Terre Haute Weekly Gazette, Volume 8, Number 36, Terre Haute, Vigo County, 5 April 1877 — Page 2

TWiRtttAVMf Wl-

The Great Air-Line To The Moon.

From Sorlbner's for January. It is quite possible that there are many persons who have never heard the story ofthe Gun Club of Baltimore and its

When peace was declared, these poor fellows were very ooleful there was nothing more for them to do. And so they sat about idly in their club house, where every thing reminded them of war, where the mantle piece was a fortress, and the clock was set in an embrasured tower, where bavonets stuck in a cannon ball served as candle sticks, and where the very frames of the looking glasses were fashioned after the manner of lines of fortifications. There they would lean back and toast their wooden toes, and gesticulate with their hooked hands, and mourn the good old times. Some of them—J. T. Matson in particular—were extremely anxious for another wai. J. T. Matson was a .most enthusiastic artilleryman. He had invented a mortar which killed 337 persons the first tiree it Was fired. To be sure, it blew itself a'l mti little bits, and the persons killed wete the spectators around it but then there are very many mortars, even if they have been carefully fired for many ears, which can show a sum total of illed as large as this. J. T. Matson's voice was for continual cannon firing, and, consequently, for continual war. "Why should we sit thus with our hands in our pockets cried J. T. Matson. (He had lost one of his arms in the beginning of the war.) "There are plenty of reasons for fighting, and why should we riot fight For instance, did not this country once belong to the English

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or

not

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als

bors of this Club, and wet will merely time in extracting cube-roots, and elevatremark that, at the end of the war, they ing

showed in their own persons the earnest-

replied Col. Bilsby, an arm-

leas and harmless bystander

ss ana nirmxH .»n». for that reason I propose to make our "Well, then, said .J T.,"why then cannon 900 feet long." should not England in her turn belong This was agreed to, and the length of tous?'' 1 the cannon was settled. It was then de-

This proportion was received with termined that the sides should he six great favor by the Gun Club in general, feet thick. and it is probable some action would "You will probably not mount it on a have been taken upen it if it had not carriage said one of the committee, been that the attention of the members "Oh, that would be grand, said J. i. was unexpectedly occupied by the an- Maston. nouncement that a grand meeting had "But impracticable, said the President, been called by the President of the Club "I shall cast the gun in the ground, and to consider some extremely important it will thus have all the resistance of the business. The meeting was held at 8 P. earth aronnd it." m., on the 5th of October, eighteen-hun- It was, subsequently, determined to dred-and-after-the-war. The great hall make the cannon of cast-iron, and it was

ofthe club war tightly jammed with members and visitors. Corresponding and honorary members, from all parts of the Union, filled up every room and passage, and the streets and alleys of the neighborhood were crowded with people who could not get into the building.

When the great clock in the hall fired

8,

President Barbicane arose and addressed the assembly. The substance of his address wss as follows:

He lamented the idleness of the Club caused by the recent peace. He desired that it should undertake some great work,

He supposed that the members had all seen tni moon, or heard it spoken of. He stated that although the moon had been thoroughly studied by astronomers, noncommunication between it^ and the earth had been considered possible up to that date.

He proposed, therefore, that the Gun Club should open such communication and that they should do it by making a quinon sufficiently large to send a ball— D&ng!to the moon.

At these last words, the great hall, and the very streets around it, trembled Wth the thunders of applause which Woke from that vast crowd. It was many minutes before the President could aaaift make himself heard, when he proceeded to state that this thing was easy enough to do. It was only necessary to mbe the ball an initial velocity of 13, 000 yards per second, and it would certainly reach the moon, provided the cannon was pointed properly. Theu the meeting adjourned.

It was determined after a vast amount of aditional scientfic calculation by the Gun Club, to fire the ball from some point between the Equator and twenty deg. north or south of the Equator, to point the cannon at the zeuith, and to fire it precisely at 13 minutes and 20 seconds of 11 o'clock a on the first dar of the next December.

