand principle of immorality
upon which rests the whole art of war.
Now if Barbicane was a great founder of shot, Nicholl was a great forger
of plates; the one cast night and day at Baltimore, the other forged day
and night at Philadelphia. As soon as ever Barbicane invented a new shot,
Nicholl invented a new plate, each followed a current of ideas essentially
opposed to the other. Happily for these citizens, so useful to their
country, a distance of from fifty to sixty miles separated them from one
another, and they had never yet met. Which of these two inventors had
the advantage over the other it was difficult to decide from the results
obtained. By last accounts, however, it would seem that the armour-plate
would in the end have to give way to the shot; nevertheless, there were
competent judges who had their doubts on the point.
At the last experiment the cylindro-conical projectiles of Barbicane stuck
like so many pins in the Nicholl plates. On that day the Philadelphia
iron-forger then believed himself victorious, and could not evince
contempt enough for his rival; but when the other afterwards substituted
for conical shot simple 600 lb. shells, at very moderate velocity, the
captain was obliged to give in. In fact, these projectiles knocked his
best metal plate to shivers.
Matters were at this stage, and victory seemed to rest with the shot,
when the war came to an end on the very day when Nicholl had completed
a new armour-plate of wrought steel. It was a masterpiece of its kind,
and bid defiance to all the projectiles in the world. The captain had it
conveyed to the Polygon at Washington, challenging the President of the
Gun Club to break it. Barbicane, peace having been declared, declined to
try the experiment.
Illustration: NICHOLL PUBLISHED A NUMBER OF LETTERS IN THE
NEWSPAPERS.
Nicholl, now furious, offered to expose his plate to the shock of any
shot, solid, hollow, round, or conical. Refused by the president, who
did not choose to compromise his last success.
Nicholl, disgusted by this obstinacy, tried to tempt Barbicane by offering
him every chance. He proposed to fix the plate within two hundred yards
of the gun. Barbicane still obstinate in refusal. A hundred yards? Not
even -seventy-five!-
"At fifty then!" roared the captain through the newspapers. "At twenty-five
yards!! and I'll stand behind!!!"
Barbicane returned for answer that, even if Captain Nicholl would be so
good as to stand in front, he would not fire any more.
Nicholl could not contain himself at this reply; threw out hints of
cowardice; that a man who refused to fire a cannon-shot was pretty near
being afraid of it; that artillerists who fight at six miles' distance
are substituting mathematical formulas for individual courage.
To these insinuations Barbicane returned no answer; perhaps he never
heard of them, so absorbed was he in the calculations for his great
enterprise.
When his famous communication was made to the Gun Club, the captain's
wrath passed all bounds; with his intense jealousy was mingled a feeling
of absolute impotence. How was he to invent anything to beat this 900-feet
Columbiad? What armour-plate could ever resist a projectile of 30,000
lbs. weight? Overwhelmed at first under this violent shock, he by and by
recovered himself, and resolved to crush the proposal by the weight of
his arguments.
He then violently attacked the labours of the Gun Club, published a
number of letters in the newspapers, endeavoured to prove Barbicane
ignorant of the first principles of gunnery. He maintained that it was
absolutely impossible to impress upon any body whatever a velocity of
12,000 yards per second; that even with such a velocity a projectile of
such a weight could not transcend the limits of the earth's atmosphere.
Further still, even regarding the velocity to be acquired, and granting
it to be sufficient, the shell could not resist the pressure of the gas
developed by the ignition of 1,600,000 lbs. of powder; and supposing
it to resist that pressure, it would be the less able to support that
temperature; it would melt on quitting the Columbiad, and fall back in
a red-hot shower upon the heads of the imprudent spectators.
Barbicane continued his work without regarding these attacks.
Nicholl then took up the question in its other aspects. Without touching
upon its uselessness in all points of view, he regarded the experiment
as fraught with extreme danger, both to the citizens, who might sanction
by their presence so reprehensible a spectacle, and also to the towns
in the neighbourhood of this deplorable cannon. He also observed that
if the projectile did not succeed in reaching its destination (a result
absolutely impossible), it must inevitably fall back upon the earth,
and that the shock of such a mass, multiplied by the square of its
velocity, would seriously endanger every point of the globe. Under the
circumstances, therefore, and without interfering with the rights of free
citizens, it was a case for the intervention of Government, which ought
not to endanger the safety of all for the pleasure of one individual.
Spite of all his arguments, however, Captain Nicholl remained alone in
his opinion. Nobody listened to him, and he did not succeed in alienating
a single admirer from the President of the Gun Club. The latter did not
even take the pains to refute the arguments of his rival.
Nicholl, driven into his last entrenchments, and not able to fight
personally in the cause, resolved to fight with money. He published,
therefore, in the -Richmond Inquirer- a series of wagers, conceived in
these terms, and on an increasing scale:--
No. 1 (1000 dols.).--That the necessary funds for the experiment of the
Gun Club will not be forthcoming.
No. 2 (2000 dols.).--That the operation of casting a cannon of 900 feet
is impracticable, and cannot possibly succeed.
No. 3 (3000 dols.).--That it is impossible to load the Columbiad, and
that the pyroxyle will take fire spontaneously under the pressure of the
projectile.
No. 4 (4000 dols.).--That the Columbiad will burst at the first fire.
No. 5 (5000 dols.).--That the shot will not travel farther than six
miles, and that it will fall back again a few seconds after its discharge.
