No sooner was it held before the X rays than it was seen that a quantity
of cigarettes and English matches were rolled away inside the linen.
All this was found out without so much as breaking a seal or untying a
string.
At the same time that the news of this excellent use for the X ray
reached us, we observed statements from several prominent doctors and
electricians, warning people of the danger of using this wonderful light
without a proper knowledge of its properties.
It seems that under certain circumstances the X ray is capable of
inflicting a very serious wound. It acts in the same way as fire does,
and burns the skin so severely that it is a very long time in healing.
Nikola Tesla, the great electrician, says, however, that this trouble
only arises from want of knowledge as to the proper way to handle the
rays. If they are held at a certain distance from the skin, there is not
the slightest danger of accident.
The curious part of the wound inflicted by the X ray is that the burn is
not felt at the time the mischief is being done. A person can allow his
skin to be exposed to the X rays until it is badly burned without
experiencing any pain until some time after the damage has been done.
The injured part first swells, and then shows all the symptoms of a
burn.
One man who had exposed his foot to the rays to discover a rifle-ball
that was lodged in his heel received a burn that took eleven months to
heal.
It seems curious that such a severe injury could be inflicted without
any warning of pain. No sensation of warmth is felt until the part is
burned, and then, according to Mr. Tesla, the pain does not seem to be
on the surface as in ordinary burns, but deep-seated, in the very bones
themselves.
* * * * *
There is fresh news from Brazil and Uruguay.
In Brazil, the insurgents, under their leader, Anton Conselhiero, were
defeated, and the town of Canudos, which had been their stronghold, was
taken from them.
So severe and crushing was the defeat which they sustained, that it is
thought that the revolution has been brought to an end.
The battle lasted four hours, the rebels fighting with great courage and
determination. The well-trained government troops proved too strong for
them, however, and when the Brazilian artillery was brought to the
front, and began to pour a steady fire into the rebel army, the ranks
were broken and the insurgents fled for their lives.
The Brazilians pursued them hotly, and it is said that when the fight
was over Conselhiero's army was almost annihilated.
In Uruguay the rebels have gained the upper hand, and it is hoped that
that war will also be brought to a close very shortly.
The Uruguayan insurgents were much stronger than the Brazilian; indeed,
they outnumbered the government troops, and fought so fiercely that
Uruguay had to give in and ask for an armistice.
This the rebels granted, and during the cessation of hostilities
negotiations for peace were immediately set on foot.
The terms of peace which the rebels offered were that they should have
the right to choose the next President of Uruguay, and the governors of
six of its provinces. They also demanded that all insurgents who had
been dismissed from the regular army should be reinstated, and all who
had been exiled on account of the rebellion should be allowed to return
to their homes.
The Government is not willing to grant these terms, but it is thought
that the rebels are so strong that they will be able to insist on the
acceptance of their conditions.
* * * * *
Company E, of the Eighth New York Regiment, has started on an important
military expedition.
It is the desire of the commanders to find out just what the practical
value of a bicycle would be in time of war.
To demonstrate this, Company E, which is the bicycle company of the
regiment, received orders to make a week's trip on Long Island, instead
of going to the state camp as usual.
It is the intention to have the command cover a distance of five hundred
miles during the week, each man carrying with him the regulation kit of
a soldier on the march.
This outfit consists of the canteen or water-bottle, knife, fork, spoon,
and combination frying-pan and plate, a blanket to sleep in, and of
course a rifle, bayonet, and cartridge-box.
With the bicycle command, all these articles had to be stowed away so
that the hands should be free to control the wheel.
The blanket was therefore strapped on the handle-bars, the musket slung
under the saddle, the cartridge-box and bayonet hung from the soldier's
belt, and slung across the shoulders were the canteen and a haversack
containing all the other articles.
With all these articles the bicycle will be heavily loaded, and one of
the points which the authorities especially wish to prove is whether it
is possible for men to make any distance on wheels when they are so
heavily weighted.
The baggage that we have described is the very least that a soldier can
carry, and if no great distance can be accomplished with such a load,
the wheel is of little value for purposes of war.
The military authorities are also desirous of proving just how reliable
the bicycle itself is. Every one knows what the wheel can do on a level
road or smooth track, but it has not been demonstrated how a troop of
wheels will last on rough country roads.
Company E has taken no tents; the men are to sleep under such cover as
they may find on the way. No food has been taken, or provided for; the
men will have to forage, or seek for their own rations.
Their one extra is a bicycle ambulance. This is a very novel affair, and
is made of a covered stretcher slung between two tandems. The men have
been allowed to put kettles and coffee-pots inside the stretcher at the
start, but if in case of illness the ambulance is needed, even these
small comforts will be left behind.
They have with them an engineer to make maps, and a photographer, who
has a camera slung under his saddle instead of a musket.
The experiment is to be made on Long Island. When the Shinnecock Hills
are reached, two days will be spent in scouting and reconnoitring, with
skirmishes and sham fights to follow.
They will thus have a week of practical campaigning.
* * * * *
While we are on the subject of wheels we are reminded of a recent
decision that bicycling is illegal on Sunday in New Jersey.
This fact came out through a lawsuit. Two cyclists were riding in the
town of Westfield, N.J., one Sunday, and came into collision, one of
their wheels being wrecked.
The man whose wheel was damaged claimed that the accident was due to the
other's carelessness, and sued for twenty-five dollars to cover repairs
to his machine.
When the case came into court, and the judge heard that the affair had
occurred on Sunday, he dismissed the complaint.
He stated that bicycling on Sunday was an illegal practice, and that no
one could come before a court and ask for protection from an accident
that had happened to him when he was engaged in an occupation that was
against the law.
This decision will be a great surprise to a good many young folks, who
have hitherto regarded Sunday as their best day to go a-wheeling.
* * * * *
We told you about Mr. Andrée, who made an effort last year to reach the
North Pole by balloon, and who intended to repeat the experiment this
year from Spitzbergen. The news has just reached us that he has made his
start.
On the 15th of July, the wind being in a favorable direction, Mr. Andrée
determined to begin his dangerous voyage.
Being anxious to get away before the wind should change or die out, the
preparations were hurried forward, and in three hours and a half after
he decided to make his attempt, all was in readiness.
Accompanying the daring explorer were two other venturesome men, Mr.
Strindberg and Mr. Fraenkel.
Stepping into the car, they gave the word to have the balloon cut loose.
They rose rapidly till they were about six hundred feet in the air, but
at this altitude a cross-current struck them, and they were driven
earthward again until they almost touched a projecting rock.
It was feared that the attempt had failed, but the three men in the car
set to work vigorously throwing out some of the sand-bags that had been
put in the car for ballast, to steady it, and the balloon soon rose
again and continued on her course.
The weather was clear, and the _Eagle_, as the balloon was called, was
visible for an hour. It appeared to be moving at the rate of twenty-two
miles an hour, and to be taking the exact direction that Mr. Andrée had
wished that it should.
The adventurers expected to reach the Pole in two or three days, but had
prepared themselves for a trip of as many months.
Nothing has as yet been heard or seen of the balloon. Russian steamers
have been sent along the coast of Siberia in search of it, and it is
hoped that some news may be gleaned through the circulars that the Czar
caused to be sent among all the peoples around the Polar regions, asking
them to watch for the balloon, and report it as soon as seen (see page
860).
[Illustration: A Homing Pigeon]
A good deal of excitement was caused by the capture of a carrier-pigeon
in Norway.