An Executive Committee of the Gun Clnb held a meeting at the house of President Barbicane, Oct. 8. The nut ter was the first thing to be settled. Of what should they make it How big should it be And what shape should it have J. T. Maston was wild with enthusiasm, and waving in the air his iron hook, with a pen screwed into it, he made a speech of eloquent figures. J. T. Maston was great on figures not only figures of speech, but numerical figures. He liked nothing better than to lay awake at night and calculate with what rapidity a ball weighing three ters of a certain weight, and moving with a velocity equal to seventeen-nineteenths of some other velocity, would pass over a distance 1,300 times the square rood of some other distance. And, w.ien he made speeches before the committe, he introduced all these calculations.

But the President wis a much more practical man He could perceive an

i",

instant exactly what be wanted, and he afegkd thcflumtion of the size of tte ball HritMrat ««y trouble. fYoo #il $*»*- y. "tfe* (or us to pie l&brflt At tnte1*rt0#» Wwe %«feftoVAWe ^ftee whether it gets thfare

So

the ball must be big enough

to see it all the way. Now, with the largest telescope that we are able to make the smallest object visible on the moon is 60 feet in diameter." "No, that will not be necessary," said the President, "if we place a telescope on a very high mountain, the atmosphere will be so much rarei that we will be able to see objects on the moon one nine feet in diameter." "Splendid cried T. T. Maston. "Then we will make our ball nine feet in diameter."

markable transactions. If so, it is well that they should be informed of those great events which, not many years ago, caused such a sensation in the civilized world. Monsieur Jules Verne, a Frenchman, has taken the pains to collect all the facts ?h regard to the Gun Club and its wonderful scheme, and it is to his work on the subject that we are indebted weight ot tne oau. some 01 uic tumuiufor the information contained in this ar- tee thought a ball nine feet in diameter tfcle. would be very heavy. The President

So this matter was settled. There was now a discussion upon the weight of the ball. Some of the commit-

The Gun Club, which was founded conceded this fact, especially if the ball during our late civil war, had for its were solid, "but," said he, "it will be holprincipal object the improvement of ar- Jo*." tfllery. Not one could belong to the '-Hurrah cried J. T. Maston. Club who had not invented, or at least will put dispatches in it, and samples of improved, a cannon or a firearm of some the exports of the United States, with^he kind. In the words of M. Verne, the es- price list for the current monih." teem in which the members were held But even this ball, with comparatively was "proportioned to the massiveness of thin sides, if made ofcast-i.'on, would be their cannon, and in a direct ratio to the toe heavy for the initial velocity intended squares ofthe distances reached by their to give it. So the committee went lo projectiles." It is impossible in our work to calculate what some other metpages to relate all the results of the la-

would weigh. After spending some

Xs

and ne to the second power, they

cam

ness with which they carried out their en- would make the ball of aluminum Thev calculated that a ball of that metal would only cost $173,250. "Hurrah I" cried J. T. Maston. "I didn't think we could get a ball so cheap as that.1*

terprises. In the entire Club there was hardiy a whole man, and, indeed, there was but one arm for every four persons and but two leg* tor every six of them Nowhere was there such a place for crutches, wooden legs, patent arms, in-dia-rubber jaws, silver skulls, platina noses and guttr-percha ears.

to a triumphant conclusion—they

At the next session of the Committee the question of the cannon was considered. It was unanimously agreed that it would require a large cannon to carry a ball 9 feet in diameter and, as the cannon of the Gun Club must throw its ball 257,543 miles, so it was evident that it would have to be pretty long. "Yes indeed," cried J.T. Maston. "Our cannon must be half-a-mile long at the very least!" "Half-a-mile!" exclkimed the Committee, in astonishment. '•Yes," cried Maston, "and then it will be too short by at least one-half." "Come, come, J. T. Maston," said one ofthe Committtee, "you are going ,to far." "Sir," replied JT Maston proudly, striking his breast with his iron hook, "you must know that an artilleryman is like a cannon-ball—he can never go too tar!"

