Part 4

When men had studied light thoroughly, however, they came to the conclusion that it must have the power of pressure, which, from the standpoint of results, would amount to the same thing as having weight. They reasoned that if you had a perfect balance and let sunlight shine down on one of the sides of the balance, that side should go down under the pressure of light. In their first experiments along this line men failed to show that under such conditions the side of the balance on which the light shone did go down, but by continuous experiments it was proved finally that the light did exert a sufficient pressure to cause the scales to go down, and in effect this is the same as having weight; but this has been found to be a common property of rays of various kinds, including heat, and we, therefore, do not speak of this quality as weight, but as the power of radiating pressure.

Why Does a Stick Seem to Bend When Put in Water?

When light passes from one medium to another, as for example from glass or water to air, or from air or glass to water, the rays of light change their course, thus making them seem to be bent or broken. The rays of light from the part of the stick in the water take a different direction from the rays from the part which is out of the water, giving the appearance of breaking or bending at the place where the air and water meet. It is, of course, the light rays which are bent and not the object itself.

This bending or changing of the path of light rays is called refraction. If you place a coin in a glass of water so that it may be viewed obliquely, you can apparently see two coins, a small one through the surface of the water and another apparently magnified through the side of the glass.

This is due only to the absolute principle that rays of light change their direction in passing from one thing to another, and on this principle of the rays of light our optical instruments, including the microscope, the telescope, the camera and eyeglasses are based.

What Makes the Stars Twinkle?

I might tell you, just to show how clever I am, that stars do not twinkle at all, and leave you with that for an answer. But since they really do seem to twinkle, and that is what causes your question, I will tell you. As we have already learned in our talks about the stars and the sky in general, the stars are suns which are constantly throwing off light, just as our sun gives us light, and when this light strikes the air which surrounds the earth it meets many objects--little

## particles of dust and other things always floating about in it. The

light comes to us in the form of rays from the stars and some of these rays strike particles of various kinds in the air and are thus interfered with. If you are looking at a lighted window some distance away and there are a lot of boys and girls or men and women running past the window, one after the other, rapidly, it will make the light in the window appear to twinkle. The twinkling is due to the interference which the rays of light encounter while traveling toward the eye.

Why Does an Onion Make the Tears Come?

That is nature’s way of protecting the eyes from the smarting which the onion would cause in your eyes if the tears did not come quickly and overcome the bad effect so produced. Tears are provided for washing the ball of your eyes. Every time you wink a little tear is released from under the eyelid, and the wink spreads it all over the eyeball. This washes down the front of the eyeball and cleanses it of all dust and other things that fly at the eye from the air. Then the tear runs along a little channel, much like a trough, at the lower part of the eye, and out through a little hole in the eye, and in this case the tear is really only an eye-wash. Many things, but more often sadness or injured feelings, start the tears coming so fast from under the eyelid that the little trough at the bottom and the hole in the corner of the eye are too small to hold them or carry them off, so they roll over the edge of the lower eyelid and down the face. These are what we call tears. Among other things that will cause tear-glands to cause an over-supply of eye-wash to come down, are onions. What they give off is very trying to the eyes, and so, just as soon as the something which an onion throws off hits the eyeball, the nerves of the eye telegraph the brain to turn on the tears quickly, and they come in a little deluge and counteract the bad effect of the onion.

[Illustration: SOME REMARKABLE PICTURES WITH A FAST CAMERA]

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[Illustration: THE CAVE MAN OF PREHISTORIC TIMES WHO UNCONSCIOUSLY INVENTED AMMUNITION]

The First Missile

~HOW MAN LEARNED TO SHOOT~

A naked savage found himself in the greatest danger. A wild beast, hungry and fierce was about to attack him. Escape was impossible. Retreat was cut off. He must fight for his life--but how?

Should he bite, scratch or kick? Should he strike with his fist? These were the natural defences of his body, but what were they against the teeth, the claws and the tremendous muscles of his enemy? Should he wrench a dead branch from a tree and use it for a club? That would bring him within striking distance to be torn to pieces before he could deal a second blow.

There was but a moment in which to act. Swiftly he seized a jagged fragment of rock from the ground and hurled it with all his force at the blazing eyes before him; then another, and another, until the beast, dazed and bleeding from the unexpected blows, fell back and gave him a chance to escape. He knew that he had saved his life, but there was something else which his dull brain failed to realize.

He had invented arms and ammunition!

