(1912) a new chapter in an old story

8/9/2019 (1912) A New Chapter in an Old Story

1/72

*c m bhfl

*T

' ^ , v


2/72


3/72

I


4/72


5/72

A NEW CHAPTER INAN OLD STORY&


6/72

31 ' mk..^ ' * 'Km * ' * ~*^JZ - r


7/72

A NEW CHAPTERIN AN OLD STOKYBEING AN INTERESTING ACCOUNTOF THE STRANGE STEPS

BY WHICH

A GreatModem BusinessHAS GFJDWNOUT OF ANCIENT CONDITIONSTOGETHER. WITH

A LOOK INTO THE FUTUKE

PUBLISHED ANNO DOMINI MCMXIIBYREMINGTON AR.MS -UNION METALLIC CAKTR.IDGE COII 2 99 BROADWAY, NEW YORK


8/72

in^Copyright, 1912, byTHE REMINGTON ARMS-UNION METALLIC CARTRIDGECOMPANY

Prepared, Pictured andPrintedbyTHE SEARCH-LIGHT LIBRARY450 FOURTH AVENUENEW YORK

The Seven Remarkable Full - Page Illustra-tions found in this Book including the FrontCover Picture TRIBUTE OF THE AGES areActual Photographs from Life.


9/72

A NEW CHAPTER IN AN OLD STORY

FOREWORDThis book has been written to tell of an important event

important to us who write and to you who read. Like mostimportant events its preparation commenced years ago.

Perhaps it would be as well to start at the very beginning,for it is an interesting story.

I IS

HistoryHow it Begannaked savage foundhimself in the great-est danger. A wildbeast, hungry andfierce was about toattack him. Escapewas impossible. Re-treat was cut off.He must fight for his lifebut how?Should he bite, scratch or kick?

Should he strike with his fist? Thesewere the natural defences of his body,but what were they against the teeth,the claws and the tremendous musclesof his enemy? Should he wrench adead branch from a tree and use it fora club ? That would bring him withinstriking distance to be torn to piecesbefore he could deal a second blow.There was but a moment in which

to act. Swiftly he seized a jaggedfragment of rock from the ground andhurled it with all his force at theblazing eyes before him; then another,and another, until the beast, dazedand bleeding from the unexpectedblows, fell back and gave him a chance

and Beforeto escape. He knew that he hadsaved his life, but there was some-thing else which his dull brain failedto realize.He had invented arms and ammu-nition !

In other words, he had needed tostrike a harder blow than the blow ofhis fist, at a greater distance than thelength of his arm, and his brainshowed him how to do it. After all,what is a modern rifle but a devicewhich man has made with his brainpermitting him to strike an enor-mously hard blow at a wonderfuldistance? Firearms are really but amore perfect form of stone-throwing,and this early Cave Man took thefirst step that has led down the agesto the Remington Arms and U M Cammunition.

This strange story of a developmentthat has been taking place slowlythrough thousands and thousands ofyears, so that to-day you are able totake a swift shot at distant game in-stead of merely throwing stones,this

'

259584


10/72

is the story which we shallbriefly tell.The Earliest HuntersThe Cave Man and his

descendants learned thevaluable lesson of stone-throwing, and it madehunters of them, not big-

game huntersthat was far too risky;but once in a while a lucky throwmight bring down a bird or a rabbitfor food. And so it went on for cen-turies, perhaps. Early mankind wasrather slow of thought.At last, however there appeared agreat inventorthe Edison of his day.He took the second step.A Nameless EdisonWe do not know his name. Pos-sibly he did not even have a name,but in some way he hit upon a schemefor throwing stones farther, harder, andstraighter than any of his ancestors.The men and women in the CaveColony suddenly found that onebright-eyed young fellow, with a littlestraighter forehead than the others,was beating them all at hunting.During weeks he had been going awaymysteriously, for hours each day.Now, whenever he left the camp hewas sure to bring home game, whilethe other men would straggle backfor the most part empty-handed.Was it witchcraft? They decidedto investigate.What They Saw

Accordingly, one morning several ofthem followed at a careful distance ashe sought the shore of astream where water-fowlmight be found. Parting the

-

leaves, they saw him pick up apebble from the bank and thento their

surprise, take off hisgirdle of skin and place thestone in its center, holdingboth ends with his right hand.

