Happy Days: A Paper for Young Americans — page 12: what you’re looking at

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p EH ~ have a chance to ride myself, and may as well doso, He'll be very angry about it but I won’t be here to see it,” and he urged the horse forward at 2 brisk trot. It was several miles up to the river, and he was anxious to get there as soon as possible, But when he came within sight of the icket fires he dismounted, turned the orse loose, keeping the two holster pis- tols, and plunged into the woods. Though a clear starlit night, it was very dark in the woods, But he knew every foot of ground and the direction of the sen- try line. He wanted to filter through with- out giving an alarm if he could, bence he crept forward very slowly and noiselessly for half a mile, ut he found, to his dis- may, that the sentinels had been quad- rupled. They stood ten feet apart all along the line, and did not have to pace to and fro. ** Ah,” he thought to himself, “‘ they are determined to catch the apple girl at all hazards, it seems. I don’t see how I can pass here. They are too close together.” He was in a path used by hogs and cows, and while he was there two old sows came along, followed by pigs. They grunted as they went leisurely along the path, which ran across the sentry line. ‘‘ Pigs are not rebels, eh, comrade?” said the sentinel nearest to them. ‘‘No, only when rations are short,” was the reply. ‘Then I'll let °em go by without a chal- leauge,” and they both laughed. Instantly Jared was down on his hands and feet, imitating the grunts of the two sows, and made his way across the line into the woods beyond. Once more in the woods the grunts changed to chuckles. He rose to his feet and fairly shook with suppressed laughter, till he had to run along the path to get away before his risibles got the better of tedious one, as the banks of the river were rocky and quite rough in many places. After going some three or four miles he heard voices just ahead of him. He stop- ed and listened. His hearing was acute. hough the voices were low, almost in half whispers, he soon learned that they were a young couple, e crept closer to hear better. No Indian could creep through the forest more noiselessly than he. In a couple of minutes he was in a position to hear what they were saying. ‘* Take it to the lines early in the morn- ing,” he heard the man say to the young woman, ‘‘and tell the guard you must see Sir Henry at once—that you have news of importance to tell him. They will escort you to headquarters, and when you see Sir Henry, give him the note. He will under- stand it at once, and see that you are re- warded. We'll soon have enough to buy a farm and settle down. Run up to the house and fetch me something to eat, if it is but a crust of bread, for I am almost starving.” He heard him kiss the girl, and a mo- ment later she was hurrying back to the house. He could not see the house, nor any light, even, but he knew it must be nearby somewhere. After waiting some little time, Jared got up from his crouching position and walked forward. ‘**Tsit you, Lucy ?”-the expectant watcher asked, For answer Jared downed him with a stone which he held in his hand. It wasa hard blow, and the man fell senseless in his tracks, Jared quickly bound and gagged him, after which he laid him in a canoe in the water just below him. ‘Then, having changed the man’s hat and coat for his own, he waited for the girl. Would she never re- turn? The minutes seemed like hours. But she came at last, He stood where she had left her lover. ‘* Here’s some bread and venison,” she said, handing him a package. He took it, and then whispered : ** Give me the note again.” His voice was so low she could not recog- nize it. She handed him the note. **“Run back to the house—someone is consingi:: he whis "ai sie She darted awe :n ins im. ‘‘Tt’s the first time in my life I ever played the hog,” he chuckled, ‘‘and I play- ed it so well it fooled a half dozen men, Really, I ought to turn Jew out of grati- tude to the grunters. I wonder if I can play it on the pickets that way.” fle ‘was not very far from the same-spot where he encountered a picket on a former visit, when he was shot at. It was neces sary that he should be more cautious than ever, as it was known that he had passed that way several times. Then, too, it was nown where his mot lived; and senti- nels would probably be on the lookout for him in that direction. | “T’d goround the other way—toward the sound,” he said to himself, “ but can’t w oe et across the river. It’s too deep over| wef/are Cc FIVE **KOMBI 1€ that way. I'll have togo up by way of the/ eR pee creek, Never saw so many pickets out before.” He moved slowly, stepping we mag eee to avoid the eae of a twig under his feet and passed several picket fires, by the light of which he saw scores of soldiers. ‘*The woods are full of redcoats,” he said to himself. ‘* My only chance is to get up some excitement amongst them and try to step by them while if lasts, I know the very place for that game,” and he worked his way forward for several hundred yards to