In other words, he had needed to strike a harder blow than the blow of his fist, at a greater distance than the length of his arm, and his brain showed him how to do it. After all, what is a modern rifle but a device which man has made with his brain permitting him to strike an enormously hard blow at a wonderful distance? Firearms are really but a more perfect form of stone-throwing, and this early Cave Man took the first step that has led down the ages.

This strange story of a development has been taking place slowly through thousands and thousands of years, so that today you are able to take a swift shot at distant game instead of merely throwing stones.

[Illustration: THE SLING MAN IN ACTION

PRACTICE DEVELOPED SOME WONDERFUL MARKSMEN AMONG THE USERS OF THIS PRIMITIVE WEAPON]

We do not know the name of the man who invented the sling. Possibly he did not even have a name, but in some way he hit upon a scheme for throwing stones farther, harder, and straighter than any of his ancestors.

The men and women in the Cave Colony suddenly found that one bright-eyed young fellow, with a little straighter forehead than the others, was beating them all at hunting. During weeks he had been going away mysteriously, for hours each day. Now, whenever he left the camp he was sure to bring home game, while the other men would straggle back for the most part empty-handed.

Was it witchcraft? They decided to investigate.

Accordingly, one morning several of them followed at a careful distance as he sought the shore of a stream where water-fowl might be found.

## Parting the leaves, they saw him pick up a pebble from the bank and

then to their surprise, take off his girdle of skin and place the stone in its center, holding both ends with his right hand.

Stranger still, he whirled the girdle twice around his head, then released one end so that the leather strip flew out and the stone shot straight at a bird in the water.

The mystery was solved. They had seen the first slingman in action.

The new plan worked with great success, and a little practice made expert marksmen. We know that most of the early races used it for hunting and in war. We find it shown in pictures made many thousands of years ago in ancient Egypt and Assyria. We find it in the Roman Army where the slingman was called a “funditor.”

Surely, too, you remember the story of David and Goliath when the young shepherd “prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone.”

Yet slings had their drawbacks. A stone slung might kill a bird or even a man, but it was not very effective against big game.

What was wanted was a missile to pierce a thick hide.

Man had begun to make spears for use in a pinch, but would you like to tackle a husky bear or a well-horned stag with only a spear for a weapon?

No more did our undressed ancestors. The invention of the greatly desired arm probably came about in a most curious way.

Long ages ago man had learned to make fire by patiently rubbing two sticks together, or by twirling a round one between his hands with its point resting upon a flat piece of wood.

[Illustration: THE “LONG BOW” IN SHERWOOD FOREST

ONE OF ROBIN HOOD’S FAMOUS BAND ENCOUNTERS A SAVAGE TUSKER AT CLOSE RANGE]

In this way it could be made to smoke, and finally set fire to a tuft of dried moss, from which he might get a flame for cooking. This was such hard work that he bethought him to twist a string of sinew about the upright spindle and cause it to twirl by pulling alternately at the two string ends, as some savage races still do. From this it was a simple step to fasten the ends of the two strings to a bent piece of wood, another great advantage since now but one hand was needed to twirl the spindle, and the other could hold it in place. This was the “bow-drill” which also is used to this day.

But bent wood is apt to be springy. Suppose that while one were bearing on pretty hard with a well-tightened string, in order to bring fire quickly, the point of the spindle should slip from its block. Naturally, it would fly away with some force if the position were just right.

[Illustration: DEER STALKING WITH THE CROSSBOW

THIS COMPACT ARM WITH ITS SMALL BOLT AND GREAT POWER WAS POPULAR WITH MANY SPORTSMEN]

There was one man who stopped short when he lost his spindle, for a red-hot idea shot suddenly through his brain.

Once or twice he chuckled to himself softly. Thereupon he arose and began to experiment. He chose a longer, springier piece of wood, bent it into a bow, and strung it with a longer thong. He placed the end of a straight stick against the thong, drew it strongly back, and released it.

The shaft whizzed away with force enough to delight him, and lo, there was the first Bow-and-Arrow!

Armed with his bow-and-arrow, man now was lord of creation. No longer was it necessary for him to huddle with his fellows in some cave to avoid being eaten by prowling beasts. Instead he went where he would and boldly hunted the fiercest of them. In other words, his brain was beginning to tell, for though his body was still no match for the lion and the bear, he had thought out a way to conquer them.

Also he was better fed with a greater variety of game. And now, free to come and go wherever he might find it, he was able to spread into various lands and so to organize the tribes and nations which at last gave us civilization and history.

