Fireball

“ According to records which seem authentic, fireballs have been seen actually to come into existence upon the surface of a ceiling, at the mouth of a well, and upon the flagstones of a church.
In 1713, at the château of Fosdinaro, in the neighbourhood of Massa Carrara, in the course of a storm and heavy downpour of rain, there was seen to appear suddenly upon the ground a very vivid flame, white and blue in colour. ”

“ Fire-ball.—A fire-ball is an oval-shaped canvas sack filled with combustible composition. It is intended to be thrown from a mortar to light up the works of an enemy, and is loaded with a shell to prevent it from being approached and extinguished. The composition for a fire-ball consists of nitre 8 parts, sulphur 2 parts, antimony 1 part. The bottom of the sack is protected from the force of the charge by an iron cup called a culob, and the whole is covered and strengthened with a net-work of spun-yarn or wire, and then overlaid with a composition of pitch, rosin, etc. ”

“ When a large gun is discharged, it recoils a few feet. Movable fireworks may be regarded as very light guns loaded with heavy charges; and in them the recoil is therefore so much greater as to be the most noticeable feature of the discharge; and it only requires proper contrivances to make the piece fly through the air like a sky-rocket or revolve round a central axis like a Catherine wheel. Beauty of motion is hardly less important in pyrotechny than brilliancy of fire and variety of colour. ”

“ The fire-ball is almost incomparably less brilliant than forked lightning, because, though it lasts long enough to give the full impression of its brightness, it is rarely brighter than iron in the state which we call "red-hot." It is always spherical, often more than a foot in diameter, and appears to fall from a thunder-cloud by its own gravity, sometimes rebounding after striking the ground. It usually bursts with a bright flash and a loud explosion, occasionally discharging flashes of lightning. ”

“ Further, rapid individual fire plays a far greater part in modern rifle-shooting than it did a few years ago. The “volleys,” which used to be so tremendously effective in the days of muzzle loading and slow fire at short ranges, are little considered under present conditions; with the development of initiative, and the introduction of open order in the firing line, men are taught to fire rapidly by means of exposing the targets for a second or two at a time, two shots or more to be got on the target at each exposure. ”

“ In quitting the earth some of this gas escaped, and rising above the balloon, formed a train like one of powder, which would certainly flash into a blaze the moment it came in contact with the fire. But on this day it was she who with her own hand fired this train. At the moment when, detaching the little parachute from her car, she took the light for the fireworks in her other hand, she crossed this train with the light and set it on fire. Then the brave woman, throwing away the parachute and the match, strove to close the mouth of the balloon, and to stifle the fire. ”

“ With this beautiful weapon, which shoots ball as accurately as a rifle, and comes to the eye as handy as a game-gun, no distracting doubts need flurry one's aim at flying stag or boar within one hundred yards; even snap-shots in covert are now a luxury instead of the nerve-and temper-trying ordeal of yore. Such is the power and penetration of the hollow-fronted conical ball that we have "raked" a stag from stem to stern at one hundred and forty yards, the bullet entering his chest, and lodging near the root of the tail almost undamaged, after traversing the whole of the animal's vitals. ”

“ By taking a ball of solid lead of a smaller size than the calibre of the musket, and placing it on the charge in a gun, and as much or nearly so of powder, over the ball, the effect we are assured is, that when the gun is fired, the ball will pass out without any very sensible force, and even drop [40] a few yards from the gun, although the report will be as great as if the charge and ball had been used in the usual manner. This trick is often performed by jugglers, to the great astonishment of the spectators. The mode of catching a cannon ball is also of the same character. ”

“ Carcasses and fire-balls are made of a composition of combustible substances, and are used to produce light, as well as to fire buildings. The difference between them is, that the carcass has bands or hoops of iron, that form its shell. These hoops are made at right angles with each other, in an [493] oval form, and fastened together with a base of iron. The fire-ball is made of a sack of strong tow cloth, or of a bag of basket work, in an oval form, and covered with strong cord, to give it a body. Both, however, are well wrapped with cord, to make them more solid. ”

“ Our own fire never diminished, and I doubt if twenty-five per cent of our shots went wild. It had never been given me to see such deadly accuracy of aim, and it seemed as though a little figure on one of the craft dropped at the explosion of each bullet, while the banners and upper works dissolved in spurts of flame as the irresistible projectiles of our warriors mowed through them. ”

“ Take a small quantity of water, and pour it into the hollow of a ball of metal. Then with the aid of a cork, worked by a metallic screw, close the opening of the ball hermetically, and place the ball in the heart of a glowing fire. The steam formed by the boiling water in the inside of the metallic bomb, finding no channel of escape, will burst through the bonds that sought to confine it, and hurl afar the fragments with a loud and dangerous explosion. ”

“ Then it disappeared, and the fire-ball climbed suddenly into the night sky, rolling and twisting in on itself. A gantry tipped and fell out of the flame with ponderous slowness, twisted and melted before it crashed to the pad. ”

“ Bang! and a massive cannon ball tore whizzing over our heads. The shore batteries had us in their range, and the firing from the far-reaching Whitworth guns grows more rapid. Puff after puff rolls up from the long line of battery-covered hillocks, under the bastard flag, and the rolling thunder peals on our ears with the whizzing of death-threatening balls. Oh! the excitement of watching and wondering where the next ball will strike, and whether it will crush a hole right through us, wasting rich human life, and scattering our decks with torn-off limbs and running pools of blood. ”

“ Powder and ball were precious in those early days, and though strong men ever love the sports of weapons, waste could not be tolerated even in sport. Sometimes at night the frontiersmen would gather for the pastime of “snuffing the candle,” and he was considered a clumsy rifleman who but fanned the flame with his bullet, or cut too deeply into the base of the candle-wick, and so extinguished the light. Again the riflemen would engage in “driving the nail” with the rifle ball, or would shoot at a tiny spot of black on a board or a blazed tree-trunk, firing a number of balls into the same mark. ”