Stranger still, he whirled thegirdle twice around his head,then released one end so that theleather strip flew out and the stoneshot straight at a bird in the water.The mystery was solved. They hadseen the first slingman in action.The Use of SlingsThe new plan worked with greatsuccess, and a little practice madeexpert marksmen. We know thatmost of the early races used it forhunting and in war. We find itshown in pictures made many thou-sands of years ago in ancient Egyptand Assyria. We find it in the RomanArmy where the slingman was calleda " funditor."We find it in the Bible where it iswritten of the tribe of Benjamin:"among all these people there wereseven hundred chosen men left

handed; every one could sling astone at an hair breadth and notmiss." Surely, too, you rememberthe story of David and Goliath whenthe young shepherd "prevailed overthe Philistine with a sling and with astone."Today shepherds tending their flocks

upon these same hills of Syria maybe seen practising with slings likethose of David. Yes, and slings wereused in European Armiesuntil nearly a hundred yearsafter America was discovered.


11/72

Something BetterYet they hadtheir draw-backs.A stone slungmight kill a bird oreven a man, but itwas not very effectiveagainst big game.What was wanted wasa missile to pierce a thick hide.Man had begun to make spearsfor use in a pinch, but would youlike to tackle a husky bear or awell-horned stag with only a spear fora weapon?No more did our undressed ances-tors. The invention of the greatlydesired arm probably came about ina most curious way.Long ages ago man had learned tomake fire by patiently rubbing two

sticks together, or by twirling around one between his hands withits point resting upon a flat piece ofwood.In this way it could be made tosmoke, and finally set fire to a tuftof dried moss, from which he mightget a flame for cooking. This wassuch hard work that he bethoughthim to twist a string of sinew aboutthe upright spindle and cause it totwirl by pulling alternately atthe two string endssome savage races stido. From this it wasa simple step to fasten the ends ofthe two strings toa bent piece ofwood, anothergreat advantage

since now but onehand was neededto twirl the spin-dle, and the othercould hold it inplace. This was the"bow-drill" which

also is used to this day.A Fortunate AccidentBut bent wood is apt to be

springy. Suppose that while one werebearing on pretty hard with a well-tightened string, in order to bring firequickly, the point of the spindleshould slip from its block. Naturally,it would fly away with some force ifthe position were just right.This must have happened manytimes, and each time but once, thefire-maker may have muttered some-thing under his breath, gone after hisspindle, and then settled down stu-pidly to his work. He had had agolden chance to make a great dis-covery, but didn't realize it.But, so it has been suggested,there was one man who stoppedshort when he lost his spindle, fora red-hot idea shot suddenlythrough his brain.He forgot all about his fire-blocks while he sat stock still

and thought.e or twice heLuckled to him-self softly. There-upon he aroseand began to

experiment.He chose alonger, springierpieceofwood, bent


12/72

u

X

it into a bow, and strung it witha longer thong. He placed the endof a straight stick against the thong,drew it strongly back, and releasedit.The shaft whizzed away with

force enough to delight him, and lo,there was the first Bow-and-Arrow!What Came of It

After that it was merely a matterof improvement. The arrow-end wasapt to slip from the string until someone thought to notch it. Its headstruck with such force that the earlyhunter decided to give it a sharppoint, shaped from a flake of flint, inorder that it might drive deep intothe body of a deer or bear.But most of all it must fly true andstraight to its mark. Who of allthese simple people first learned tofeather its shaft? Was it some onewho had watched the swift, sure-footed spring of a bushy-tailedsquirrelfrom branch to branch?Possibly, for the principle isthe same. At all eventswith its feathers andits piercingpoint thearrow became themost deadly of all mis-siles, and continuedto be until long afterthe invention of fire-arms.Ruler of the EarthArmed with hisbow-and-arrow, mannow was lord of cre-ation. No longer wasit necessarv for him

to huddle with his fellows in somecave to avoid being eaten by prowl-ing beasts. Instead he went wherehe would and boldly hunted thefiercest of them. In other words, hisbrain was beginning to tell, forthough his body was still no matchfor the lion and the bear, he hadthought out a way to conquer them.Also he was better fed with agreater variety of game. Andnow, free to come and go wher-ever he might find it, he wasable to spread into various .,'*lands and so to organize thetribes and nations which at lastgave us civilization and history.