The matter was now getting a little personal, and the President interfered. "Be calm, gentlemen, and let us reason this matter gravely. The oidiuary length of a cannon is from twenty to twenty-five times the diameter of the ball, and from two hundred and thirty te two hundred and forty times its weight" "That won't do it," cried J. T. Maston. ., ,, •'I know it," said the President "for, if we constructed our cannon according tb those proportions, it would only be 325 feet long." "Perfectly ridiculous cried J. T. Maston. "You might as well take a pistol •'Just so," answered the President, "and

believed that such a gun, perpendicularly and solidly set in the earth, would not be likely to burst

The Committee then went to work to calculate the weight of a cast-iron cannon, nine hundred feet long, with a bore nine feet in diameter, and with sides six feet thick and soon ascertained that the cannon would weigh 68,040 tons, and would cost, at two cents a pound, $2,721,600. So this little mattfer was also settled.

The next day the powder question was before the committee. One of the members, Major Elphistone, who had had charge of Government gunpowder during the war, and who was therefore sup posed to know all about the matter, made a short address. "Now," said he, "a twenty—lour pound ball is fired by sixteen pounds of powder. The Armstrong cannon requires seventy-five pounds of powder for an 800 pound ball, and the Rodman Columbiad sends a half ton ball 5 miles with 160 pounds of powder. So you see, the necessary proportion of powder diminishes as the size of the ball increases." "I see that," said J. T. Matson, "and if you only make your ball big enongh we won't want any powder at all."

The Committee smilled, and the Major then stated that he had calculated that the weight of powder necessary in their cannon would be equal to one-tenth the

weight

ofthe ball,and it will therefore

require 500,000 pounds of powder. "Better have 800,000 pounds, cried J. T. Maston.

The idea ot this enormous mass of powder was so impressive and awful, that the Committee, for a few moments, sat in silence. But they were still more astonished when the President directly announced that in his opinion 800,000 pounds would not be enough. "We will want the force of twice as much powder," said he. "That will never do!" cried J. T. Maston, "never do! 1,500.000 pounds of powder wilt occupy a space of 22,000 cubic feet and, as the cannon will only hold C4.000 cubic feet, your powder will nearly half fill it, and there won't be room enough left to give the ball a decent start." "I know all that," said the President, "and I do not inttnd to use that much powder—I onlv want the force of that quantity, and so I propose that, instead of powder, we use gun cotton, of which 400,000 pounds will be equal to 1,600,000 poUnds of powder, and it will occupy so little space, that the ball will have more than 700 feet to run before taking its the Queen of

Sightflight-

and towards

And so the powder question was settled. Among the 40,000,000 inhabitants of the United States there was but one man who doubted the success of the great

scheme t| was Capteiii PhikidelpKt bestocnenfr a m^ifa«n &ewityta#i.. invented criew

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Gun This' livi ir hi ir -plated Dnrin„ th^Ji(^ler»i* or in unusa-

ally powerful cannon, Nichol invented a new armor-plate. Whenever Nichot trym«i,Preaiiient Btfrbicane, of the Gun Club, appeared to him in the form of a conical bait, whifch pierced him through and through. And when Barbicane dreamed, he saw Nichol in the shape an immense iton-elad, agpintt the impenetrable sides qf which he -wju obliged to batter his unfortueate head. Nichol was on psrticularlv bad term* with Bar bicane. because,on* the very day ort which peace was declared, the former had ished a plate ot an entirely new kind steel armor, and, though he dared President of the Gun Club to fire at it his best cannon and his most perfect b^ll the proposition was declined. Nichoi waxed extremely angry at this, and offer ed Barbicane the most astounding advantages. He proposed to set up his plate 200 yards fiom the cannon, but this wa refused, as well as subsequent offiis of 100 yards, 75 yards, and fitly yacds. At last the Captain, perfectly furious offered to place his plate 25 ards from the cannon, and to stand behind it! But Barbicane answered that he would not make the experiment,—not even if Capt. Nichol stood before his plate.