where the woods were quite dense on both sides of the picket line. Once there, he made sure of his location and then pro- ceeded to play his game. - He sung out: ‘* Halt there”—crack! ‘* Help! Help”’—crack! . He used the two holster pistols, and then madea noise as of two menin a-~death struggle back in the bushes, » The entire band of soldiers rushed to the spot to see what it meant, and Jared dart- ed through the bushes and past the light unperceived, | _** That was the easiest of all,” he chuckled, as he made his way up the creek, ‘I fool- ed both of them, and now I guess I can get along without any more trouble,” and he hurried forward to the place where he had crossed several times before. When he reached the spot he plunged in toswim across. On the other side a dozen red- coats seized him as soon as he left the water, “We have you at last, my fine fellow,” said one.of his captors, Quick as a flash he tripped the two men who had hold of him, causing one to fall into the water. Then he sprang forward into the darkness beyond, ‘‘ Fire!” cried a voice, C-r-r-r-ack! Some eight or ten muskets were dis- char at him, The bullets whistled all round him. ‘I’m a dead man!” he sung out, and then slipped forward through the bushes, - “That got him!” cried several voices, and he heard them calling for lights to search for him. He chuckled and hurried on his way toward the Hudson River, On reaching the place where he kept his canoe concealed, he was dumfounded at finding it gone, ‘It's too much of a swim for me,” he said, as he looked out over the big river. “T don’t like to undertake it, I’llgou the river and see if I can find another one, TRIED FOR ONE? _ FLYING MACHINES. By FRANcIS W. DOUGHTY. IN a previous number we had ee | to say about balloons, flying machines an kindred subjects which seems to have giv- en pleasure to so large a number of the many thousands who weekly peruse the columns of HAppy Days, that we have concluded to allude to the subject again, The 17th century in Europe was emphat- ically an age of invention. Men were just beginning to emerge from the darkness of the Middle Ages, and were devoting their energies toevery branch of science and art, Fig, 1.—LANA’s FLYING MACHINE, Among other matters, the problem of flying received much attention, It was believed by many to be cogs s ssible to invent some sort of wings which could be attached to a man’s back, so as to enable him to fly through the air like a bird, while others turned their attentiom to the con- struction of air-ships and machines for raising one’s self in the air. Of course all these efforts were failures, ; y bg te - ‘A + es ‘ - ‘ - £%8< * fi = a « 7 a _-_ 4 ; Rees cs. 2 nil Sau ee ary 4 ty Bee \ we Dig ~ 4 ie + Er, Dai gill an a ea 5 and he started on the search, It was a| =82 ie WHAPPY DAYS although many sound thinkers of the pres- ent day, well pester in mechanics, believe the thing to be entirely feasible; had it been otherwise probably the gas balloon would never have been invented. Asarule men do not like to record their failures, but several of the inventions for flying of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries have been handed down to us, prominent among which is Lana’s flying machine, which we illustrate in Figure l, Francis Lana was a Jesuit monk, a deep thinker, anda man of many attainments. He published a book in the Italian lan- guage in the year 1670, which is a0w very rare, to demonstrate the feasibility of a flying machine which he had himself in- vented the same year. His first proposition had been to prepare four hollow globes of copper, each twenty feet in diameter, and so thin that they would weigh less than a quantity of atmospheric air equal to their bulk when the air within had been ex: hausted. To these globes he designed fastening a boat in which the aeronaut was to be stationed. This plan, however, was abandoned, and the machine illustra- ted in Figure 1 constructed. The globes were of copper and some twenty feet in diameter. Instead of four there were two, with a station for the aeronaut between them, and sails to guide the movement of the machine; but, alas! there was one thing that Lana had forgotten. When the air was exhausted from his globes a bad attack of atmospheric pressure set in, and in an instant they had collapsed, and were globes no more, About the same time we find one Cyrano de Hel aerae proposing five different meth- ods of flyingin the air. First by means of phials filled with dew, ‘‘ which would at- tract and cause to mount up.” Second, by a great bird, made of wood, whose wings were to be kept constantly in motion, Third, by means of rockets, which, going off successively, would drive up the bal- loon by the force of projection. Fourth, by an octohedron of glass, heated by the sun;and of which the lower part should be allowed to penetrate the dense cold air, which, pressing up against the rarified hot air, would raise the balloon, Fifth, bya ear of iron, andaball of magnetized iron, which the aeronaut was to keep throwing in the alr, ene. which was expected to act and draw up the a, ee or ee Cs San oF