Unfortunately his weapons werenot always used for hunting. Warscame, and arrows were seen to be asdeadly against mankind as againstthe animals.Thus, from the earliest days down

through the Middle Ages and intomodern times, we find archers inpractically every army.A Great Variety-

It is interesting tosee how many differ-ent forms of bowwere used. The Eng-lish had a six-foot"long bow" made ofyew or ash, in a sin-gle straight piece,that shot arrows thelength of a man'sarm. The Indianshad bows only fortyinches on the aver-age, since a short bowwas easier to handle

< :.-n'0

Iiti

-.\ f#r"


13/72

' .j^yB^ :'^;;;;lSr S^

''>

V

in thick forests. They used variouskinds ofwood, horn, or even bone, suchas the ribs of large animals. Thesethey generally backed with sinew.Sometimes they cut spiral stripsfrom the curving horns of a moun-tain - sheep, and steamed them

straight. Then they gluedthese strips together into awonderfully tough and springybow. Once in a while they even

took the whole horns of someyoung sheep, that had not curvedtoo much, and used the pair just asthey grew. In this case each hornmade one-half of the bow, and the

piece of skull between was shapeddown into a handle. This gave theshape of a "Cupid's Bow," but itcould shoot to kill.Other TypesMany of the ancient pictures thathave come down to us from Egyptand Assyria are filled with archers

doing various kinds of featswith odd angular bows.The Greeksused curvedends and astraight cen-tral handle.But perhapsthe most sci-entifically con-structed, werethe built-upbows of the

Japanese.Theseclever lit-tle fellows

chose well-seasoned mulberry, andencased each piece with two fire-toughened strips of bamboo. Thesethey wound tightly together withrattan fiber. Where the strings wereattached at the ends was placed acover of sharkskin, and the wholewas then given coat after coat oftheir famous lacquer, a varnish whichnever cracked, wore like iron, andresisted all kinds of weather. Theresult was a bow of the most wonder-ful lightness, strength, spring, anddurability.An Unusual Shape

Its shape was quite as scientific.The bigger the bow, the stronger theshot, and of course they wished forlarge bows. The Japanese archerswere much too short to handle largebows of ordinary shape, but this iswhere brains told again, and everyone knows that the little brown menhave brains.

So they shaped their bows, sevenfeet high in some cases, with the cen-tral part straight, the top curve long,and the bottom curve short. Thisgave a powerful drive from the lowerpart of the string, and made it possibleto fit the arrow a foot below thecenter. The result was archery likethat of the English long bow.As to ArrowsThe arrows were quite as important,and their making became a great in-dustry with every race. Thiswas because so many must becarried for each hunt or battle.Who is not familiar withthe chipped flint arrow-heads that the farmer

so often turns up with

^

;

/'-V i i


14/72

his plow as a rel-ic of the periodwhen Americanswere red-skinnedinstead of white?These arrow-heads have gen-erally a shoulderwhere the arrowwas set into theshaft, there to bebound tightlywith sinew orfiber. Many of them are alsobarbed to hold the flesh.A Workshop Near the Capitol

Strangely enough, one of thelargest workshops ever found wasin the District of Columbia withinsight of our Capitol building.In some parts of the countrymay be found obsidian, or vol-canic glass, and keen - edgedsplinters of this were even betterthan flint.

Later when the Indians hadlearned from the White Alan theuse of iron, they began to sendiron-headed arrows between hisribs in return for the loss of theircountry.Can you see the Indian arrow-maker at his task in thedays when the"cost of livingproblemconsistedmerely inthe

:Ly^-:t

STRANGE TYPE OK BOW AND ARROWS INNEW CALEDONIA

chance of losing anoccasional arrow?He did not needto invest manymillions in anammunition fac-tory like the vastUnion MetallicCartridge plantat Bridgeport.Instead he, him-self, was bothplant and work-

ing force, as he squatted under a for-est tree and skilfully chipped a pile offlint-flakes into proper shape.Or perhaps he would be workingon shafts. In this case he would takea stick from a bundle of service-berryshoots, or some other chosen wood,and patiently straighten it by bend-ing it back and forth through a pieceof pierced horn. Occasionally hewould squint along its length untilhis

practiced eye was satisfied.Then he would round it, smooth it,and gauge it with other simple tools.Every arrow in a quiver must be ex-actly alike and as straight as a sun-beam. The slightest error wouldspoil the aim of the marksman, andthis too frequently might be a matter

of life and death."Blood-Getters"

Cut off at the properlength, headed, inotched,feath-

ered,

.

