Electric Guns

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A letter from Agra says:—"I don't think I have ever mentioned a notable and somewhat absurd feature of the rebellion—the electric guns ; but they are so continually before me that I must disburden my mind of them. To preserve the electric telegraph posts, they were inserted in enormous iron screws, into the hollow of which the poles were inserted. It struck some ingenious native to make these into cannon. A hole was drilled near the apex, sometimes some iron bands were put round, to increase the strength; the piece was then mounted on a small gun carriage made for the purpose, and the result was a tope—that great instrument of terror to the minds of natives. The plan has met with vast favor, and these guns swarm all over the country.."

Scientific American Magazine Vol 13 Issue 18This article was published with the title “Electric Guns” in Scientific American Magazine Vol. 13 No. 18 (), p. 142
doi:10.1038/scientificamerican01091858-142e

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