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the

Then Capt. Nichols attacked Barbicane through the newspapers. He asserted that the plan was all nonsense, and proposed a series of wagers, as follows: First—That the money would never be raised for the big gun 11,000 Second—That they could not cast the cannon after they got the money, Third—That they could not load the cannon, and that the guncotton would go off of its own accord before they were ready, Fourth—That the cannon wou burst at the first fire Fifth—That the ball weuld go about six miles, and would come tumbling back in a few seconds, 5,000

2,000

3,000

4.000

On the 19th of October, Nichols received the tollowing note: Baltimore, Oct. 18.

Taken.'

BARBICANE.

One question now remained to be decided, and that was,—When should the experiment be tried? The Gun Club held a meeting to consider this subject, and it was agreed that the southern portions of Texas and of Florida lay beyond the twenty-eighth parallel of latitude, and that any place in those sections would answer the purpose.

The question was sett lid on this basis, and the consequence was that there arose an unparalleled rivalry between the cities of Southern Texas and Florida. The whole country was agitated by the controversy. The newspapers *nd periodicals took it up such publications as the New York Herald, the Philadelphia Post, and the Riverside Magazine sustained fexas, while the Washington

Chron'cle,

the New York Tribune and

the Newark Register stood up boldly for Florida. The matter became embarrassing. A war between Florida and Texas was thrt atened. At last Barbicane settled the matter. "Texas," said he, "has, at least, eleven cities which will answer our purpose very well. Now if we decide in fayor of Texas, those eleven cities will be fighting for the honor ot the Enterprise. There is but one town in Florida suitably situated 60'let us go for Florida arid the town ofTampa!'1

The Texas party was disgusted. A little place like Florida," said their principal organ, "almost an island, squeezed between two seas, will never be able to resist the tremendous concussion, and will be blown ftway the instant the cannon is fired!" "All right!" said the Floridans, "let her blow!"

It now became necessary to raise the money for this great work, and subscription books Were opened in all the principal cities of the Union, and also in various foreign countries.

The total subscriptions from all parts of the world, counting nothing from England,—where not a farthing was subscribed, as the English people expected to have to pay the Alabama claims,— amounted to $5446,675, ....

Captain Nichol now paid his first wager, one thousand dollars. On the 30th of October a cantract was made with the Cold Spring Iron Works, near New York, for the transportation of the materials to Tampa, Fla., and for casting there the great gun. It was stipulated tha* the cannon should be finished, and in perfect o^der for firing, on the 15th ofthe following October, under forfeiture of $100 per day until the Moon should present herself in the same tavorable conditions, which would be in eighteen years and eleven days.

President Barbicane placed of the disposal of the Observatory of Cambridge the necessary funds for the construction of an enormous telescope, and contracted with the house of Bread will & Co., of Albany, for the manufacture of the hollow ball of aluminum and then, accompanied by J. Maston, Maj- Elphistone, ofthe Gun Club, and J. Murphison, Director of the Cold Spring Iron VVorks, he started for Florida, and arrived at Tampa on the 23nd of October. But the President of th% Gun Club and his companions did not remain long in this town. They explored the surrounding country, and soon selected a suitable location for their operations. 1 his place was called Stone's Hilli *na was s.tuatad 1,920 feet above the level of the sea, in latitude 37 deg. ininutes»and 5 deg. 7 minutes west longitude.

nItis

from here," said Barbicane stamping upon the summit the hill, that the projectile ofthe Gun Club shall take its flight into the depth of the Solar System."

This was putting the matter rather strongly, because the ball was onlv in tended to go to the Moon—but_ it sounded welL

Eight days after this a fleet of steamers arrived* at Tampa laden with the material tor the great gun and with 1,500 workmen. The little town became populous, not only with these, but with thousands of inquisitive persons who gathered from all parts of the country to watch this great undertaking. A railroad was built from Tampa to Stone's Hill, and, in a short time, a village of workmen'* houses arose at the latter place. Barbicane was everywhere, and J. T- Maston was with him.

On the 4th of November the works were commenced. By the light of the sun during the day, and under a great electric light at night, the pick and shoyel and the steam engines never ceased to work and on the

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^WliEKLY GAZETTE.

inside pf th itsiinhw (tour"

stdp4fw|||L tefcti

otto n. J&^eetideep- 1 well ha^bfl^K, Of coa*trucHor»* preparimon^had

been making for casting the cannon. In a wide circle around the open top of the well had been built 1,100 reverberatorv furnaces. These furnaces charmed our old friend J. T. Maston. He had never seen anything more beautiful, he »aid, not even in Greece, where, however. as he remarked, he had neve. been.