M :

-


15/72

WITH CROSS-BOWS IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTVRYCourtesy of Longmans Green Co.

perhaps painted as well, the arrowwas finally complete, and yet notbefore the arrow-maker ofttimes dida curious thing. Taking up a bluntpointed stone he dug zig-zag groovesalong its length, as may be seen inmuseums. What was the meaningof this?

Opinions differ. Some believe thatthey were to let air into the woundand cause a flow of blood. Hencetheir name "blood-getters." Othersthink they helped the arrow clingto the flesh, and still others claimthey are merely a primitive symbolof lightning, because they were sup-posed to give extraordinary swift-ness and accuracy through a sortof magic.Deer's Ribs and Man's RibsEven the matter of notching iwas not as simple as it might seem

to be. Arrows were aimed at theheart, but the heart is partly pro-tected by ribs which the arrowsmust slip between. In huntingfour-footed animals like the deerand buffalo with up-and-down ribs,the arrow must drive forward withthe head standing nearly upright.On the other hand, man's ribs

run crosswise, and the arrow mustenter in a fiat-headed position.

Since the notch gives the arrow itsposition in leaving the bow, hunting-arrows must therefore be straight-notched with reference to the head,and the best war-arrows cross-notch-ed,a truly ingenious idea."Frog Crotch" and "Bowel Raker"Most nations, of course, had metalarrow-heads, and in Japan thesehad strangely named forms forspecial purposes. The "FrogCrotch" and "Knife Prong,"for example, were made to cut thehelmet strings and armor-lacingof the foe. One was called the"Armor Piercer," and was pro-vided with a hardened steel headshaped like a mechanic's center-punch.The "Bowel Raker" was a mur-derous affair which tore the abdomenof its victim. Still others were calledfrom their shapes "Willow Leaf,""Turnip Top," etc. To use arrowsfor special purposes like these indi-cates that the Japanese were cleverarchers. We are told that some ofthem could even "sew the wings" ofa flying bird, that is, drive a single

maHOOTING WTLD BOAR WITH CROSS-BOWS

Courtesy of Longmans Green Co.


16/72

arrow through both wingswithout touching thebird's body.Barbs and Poisons

It would take volumesto tell the story of archeryin peace and war throughall its thousands of years.We must hasten, and cannot examine the barbedarrows of some races thatwere made to pull loosefrom their shafts and re-main in the wound, or thecruel, poisoned points ofothers. We can not stopto consider the wonderfulmarksmanship which couldsplit a slender hazel rod at400 yards, nearly a quarterof a mile, or the powerwhich could pierce a stoutoak plank or drive anarrow completely throughthe. body of a buffalo.Cases have been known

where two buffaloes, run-ning side by side, have been

killed with a single arrow.All these and many other points

prove to us that the bow and arrowhave played a very important part inthe history of the world. Their usewas undoubtedly one of the principalsteps in the development of modernarms.A Shooting MachineBut the age of machinery was com-ing on. Once in a while there wereglimpses of more powerful and com-plicated devices to be seen amongthese simple arms.A new weapon now came about

('

through warfare. Man has been asavage fighting animal through prettymuch all his history, but while hetried to kill the other fellow, heobjected to being killed himself.Therefore he took to wearing ar-mor. During the Middle Ages hepiled on more and more, until at lastone of the knights could hardlywalk, and it took a strong horse tocarry him. When such a one fell, hewent over with a crash like a tin-peddler's wagon, and had to bepicked up again by some of his men.Such armor would turn most of thearrows. Hence invention got atwork again and produced the Cross-bow and its bolt. We have alreadylearned how the tough skin of ani-mals brought about the bow; now wesee that man's artificial iron skincaused the invention of the cross-bow.What It WasWhat was the Cross-bow? It wasthe first real hand-shooting machine.