A new weapon now came about through warfare. Man has been a savage fighting animal through pretty much all his history, but while he tried to kill the other fellow, he objected to being killed himself.

Therefore he took to wearing armor. During the Middle Ages he piled on more and more, until at last one of the knights could hardly walk, and it took a strong horse to carry him. When such a one fell, he went over with a crash like a tin-peddler’s wagon, and had to be picked up again by some of his men. Such armor would turn most of the arrows. Hence invention got at work again and produced the Crossbow and its bolt. We have already learned how the tough skin of animals brought about the bow; now we see that man’s artificial iron skin caused the invention of the crossbow.

What was the Crossbow? It was the first real hand-shooting machine. It was another big step toward the day of the rifle. The idea was simple enough. Wooden bows had already been made as strong as the strongest man could pull, and they wished for still stronger ones--steel ones. How could they pull them? At first they mounted them upon a wooden frame and rested one end on the shoulder for a brace. Then they took to pressing the other end against the ground, and using both hands. Next, it was a bright idea to put a stirrup on this end, in order to hold it with the foot.

Still they were not satisfied. “Stronger, stronger!” they clamored; “give us bows which will kill the enemy farther away than he can shoot at us! If we cannot set such bows with both arms let us try our backs!” So they fastened “belt-claws” to their stout girdles and tugged the bow strings into place with their back and leg muscles.

Who First Discovered the Power of Gunpowder?

Probably the Chinese, although all authorities do not agree. Strange, is it not, that a race still using crossbows in its army should have known of explosives long before the Christian Era, and perhaps as far back as the time of Moses? Here is a passage from their ancient Gentoo Code of Laws: “The magistrate shall not make war with any deceitful machine, or with poisoned weapons, or with cannons or guns, or any kind of firearms.” But China might as well have been Mars before the age of travel. Our civilization had to work out the problem for itself.

It all began through playing with fire. It was desired to throw fire on an enemy’s buildings, or his ships, and so destroy them.

Burning torches were thrown by machines, made of cords and springs, over a city wall, and it became a great study to find the best burning compound with which to cover these torches. One was needed which would blaze with a great flame and was hard to put out.

Hence the early chemists made all possible mixtures of pitch, resin, naphtha, sulphur, saltpeter, etc.; “Greek fire” was one of the most famous.

Many of these were made in the monasteries. The monks were pretty much the only people in those days with time for study, and two of these shaven-headed scientists now had a chance to enter history. Roger Bacon was the first. One night he was working his diabolical mixture in the stone-walled laboratory, and watched, by the flickering lights, the progress of a certain interesting combination for which he had used pure instead of impure saltpeter.

Suddenly there was an explosion, shattering the chemical apparatus and probably alarming the whole building. That explosion proved the new combination was not fitted for use as a thrown fire; it also showed the existence of terrible forces far beyond the power of all bow-springs, even those made of steel.

Roger Bacon thus discovered what was practically gunpowder, as far back as the thirteenth century, and left writings in which he recorded mixing 11.2 parts of the saltpeter, 29.4 of charcoal, and 29 of sulphur. This was the formula developed as the result of his investigations.

Berthold Schwartz, a monk of Freiburg, studied Bacon’s works and carried on dangerous experiments of his own, so that he is ranked with Bacon for the honor. He was also the first one to rouse the interest of Europe in the great discovery.

[Illustration: THE “KENTUCKY RIFLE” WITH ITS FLINT-LOCK WAS ACCURATE BUT MUST BE MUZZLE-CHARGED]

~THE FIRST REAL FIRE ARMS~

And then began the first crude, clumsy efforts at gunmaking. Firearms were born.

Hand bombards and culverins were among the early types. Some of these were so heavy that a forked support had to be driven into the ground, and two men were needed, one to hold and aim, the other to prime and fire.

Improvements kept coming, however. Guns were lightened and bettered in shape. Somebody thought of putting a flash pan, for the powder, by the side of the touch-hole, and now it was decided to fasten the slow-match in a movable cock upon the barrel, and ignite it with a trigger. These matches were fuses of some slow-burning fiber, like tow, which would keep a spark for a considerable time. Formerly they had to be carried separately, but the new arrangement was a great convenience and made the match-lock. The cock, being curved like a snake, was called the “serpentine.”