It was an important sum, therefore, which the captain risked in his
invincible obstinacy. He had no less than 15,000 dollars at stake.
Notwithstanding the importance of the challenge, on the 19th of May
he received a sealed packet containing the following superbly laconic
reply:--
"Baltimore, -Oct.- 19.
"Done.
"Barbicane."
CHAPTER XI.
FLORIDA AND TEXAS.
One question yet remained to be decided: it was necessary to choose
a favourable spot for the experiment. According to the advice of the
Observatory of Cambridge, the gun must be fired perpendicularly to the
plane of the horizon, that is to say, towards the zenith. Now the moon
does not traverse the zenith, except in places situated between 0° and
28° of latitude. It became, then, necessary to determine exactly that
spot on the globe where the immense Columbiad should be cast.
On the 20th of October, at a general meeting of the Gun Club, Barbicane
produced a magnificent map of the United States. "Gentlemen," said he,
in opening the discussion, "I presume that we are all agreed that this
experiment cannot and ought not to be tried anywhere but within the
limits of the soil of the Union. Now, by good fortune, certain frontiers
of the United States extend downwards as far as the 28th parallel of the
north latitude. If you will cast your eye over this map, you will see
that we have at our disposal the whole of the southern portion of Texas
and Florida."
It was finally agreed, then, that the Columbiad must be cast on the soil
of either Texas or Florida. The result, however, of this decision was to
create a rivalry entirely without precedent between the different towns
of these two states.
The 28th parallel, on reaching the American coast, traverses the peninsula
of Florida, dividing it into two nearly equal portions. Then, plunging
into the Gulf of Mexico, it subtends the arc formed by the coast of
Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana; then skirting Texas, off which it
cuts an angle, it continues its course over Mexico, crosses the Sonora,
Old California, and loses itself in the Pacific Ocean. It was, therefore,
only those portions of Texas and Florida which were situated below this
parallel which came within the prescribed conditions of latitude.
Florida, in its southern part, reckons no cities of importance; it is
simply studded with forts raised against the roving Indians. One solitary
town, Tampa Town, was able to put in a claim in favour of its situation.
In Texas, on the contrary, the towns are much more numerous and important.
Corpus Christi, in the county of Nuaces, and all the cities situated on
the Rio Bravo, Laredo, Comalites, San Ignacio on the Web, Rio Grande City
on the Starr, Edinburgh in the Hidalgo, Santa Rita, Elpanda, Brownsville
in the Cameron, formed an imposing league against the pretensions of
Florida. So, scarcely was the decision known, when the Texan and Floridan
deputies arrived at Baltimore in an incredibly short space of time. From
that very moment President Barbicane and the influential members of the
Gun Club were besieged day and night by formidable claims. If seven cities
of Greece contended for the honour of having given birth to Homer, here
were two entire states threatening to come to blows about the question
of a cannon.
The rival parties promenaded the streets with arms in their hands; and at
every occasion of their meeting a collision was to be apprehended which
might have been attended with disastrous results. Happily the prudence
and address of President Barbicane averted the danger. These personal
demonstrations found a division in the newspapers of the different
states. The -New York Herald- and the -Tribune- supported Texas, while
the -Times- and the -American Review- espoused the cause of the Floridan
Deputies. The members of the Gun Club could not decide to which to give
the preference.
Texas produced its array of twenty-six counties; Florida replied that
twelve counties were better than twenty-six in a country only one-sixth
part of the size.
Texas plumed itself upon its 330,000 natives; Florida with a far smaller
territory, boasted of being much more densely populated with 56,000.
The Texians, through the columns of the -Herald-, claimed that some regard
should be had to a state which grew the best cotton in all America,
produced the best green oak for the service of the navy, and contained
the finest oil, besides iron mines, in which the yield was fifty per
cent. of pure metal.
To this the -American Review- replied that the soil of Florida, although
not equally rich, afforded the best conditions for the moulding and
casting of the Columbiad, consisting as it did of sand and argillaceous
earth.
"That may be all very well," replied the Texians; "but you must first
get to this country. Now the communications with Florida are difficult,
while the coast of Texas offers the bay of Galveston, which possesses
a circumference of fourteen leagues, and is capable of containing the
navies of the entire world!"
"A pretty notion truly," replied the papers in the interest of Florida,
"that of Galveston Bay -below the 29th parallel!- Have -we- not got the
bay of Espiritu Santo, opening precisely upon -the- 28-th degree-, and
by which ships can reach Tampa Town by direct route?"
"A fine bay! half choked with sand!" "Choked yourselves!" returned the
others.
Thus the war went on for several days, when Florida endeavoured to draw
her adversary away on to fresh ground; and one morning the -Times- hinted
that, the enterprise being essentially American, it ought not to be
attempted upon other than purely American territory.
To these words Texas retorted, "American! are we not as much so as you?
Were not Texas and Florida both incorporated into the Union in 1845?"
Illustration: IT BECAME NECESSARY TO KEEP AN EYE UPON THE DEPUTIES.
"Undoubtedly," replied the -Times-; "but we have belonged to the Americans
ever since 1820."
"Yes!" returned the -Tribune-; "after having been Spaniards or English
for 200 years, you were sold to the United States for five million
dollars!"
"Well! and why need we blush for that? Was not Louisiana bought from
Napoleon in 1803 at the price of sixteen million dollars?"
"Scandalous!" roared the Texan deputies. "A wretched little strip of
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