It was another big step toward theday of the rifle. The idea was simpleenough. Wooden bows had alreadybeen made as strong as the strongestman could pull, and they wished forstill stronger onessteel ones. Howcould they pull them? At first theymounted them upon a wooden frameand rested one end on the shoulderfor a brace. Then they took topressing the other end against theground, and using both hands. Next,it was a bright idea to put a stirrupon this end, in order to hold it withthe foot.

Still they were not satisfied."Stronger, stronger!" they clamored;


17/72

"give us bows which will kill theenemy farther away than he can shootat us! If we cannot set such bowswith both arms let us try our backs!"So they fastened "belt-claws" to theirstout girdles and tugged the bowstrings into place with their backand leg muscles.

"Stronger, stronger again, for nowthe enemy has learned to use belt-claws and he can shoot as far as we.Let us try mechanics!"So they attached levers, pulleys,ratchets, and windlasses, until at lastthey reached the size of the greatsiege cross-bows, weighing eighteenpounds. These sometimes needed aforce of twelve hundred pounds todraw back the string to its catch,but how they could shoot! Noticethe pictures of the cross-bows andyou will see that now the weaponsbegan to look a little like guns aswe know them. They had shoulderpieces.In the Chino-Japanese War

Everything is good until somethingbetter comes. Cross-bows were verygood indeed in their day, and thesmaller sizes became popular forhunting in many countries. Someforms also were made to throwstones and bullets instead of arrows.It will surprise most people to learnthat cross-bows are still carried byChinese soldiers in some of the in-terior provinces.Don't smile, the Chinese repeatingcross-bow is really a very clever arm,and none of us would like to get inits way. It has a box above the frame,and in this box are ten arrows. Asfast as one is fired another drops

,--"'-*r--

into place, and the whole ten can besent at their mark in fifteen seconds.Would you like to charge that kindof a proposition ? Some of them wereused in the war between China andJapan, and it appeared that a mankilled with a cross-bow bolt wasabout as dead as one shot with thelatest thing in modern ammunition.And Now for ChemistryHuman muscle seemed to havereached its limit, mechanics seemedto have reached its limit, but still theworld clamored, "Stronger, strong-er! How shall we kill our enemyfarther away than he can kill us?"For answer, man unlocked oneof the secrets of Nature and ^5took out a terrible force. Itwas a force of chemistry.Who first discoveredthe power of gunpowder?Probably the Chinese,although all authoritiesdo not agree. Strange, is itnot, that a race still usingcross-bows in its armyshould have known ofexplosives long beforethe Christian Era, and per-haps as far back as the timeofMoses?Hereis a passagefrom their ancient GentooCode of Laws: "Themagistrate shall not makewar with any deceitfulmachine, or with poisonedweapons, or with cannonsorguns,or any kind of fire-arms." But China mightas well have been Marsbefore the age of travel.Our civilization had

,KSK^

-... - ^-. -

-


18/72

to workout the

problem for itself.Playing with Fire

It all began through playingf& with fire. It was desired to throw

fire on an enemy's buildings, orhis ships, and so destroy them.Burning torches were thrown bymachines, made of cords andsprings, over a city wall, and itbecame 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 chemistsmade al 1 possible mixtures of pitch,I !| resin, naphtha, sulphur, saltpeter,I I etc.; "Greek fire" was one of themost famous.

What Two Monks DiscoveredAlany of these were made in

the monasteries. The monkswere pretty much the only peo-ple in those days with timefor study, and two of theseshaven -headed scientists nowhad a chance to enter his-tory. Roger Bacon wasthe first. One night hewas working his diabolicalmixture in the stone-walled

laboratory, and watched,by the flickering lights,the progress of a cer-

tain interesting com-bination for

which he had used pure instead ofimpure saltpeter.

Suddenly there was an explosion,shattering the chemical apparatusand probably alarming the wholebuilding. "Good gracious!" we canimagine some of the startled brotherssaying, "whatever is he up to now!Does he want to kill us all?" Thatexplosion proved the new combina-tion was not fitted for use as a thrownfire; it also showed the existence ofterrible forces far beyond the powerof all bow-springs, even those madeof steel.