When the vast pit was finished, President Barbicane and his men went to work to build the great central core. This wa to be a solid cylinder, 600 feet high, and 9 feet in diameter, in other words, exactly the szie of the bore of the great cannon.

When this cylinder was finished, a space of about six feel was left around it, betwem it and the sides of the waW. This spa:e would be filled with the melted iron which was to form the cannOfi.

The 9th of July was the day appointed for casting, and the evening before each furnace had been chirked with 1140J0 pounds of metal, and the fires lighted.

The black j»moke covered the sky, and the roar of the furnaces resembled thunder, B.irbicane and the committee of the Gun Club stood on a hill near by, wilh a small cannon before them, which was to be fired when th- engineer should signal that all was ready.

Precisely at noon th- cannon sa-.inded from the hill. At this moment 1,200 valves were opened, and 1,200 fiery serpents crawled towards the great well, hissing and glistening, and writhing. Then they plunged, with a dreadful noise, 900 feet down. It was an awful spectacle. The earth shook, and clouds of steam escaping from the vents in the walls of the well rose up in a vast column 3,000 or 4,000 feet high. At last all the melted metal had run into the mould. The Niagara of iron had ceased to flow.

Whether the casting had succeeded or not wa» a question that could not determined immediately. Fifteen days after the casting the great cannon was still covered by a vast cloud of smoke, and the ground was so hot, 300 or 400 f$et from the mouth of*he well, that no one could tread upon it. It was the 23d of August before the ground ha$l cooled sufficiently to allow anybody to approach the casting, and then the workmen, finding that the interior core was sufficiently cool, proceeded to dig It out, and it was entirely removed by the 3d of September. The bore was then drilled smooth, and everything was ready*.

If the Moon only came along in time, and It was generally believed that she could be depended upori, there was no reason to expect anything but suciess.

As the cannon was now cast, Captain Nichol paid his second wager—$2,000. The great event of the casting attracted people from all parts of the country, and the population ot Tampa increased to 150,000. Excursions were organized to the bottom of the cannon, and a steam elevator was kept going night and day. The proceeds from the sale of tickets for this tup amounted during the season toneariv $500,000.

On the 30th of September, at thirtyseven minutes past 3 in the afternoon, telegram, by o:ean cable, came to President Barbicane. This was the dis patch:

France, Paris, 29th Sept.—4 A. M. Barbicane,Tampa, Florida, U.S.: Substitute cylindro—conical projectile for spherical shell. Shall go inside. Shall arrive by steamer Atlanta.

MICHEL ARDAN.

Of course this proposition created the greatest excitement in the Gun Club, and throughout the United States. A't first everybody treated the proposition with ridicule. Then they began to think about it, and president Barbicane actual ly wrote to the New York iron-founders to defer the casting of the projeetile un tilfurther orders.

On the 20th of October the Atlanta ar rived at Tampa, and in it was Michel Ardan. He was about 42 years old, tall, vigorous, nervous, combative, earnest, eminently bold and audacious, and, above all, he was the first man in the solar system who had determined t» make a trip from one planet to another. His reception was most enthusiastic, and, after he had shaken hands with about 6,000 people, he was obliged to retreat to the cabin of the steamer. And there Barbicane had an interview with him.

The President of the Gun Club found that the Frenchman was fully determined upon his project. He had occasion to go to the Moon, he said, and here was an excellent opportunity. He might have to wait a long time before another conveyance would offer itself.

Finding the Frenchman so fu\ly in earnest, Barbicane respected him. Nothing so thoroughly commands respect in this world as earnestness. What it commands in the moon remains lo be seen.