“ To make the second fire-ball, you must first make a ball of Canvas, Pasteboard, or such like, and cut a wide hole in the top of it, and place in it a channell of Tinne pierced in divers places: fill the channell with the compositions of Rockets for the water; against every hole therof, place a petrard: cover it with a cover, pitch it over, and prime it, then ballast it with leade, or a stone, that the vent may burne upwards, and it is done. ”

“ Beneath us towards the Piave, which glimmers indistinctly in the east, the fireworks of our troops on guard in the trenches shower forth. Occasionally a ray with a parachute falls more slowly and vividly illuminates a small tract beneath us. A few flashes and unexpected streaks tell us that our artillery is firing prohibited shots. The sky about us is thick with the flashes of many shrapnel which shoot up in the air like fireworks. An anti-aircraft battery is firing at us. ”

“ The pistol tinder-box may readily be made to perform the whole of what is here described. A bell rope attached to the trigger will suffice to elicit fire, which, communicating with a quick-match or fusee, will quickly ignite and produce the required light. If the fire is previously prepared with wood or some other combustible material, and a small quantity of inflammable spirits sprinkled over it, the slightest spark will throw the whole into a blaze. ”

“ Not a human being was in sight! Evidently the Huns thought they were quite safe in this spot, since this balloon had not yet been run up and its location could not be known to our side. I zoomed up and climbed a few hundred feet for another attack if it should be necessary. But as I balanced my machine and looked behind me I saw the fire take effect. These flaming bullets sometimes require a long time to ignite the balloon fabric. Doubtless they travel too fast to ignite the pure gas, unmixed with air. ”

“ CHAP. XXIII. To extinguish a wax Candle at eighty or a hundred Paces distance, by firing a Gun loaded with Ball, and to be certain of not missing, however unskilful may be the Marksman.
This experiment may be easily tried in the country, and even in town, in a garden [48] that is rather large: the best marksman may be challenged, and undoubtedly worsted.
Load a gun with a common charge of powder, and a leaden ball. Your opponent will do the same on his side; then let him fire first, that you may see him miss his aim, as it is very difficult at such a distance to put out a candle. ”

“ Think of a cannon-ball rushing through the air at a speed of a thousand feet per second; it is capable of wreaking disaster on anything which it meets, simply because its rapid motion is the vehicle by which the energy of the gunpowder is transferred from the gun to where the blow is to be struck. Had the cannon been directed vertically upwards, then the projectile, leaving the muzzle with the same initial velocity as before, would soar up and up, with gradually abating speed, until at last it reached a turning-point, the elevation of which would depend upon the initial velocity. ”

“ An intensely pugilistic little man stamped his foot at me, and brandished a ball on the end of a stick in front of my face. One's aim and object, as far as I could tell from the book of the words, was to stab the ball with the point of one's bayonet, and at the same time grunt in a manner calculated to cause alarm and despondency to every one within earshot. At times you hit the ball with the butt of the rifle; at others you kick it, endeavouring if possible not to stub your toe. Everything depends on what part of the German's anatomy it is supposed to represent at the moment. ”

“ It is well known, that cannon balls and shot out of common barrels are impelled in a line formed by the centre of the ball, and a compound of the projectile force of the explosion acted upon by the air and by gravitation in its course; the ball has a tendency to rise upward to a certain extent after leaving the muzzle of the gun; its particular motion is as if the ball had a transverse axis, and rolled forward in that axis, in the manner that the wheels of a carriage roll ”

“ He trained one of the guns himself, giving it an elevation sufficient to throw the shell over the rising balloons. As the sixtieth second of the first minute passed, he released the projectile. It soared away through the air, and burst with a terrific explosion about fifty feet over the ascending aerostats.
The rain of fire spread out far and wide, and showered down upon the gas-holders. Then came a concussion that shook the air like a thunder-clap as the escaping gas mixed with the air, took fire, and exploded. ”

“ In later times, the back of an old kitchen knife was often used against the flint to produce the sparks, and another and more unusual method was to fire a rifle into the stone fireplace, where some tinder was gathered, the bullet striking sparks that set up a fire. An emery-wheel revolving against a steel would produce many more sparks than any of the above contrivances, but the mechanical fixture needed to set it up was more cumbersome and not readily carried about. ”

“ Fasten many gay-colored streamers of tissue-paper on one end, making them fully a yard in length. When all is ready, place the stick with streamers uppermost in the tube, draw back the rubber band with the stick (Fig. 310) , and fire (Fig. 311) . The sky-rocket goes swiftly through the air, carrying a stream of paper fire in its wake. As with the real fireworks you must be careful not to aim any of these in a direction where they will strike anyone. ”

“ A species of artificial firework which is made in the shape of a fuze, and is used for various purposes. The composition of the lance a feu consists of 3 parts of the best refined saltpetre, 2 parts of flour of sulphur, and 2 of antimony; the whole being pounded and mixed together. The chief use of the lance a feu is to throw occasional light across the platform, whilst artificial fireworks are preparing. They likewise serve to set fire to fuzes, as they can be taken hold of without danger. ”

“ When they have circled the fire twice, they begin to thrust their wands toward it. Their object is to try to burn off the tip of eagle down. They dash up to the fire, crawl up to it on their faces, run up holding their heads sidewise, dart up backward and approach it in all sorts of attitudes. Suddenly, one approaching the flaming pile throws himself on his back, with his head to the fire, and swiftly thrusts his wand into the flames. Many are the unsuccessful attempts, but at length, one by one, they all succeed in burning the downy balls from the end of their wands. ”