these SAbear plans makes us wonder what manner of minds the men of those days possessed. They were the minds of children; they knew but little of science as we understand it, and ridiculous as these schemes appear, they were all pro- posed in good faith, , Fig. 2—HrEnson’s AERIAL STEAM CAR- RIAGE. After Lana we have Galien, also a monk, who constructed an air-boat which came nearer success. It is described as a great leather bag filled with heated air with a basket attached below, This was but an i ear for Galien proposed to build a full sized ship on the same principle. Ac- cording to his theory the atmosphere is di- vided into two horizontal layers, the upper layer being much lighter than the lower, ** But,” says Galien in his curious little work, The Art of Sailing in the Air, pub- lished in 1735, ‘‘a ship keeps its place in the water because it is full of air and air is much lighter than water. Suppose then that there was the same difference of weight between the upper and lower layer of air as there is between the lower stra- tum of air and the water; and suppose also a boat which rested upon the lower layer of air with its bulk in the lighter up- per air—like a ship which has its keel in ‘the water, but its bulk in the air—the same thing would happen with the air- ship as with the water-ship—it would float in the denser layer of air.” Of course Galien failed in his experi- ments, as the atmosphere was not suffi- ciently obliging to divide itself into two layers of different density for his express accommodation. No longer ago than 1840 a very remark- able flying machine was invented in Eng: land by aman named Henson, which at- tracted much attention, and had many be- lievers at the time, In Figure 2 will be found an illustration of Mr. Henson’s machine, The apparatus and ne which were intended to propel theappar- These wheels were — ul- in atus through the air. keptin motion by means of bands and leys from the steam engine containe the car. = SSS To an axis behind the cara triangular frame was attached—seen in our illustra- tion spread out like a sail, also covered with oiled silk and resembling the tail of a bird. This could be expanded or con- tracted at pleasure, causing the machine to ascend or descend. Beneath the tail was arudder, and to make the steering still easier, a sail was stretched between two masts which rose from the car, In launching Henson’s machine, the specification stated it would be necessary to select an elevated situation, and allow the machine to run some distance downan inclined plane, for which purpose the littie wheels seen at the bottom of the car were attached. When the machine had thus acquired a momentum, the rotary fan wheels were to be put in motion to raise ropel it through the air, ; *‘Henson’s machine,” says Professor Wise, the famous American aeronaut, “ was well calculated to inspire confidence in the mere theoretical d; but to the eesti man it at once occurs, what is to it from tilting over, from losing its balance by a flaw of wind or any other casualty, and thus falling to the ground?” It does not appear that Henson’s ma- chine ever got beyond a model, although we believe a company was formed in Eng- land to build one which was to have been sent across the Atlantic. Perhaps the most popular among the French aeronauts of the last century was Blanchard, who constructed a flying boat with oars and rigging, in which he actual- ly did sustain himself in the air for some moments at —= ——— oa = Fig. 4.—BLANCHARD’s ASCENT CARICA- URED, This was pe about the time the broth- ers Montgolfier invented the gas balloon, the success of which caused Blanchard to at once abandon his own scheme and seize upon theirs, : igure 3 illustrates Blanchard’s ‘* Flying Vessel,” as it was called, in which, accom- panied by a priest named Pesch, he pro- . sed to ascend from_ the boat ag de ars, in Paris, on the 2d of March, 1784. Blanchard and Pesch were prevented from going up in the balloon, however, by a certain crank—as we would call him nowadays—named Dupont de Chambon who persisted in accompanying the aer voyagers, Being pushed back he drew his sword, leaped into the car, wounded Blan- consisted of a central car constructed to|‘chard, cut the rigging and broke the oars contain a steam engine, goods, passen fuel, etc., to which a Tight Secta: sales frame made of wood and covered with oil silk was attached, This frame was sta- tionary, and extended on either side of the car like the outstretched wings of a bird, Behind these wings were two vertical fan wheels, furnished with oblique vanes, a i . ET ater ta the day Blanchard ascended alone, and was quite successful, perform- ing an aerial journey of one hour anda quarter, and finally landing near Ver- sailles, Of course the papers of the day made all manner of sport of Blanchard and his fly- G , ate t a pel . — a REG tm! . 7 t nN a ‘ e th - = ¢ q - ‘ ‘ ‘ % « —- > - | Pd . - a -— ea) - : i» iyo ib 4 “ * LJ * % + ae ~ Me ‘ j sr 4 aN ‘ F. i Saray yon ee oe ae ‘ be Wee sah id te TE ee bool 4 - ee os bi % . *) as tat tet ; é he + , oS og a. x ra Ri po ™ Oa oa? @ =. ATS Ua et