In the meantime a quarrel had arisen between Captain Nicholl and Barbicane, and a duel was agreed upon. But on the field Arden made a proposition. "Friend Barbicane," he said, "believes that his projectile will go straight to the moon." 'Certainly, I do," replied the President of the Gun Chib. "And friend Nichol believes it wiil fall back on the earth "I am sure of that," cried the Captain. "Well, then," said Michel Arden, "this is the way we'll settle it: Both of you take the trip with me, and then you will know certainly whether or not the ball will go to the moon."

The two rivals looked at each other, and then they shook hands, and agreed to the proposition. J. T, Maston groaned. Nobody had asked him to go.

On the 10th of November, the great passenger projectile arrived from New York. The great shell came by railway, and was received with delight and enthusiasm.

The inner walls of the ptojectile were covered with a thick lining of steel springs and leather padding. Several small windows of enormously thick glass were constructed in the sides of the cone, an ingenious water-spring was construct ed to counteract the initial shock at the moment of firing, and everything necessary for the comfort of the travelers was provided. There were recentacles for for water and food, and there was a tank of gas sufficient to light and warm them for six days. But there was one little difficulty—they must breath during the trip, which it was calculated would last about four days. The oxygen inside the cell would certainly not last them long, and the carbonic acid gas which they would expire would soon be sufficient to kill them. The question, then, amounted to this the oxygen destroyea must be restored the carbonic acid gas produced must be destroyed.. All this is

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fc.'.

means of chlorate potash. The fi^fe high temperature seconds absolfia the valuble oxygen

acedt and the destructive

caitonicagfl! destroyed.* The great NPresiden chemists. Mess as Reiset & Regnault, had demonstrated that this operation was easy enough. But astheirexperimentshaJonly been tried upon the lower animals, J. T. Maston offered to prove that it would be successtut in the case of man "Since I cannot take the trip." he said, "sbut me up in the shell for eight dars. I will thus discover whether or not atmospheric air can be produced by artificial means.''

The offer was accepted, and a MiflScient quantity of the necessary chemicals with fooi enough to last eight days, were placed inside ofthe shell and on the 12th of November, at 6 o'clock in th$ evening J. T. Maston took leave of bU friends,, mounted the ladder, and d^appeared through the aperatare in the t«p of the cone. I'he cover was then screwed down tight. How he liked inside it was impossible to know. The walls were so thijik that nothing could heir fr.»:i» him

On tlye 20th of November, precisely at 6 o'dook in the evening, the hole in the shell was opened. Maston's friinds were naturally a little uneasy, but they were soon encouraged bv a shout that came from the inside ot" the shell, an I in a moment J. T. Ma-ton appeared on the top of the cone in a triumphant attitude

He had actually grown fat! We must no go back a little in our story. On the 20th of October of the preceding year sufficient mnnev had been paid over to the University of Cambridge to construct a telescope large enough to observe the course of the projectile which was to be sent to the Moon.

There was no reason why such a telescope should not be constructed. There was money enough, there was iron enough, and brass enough, and glass enough. And the Gun Club had faith enough and energy enough to do almost anything. And so, after great labors, and the most unheard-of victories over mechanical difficulties, the telescope was finished. It was 280 feet long, and 16 feet in diameter.

Tne next queston that arose was that ot situation, and it was necessary to choose a high mountain. So the requisite materials were taken to cne of the highest peaks ofthe Rocky Mountains. It was almost as difficult to set up this telescope in the position selected as it had been to make it. It was necesary to transport enormous stones, weighty pieces of forged metal, heavy corner stones, the vast sections of the cyli nder, and the object glass, which weighed itself nearly 30. 000 pounds, in'.o the region of eternal snow. But all difficulties were surmounted, and, in less than a year from the commencement of the *ork, the great tele ccope sat proudly on the summit of the rocky peak.