Roger Bacon thus discovered whatwas practically gunpowder, as farback as the thirteenth century, andleft writings in which he recordedmixing 11.2 parts of the saltpeter,29.4 of charcoal, and 29 of sulphur.This was the formula developed asthe result of his investigations.Berthold Schwartz, a monk ofFreiburg, studied Bacon's worksand carried on dangerous experi-ments of his own, so that he isranked with Bacon for the honor.He was also the first one to rousethe interest of Europe in the greatdiscovery.And then began the first crude,clumsy efforts at gunmaking.Firearms were born.Shooting TubesDo you realize the priv-ilege of living to-day in-stead of five hundredyears ago? Supposethat you had to layaside your hand-some, accuratelybalanced

/v


19/72

THE SLING MAN IN ACTION Practice Developed some Wonderful MarksmenAmong the Users of this Primitive Weapon


20/72

S^/>

!

Remingtonrifle with its de-pendableUMCammunition,and then to stick

a lighted matchinto the vent hole

of a clumsy iron tubeon a wooden handle.Suppose that you could not be surewhether the unscientific mixturewould burst the barrel, fire out theprojectile, or merely refuse to go off.Would you be the enthusiastic sports-man you are to-day?That was what your ancestorswere "up against," only they prob-ably thought the weapon wonderful,and felt they were very much up-to-date. We will not go into details.It took centuries for guns to becomeperfect enough to take the place ofbows and cross-bows, and we shallonly glance at a few of the principalchanges.The Coming of the MatchlockHand bombards and culverinswereamong the early types. Some ofthese were so heavy that a forkedsupport had to be driven into theground, and two men were needed,one to hold and aim, the other toprime and fire. How does that strikeyou for a duck-shooting proposition?Of course such a clumsy arrangementcould only be used in war.Improvements kept coming, how-

ever. Guns were lightened and bet-tered in shape. Somebody thoughtof putting a flash pan for the powder,by the side of the touch-hole, and nowit was decided to fasten the slow-match, in a movable cock, upon the

barrel and ignite it with atrigger. These matches were

fuses of some slow-burning fiber,like tow, which would keep a sparkfor a considerable time. Formerlythey had to be carried separately,but the new arrangement was agreat convenience and made thematchlock. The cock, beingcurved like a snake, was called the"serpentine."Winding Up a GunAbout the time sportsmen were

through wondering at the conven-ience of the matchlock, they began torealize its inconvenience. Thus doideas change; you simply cannot keephumanity contented. But then the"kicker" is a valuable member ofsociety. He brings us progress. The" kicker" said that matchlocks burnedup a great deal of fuse, and were hardto keep lighted. Both statementswere true, so inventors racked theirbrains again for something better.They all kn(could bring sjwith flint and st ^

./, ,//?

Turkish inspector was the famousTewfik Pasha, later Minister ofFinance, and at one time minister tothis country.The "Irish Turk"

Some of the older men of theCompany recall one inspectorcalled the ''Irish Turk." A realTurk by birth, he had the face, thebuild, and even the brogue of ared-haired, blue-eyed Irishman.The Turkish contract amountedto two hundred and ten millionrounds, the largest order everplaced in this country.The Russian contract reallybegan some years before the war,in 1868. The coming of theRussian inspector, Gen. Gorloff,was of great advantage to the

%^i*e-cL- -,/

kept on for ninety-live milesand made a safe landing at VilleRoy whence they, too, went byrail to Amiens.Russia and Turkey ClashThen Russia and Turkey de-cided to fight. Both patronizedthe Bridgeport factory, and thestrange situation developed ofone plant daily grinding outthousands of cartridges for thecombatants to fire against eachother in deadly battle. Bothnations had their inspectors atthe works. The officers treatedeach other with formal courtesywhile they inspected millions ofthe little messengers of deathwhich were to rill the air ofSoutheastern Europe with noiseand destruction. The chief

v/.~ **,/?j* &yLcI. I 1

PORTIONS OF POSHOWING SI

LmwUUu.