About the time sportsmen were through wondering at the convenience of the match-lock, they began to realize its inconvenience. They found that they burned up a great deal of fuse, and were hard to keep lighted. Both statements were true, so inventors racked their brains again for something better. They all knew you could bring sparks with flint and steel, and that seemed an idea worth working on. A Nuremberg inventor, in 1515, hit on the wheel-lock. In this a notched steel wheel was wound up with a key like a clock. Flint or pyrite was held against the jagged edge of the wheel by the pressure of the serpentine. You pulled the trigger, then “whirr,” the wheel revolved, a stream of sparks flew off into the flash-pan, and the gun was discharged.

[Illustration: WHEEL-LOCK RIFLE]

This gun worked beautifully, but it was expensive. Wealthy sportsmen could afford them, and so for the first time firearms began to be used for hunting. Some of these sixteenth and seventeenth century nabobs had such guns of beautiful workmanship, so wrought and carved and inlaid, that they must have cost a small fortune. You will find them in many large museums to this day.

But now the robbers had their turn. There are two stories of the invention of the flint-lock. Both deal with robbers, both have good authority, and both may be true, for inventions sometimes are made independently in different places.

One story runs that the flint-lock which was often styled “Lock à la Miquelet,” from the Spanish word, “Miquelitos”--marauders--told its origin in its name. The other is, that the flint-lock was invented in Holland by gangs of thieves, whose principal business was to steal poultry.

In either case the explanation is easy. The match-lock showed its fire at night and wouldn’t do for thieves, the wheel-lock was too expensive, so again necessity became the mother of a far-reaching invention.

Everybody knows what the flint-lock was like. You simply fastened a flake of flint in the cock and snapped it against a steel plate. This struck off sparks which fell into the flash-pan and fired the charge.

It was so practical that it became the form of gun for all uses; thus gunmaking began to be a big industry. Invented early in the seventeenth century, it was used by the hunters and soldiers of the next two hundred years. Old people remember when flint-locks were plentiful everywhere. In fact, they are still being manufactured and are sold in some parts of Africa and the Orient. One factory in Birmingham, England, is said to produce about twelve hundred weekly, and Belgium shares in their manufacture. Some of the Arabs use them to this day in the form of strange-looking guns with long, slender muzzles and very light, curved stocks.

There were freak inventors in the flint-lock period just as there are to-day. Some of them wrestled with the problem of repeating guns, and put together a number of barrels, even seven in the case of one carbine. Others tried revolving chambers, like our revolvers, and still others, magazine stocks. Pistols came into use in many interesting shapes, but these were too practical to be considered freaks.

~WHY WE CALL THEM PISTOLS~

Pistols, by the way, are named from the town of Pistola, Italy, where they are said to have been invented and first used.

We must not forget that rifling was invented about the time that the wheel-lock appeared, and had a great deal to do with the improvement of shooting. Austrians claim its invention for Casper Zollner, of Vienna, who cut straight grooves in the barrel’s bore. His gun is said to have been used for the first time in 1498, but the Italians seem to have still better warrant as these significant words appear in old Latin Italian, under date of July 28th, 1476, in the inventory of the fortress of Guastalla: “Also one iron gun made with a twist like a snail shell.” The rifling made the bullet spin like a top as it flew through the air, thus greatly improving its precision.

In the year 1807 the Rev. Alexander John Forsythe, LL.D., got his patent papers for something far better than even the steady old flint. He had invented the percussion system. In some form this has been used ever since. Which is to say that when the hammer of your gun falls, it doesn’t explode the powder, although it seems to. Instead it sets off a tiny portion of a very sensitive chemical compound called the “primer,” and the explosion of this “primer” makes the powder go off. Of course, the two explosions come so swiftly that your ear hears only a single bang.

Primers were tried in different forms called “detonators,” but the familiar little copper cap was the most popular. No need to describe them. Millions are still made to be used on old-fashioned nipple guns, even in this day of fixed ammunition.

But now we come to another great development, the Breech-loader.

[Illustration: THE MODERN AUTOMATIC RIFLE

THE MODERN SPORTSMAN WITH HIS AUTOMATIC RIFLE IS PREPARED FOR ALL EMERGENCIES]

Perhaps you have had to handle an old muzzle-loader. It was all right so long as you knew of nothing better, but think of it now that you have your beautiful breech-loader. Do you remember how sometimes you overloaded, and the kick made your shoulder lame for a week? Or how, when you were excited you shot away your ramrod? The gun fouled too, and was hard to clean, the nipples broke off, the caps split, and the breeches rusted so that you had to take them to a gunsmith. Yes, in spite of the game it got, it was a lot of trouble, now you come to think of it. How different it all is now!

[Illustration: ASSEMBLING REPEATING SHOTGUNS AND RIFLES]