It w&6 now the 22tl ot November. In ten days the great even', would take place There" was only one thing now to be done, and that was to load the cannon and it was rather a delicate operation to stow away 400,000 pounds of gun-cotton But Barbicone was equal to mest difficulties, and he had this cannon loaded under his own eyes. The gun-cotton was brought from Pensacola by rail, ten great cartridges at a time, and these were carried to tne mouth of the cannon by workmen in their bare feet. They were then lowered to their position by means of windlasses worked by hand. No steam engine was allowed to be used, and fires were forbidden within a distance of two miles. It was even necessary to guard against the heat of the sun, and so all the work was done at night by the light of an electric lamp. The cartridges were placed in order in the bottom of the cannon, and were all connected by wires in such a way that they could be explod ed by means of an electric battery. All the wires were united in a single conductor, which ran through a hole in the side ofthe casting, and then through one of the vents in the stone lining, to the surface ®f the earth. There this wire was supported on telegraph posts for a distance of two miles, where it was connected with a powerful battery. All that was necessary, then, when everything was in order, was to press a little button, and the 440,000 pounds of gun-cotton would be instantiy ignited.

On the 28th of November the work of charging tie cannon with gun-cotton was completed. Nothing now remained to be done but to lower the conical shell to its place in the great cannon. But, before this was done, the passenger projectile was furnished for the journey a number Of thermometers and barometers were placed in a suitaole case, and, to facilitate their observations on arriving at the Moon, the travelers took with th«m Beer and Moedler's selenographic map. a most admirable publication which no traveler to the moon should be without. The travelers also provided pistols, rifles, pow der, and shot, for there was no knowing what enemies, they might meet ana spades, shovels, saws, hammers, and gimlets for how could they be certain that they would not have to build themselves a lunar habitation?

Michel Ardan would have liked to have carried some animals. He did not desire to take snakes, or tigers, or alligators, for there might be nothing of the kind in the Moon, and he would not care to be the means of introducing them there. All he wanted to take with him was a "horse, or an ox, or a cow or two. But Barbicane objected. He never had traveled with a cow on his lap, and he did not want to try it at his age. And so, altoough Arden thought it would be a very nice thing to have fresh milk on the trip, it was agreed to take no animals but a couple of dogs.

Several bags t. fgrain of different kinds were packed away in the shell, and Mich el Arden was very anxious to carrv along some earth to sow them in. This was not allowed, but he took a bnndle of young fruit trees of the most approved varieties, which were carefully wrapped in straw, for transplanting in lunar soil.

Besides all this, food enough for a year was packed in the projectile. There were al. about fifty gallons of brandy, and water enough to last for two months. The travelers had no doubt they would find water on the Moon, and food too, for that matter. They were not so certain, however, about brandy.

Everything was now prepared. The great cane was brought to the cannons mouth, and elevated by enormous windlasses. Here was delicacy and danger. If those chains had broken, the fall ot such an immense mass would surely have exploded the gun-coiton, and the shell would have traveled Moon-ward without waiting for its passengers. But nothing

mm

sned and, aft\e)t| was safely Vldi maaadf ^uj

iarbicahe $«/»00, the amounts

of the third wager. Barbicane was not willing to receive the money under the circumstances, but Nichol insisted. He wished to pay all his debts berate he left, this world.

The first day of December now arrived —a very impirtaut day. For, if the pass* enger projectile were not started on its way to the Moon at exactly forty-six minutes and fort)- seconds after 10 o'clock that evening, more than eighteen years would elapse before the Moon would again be found in the proper positions of zenith and perigee.

A perfectly enormous crowd surrounded StoneV Hill. From every portion oi the United States, and fr^vn various part*.r of the Old World, spectators were assem bled.

About 7 o'clock the Moon arose above the horiaon. Grandly and brightly she mounted the skies, ptinCtual to a minute to her appointment. Never did the Moon reseivs so' magnificent ^1 w«l^ome. Cheer after cheer arose from five million throats.

Every one was now wild with excitement. Before the applause which greeted the Moon hid died away, the three lunar travelers appeared, ready for their voyage. On their appearance tne applause burtt forth with redoubled force and then, impelled by national enthusiasm, the whole crowd bagan to sing, in thun-... dering chorus,the national airot""Yankee Doodle."

At last the singing ceased all sound: died away, and everybody looked and listened. Th? three travelers now approached the mouth of the cannon. They shook hands with their friends. It was! a touching scene J, T. Matson wept?* and, at this last moment, implored to be allowed t» go along. But Barbicane shook his head. It was impossible.

The the three companions descended to the shell. They enured it, and screwed the plate over the orifice in the top. Then the windlasses and ladders were removed from the uiputh of the cannon. -1 ...

Everything was ready. Two miles away, the civil-engina*.r, Murchison, stood, with his finger over the button of the electric battery.

The silence became awful the people' scarcely dared to breath. Every eye was centered on the gaping mouth of the great gun.

Now there were but forty seconds re-:i maining. Each of these seemed an ape.,' At the twentieth second the crowd fair- .• ly trembled with nervous excitement* Some people sobbed, some fainted. Then mi through the silence came the sound of ?in counting. 'thirty-five!—thirty-six?— thirty-seven!—thirty-eight!—thirty -nine I' —forty!—fire.!!!

Then Murchison touched the Kutton. Immediately the most awful explosion? 4 if took place. Nothing like it was ever imagined. Ii a mighty volcano had burst into atoms thedetonation could not have been more fearful. A straight jet of fire sprang into the air and seemed to pierce the very sky, and the whole country for hundreds of miles, was lighted up. The.-.-, ground shook as if an earthquake had^r rumbled beneath it Not one of that*, vast assemblage remained upright men* ,j women and children were hurled upon ,' the ground together. The heated ga*««y that arose from the mouth of ,tyie cannon?. in such vast quantities created a partial

Nothing was now to be done but te wait tor the telegrams from the observatory on the Rocky Mountains.

The projectile was due at the Moon at midnight of the 4th. of December and. from 8 o'clock until midnight of that day, it might been possible, under favorable

point

:b

vacuum, which was followed bjtan awful hurricane, which swept down every hut and tent in the vicinity, and every tree/b' within twenty miles and burst upon the 4? town of Tampa, destroying hnndreds of v. houses and among others St, Mary's, Church and the new Exchange building, Great damage was also done to the ship-» ping in the port, many vessels being tom from their anchorage and dashed upen ri the shore. Ships even at a great distance upon the ocean felt the effects of t*is ai ti- In) ficial storm, and the wreck ofthe Childe «?t# Harold, ot Liverpool, which occured in itlw consequehce of the hurricane, was made the subject of diplomatic remonstrances 0 on the part of England, which came near iuM producing war between that country and Jn the United States. it ft

When all was again quiet, and the pm people could once more stand erect, seve mi ral millions of telescopes and opera-glasses were pointed towards the Moon. Bnt they could not see the passenger projectile It had passed entirely out of sight.

r'!

.'ii

of the bright face of the moon. But from .v ,i the time of firing to the 12th of December the sky had been vet cast nothing could Iwf be seen. On that a great wind storm )o arose, and the clouds were swept away

and sailing through the heavans, appeared the glorious Moon. Then came news from the observatory of the Rocky Mountains, which was telegraphed all over the world. The projectile had been perceied through the great telescope of the Gun Club! The following is the substance of the dispateh:

3

The projectile fired from the great pin rfs* at Stone's Hill Dec, 1, has been perceived at forty-seven minuUs past eight o'clock

Dec. 12. The projectile has not reached the Moon. It has passed to one side but it is near enough, however to be retained by the lunar attraction. In this position its movement has been changed to a circular motion of great velocity, and it describes an elliptical orbit around the men, ®f which it has beco ne a tatellite. The laws which govern this ne# star have not yet been calculated but it is ...... distant trom the Moon about 2.833 miles. Either theattraction of the moon wili grad- ., ually draw the projectile to its surface, in which case the travelers may attain the object of their voyage, or the projectile *5 will continue to revolve around the Moon until the end of time. This question will be settled some day but, at the

present,

to

31

the experiment of the Gun Club

has only resulted in giving anew star to our solar system. (Signed) J- T- BELFAST.

Thete

was nothing more for anybody

ao

in tnis business. No assistance could be rendered the unfortunate travel-

One man alone would not "admit that the situation was hopeless this was the

brave

indomitable J. T. Matson. He did not entirely lose sight of his lriends. He took up his residenoe at the observatory

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