42/72

business. This competent officer wasa very severe inspector, and thushelped establish the highest standardof product. After two years ofstrict application to business Mr.White, secretary of the Company,took him out for a social evening;Gen. GorlofT then remarked that itwas his first outing in America, andadded that if the contract were afailure he might as well blow hisbrains out.Was it a failure? Gen. GorlofT re-ported: "There have been fired inour regular work twenty thousand,seven hundred and twenty cartridgeswithout one missfire, and two hundredreloaded ten times, making twenty-two thousand, seven hundred andtwenty total, without a missfire, in theinspection of two million."Recovered from a Wreck

Robert J. White reported in 1871:"The bark Forya from New York toCronstadt with three million, six hun-dred and forty-five thousand, onehundred and twenty U M C cart-ridges for the Russian Governmentwas dismasted in a gale, had the deckstove in, and was abandoned at sea.The steamer Iowa from Liverpoolfound her partly filled with water,pumped her out, and towed her to

New York, arriving April, 1871.Much of this ammunition had beenunder water five weeks. The wholewas taken out and returned to thefactory, the wet paper boxes removed,and ten thousand, four hundred andfifty of the cartridges fired, provingthem uninjured." Twenty years latermore of this lot were tested withouta missfire. U M C cartridges fromthe wrecked "Maine," found in goodcondition after thirteen years' sub-mergence, furnish another strikingexample. Could there be better proofof the quality of the primer, its water-tight fit in the primer pocket, or theexcellence of the lubricator and thecrimp?

In 1871, the Russian Grand DukeAlexis came to this country andvisited Bridgeport, where he made aspeech. The U M C plant was ingala attire, one long line of "grass-hopper machines" being decoratedwith bouquets that rose and fellwith the motion of the mechanism.So many factory girls appeared insilk dresses that the Duke was muchamazed at the condition of operativesin America.The Russian TrampA poorly clothed man, apparentlya vagrant, one day approached Gen.Gorloff with a request for work. Hesaid he was a Russian who had beentold by the Consulate in New Yorkthat he might find a job at Bridge-

port. The General directed himto the U M C Company whoset him to work cleaning

the office,

CHARGE OF THE TURKS AT KAKAHASSANKOI


43/72

. ..;..,'.

looking after guns, etc.Though his clothes wereshabby, he had smallhands and feet, and kepthimself remarkablyclean. One day, twomonths later, he failedto appear as usual, butabout ten o'clock arrivedfaultlessly attired fromsilk hat to polishedshoes, and said with acourtly bow: "Good

morning, General, I leave you to-day. Good-by."He was a nobleman's son who hadbeen detailed to serve as a spy uponthe General.An International SecretAt one time Gen. Gorloff rejected a

large quantity of cartridges to thegreat surprise of the Company whohad believed them perfect. Spain,engaged with a Cuban rebellion,promptly bid for the rejected lot;there had been a secret understandingthat these should be refused by Russiato aid Spain.

It was well that Spain secured thisshipment since the Insurrectionistshad not neglected to provide them-selves with Remington rifles andU M C ammuntion. In the laterCuban rebellion, that just precededthe Spanish-American War, allthe forces fighting under Gomez,Maceo, Garcia, and the others, wereso equipped although it had been adifficult matter for the "Junta" toforward their munitions to the sceneof war. More than one such fili-bustering expedition was overtakenand captured within the three-mile

limit by United States authorities.Very much the same experiencemarked many of the other Centraland South American wars and up-

risings. However much these factionsmight differ among themselves, theyall agreed as to what were the bestrifles and cartridges. In one case therewas the curious situation oftwo nationsColombia and ^ , iimiTiiiiiiirnri i 1 1 miVenezuelaatwar with eachother, while a sep-arate insurrec-tion was proceed-ing in each coun-try; all four ofthe warring bod-ies fired U M Cbullets fromRemington rifles.

Perhaps nooneis more deeplyversed in the in-side stories ot in-ternational conflicts during the pastthirty years than is Mr. W. J. Bruff,the Company's general manager. Didnot the seal of business confidencefasten his lips, there is much of recenthistory that he might illumine.Making Paper Shells

In the panic of 1873, the steadywages of the U M C plant relievedBridgeport. This same year the Com-pany bought from C. D. Wells ofSpringfield his equipment for makingpaper shells which were practically allhand-made. Soon machines were in-vented for this work,an importantdevelopment, because shotguns wererapidly increasing in use. This was

TfRAND DUKE ALEXIS ANDGENERAL CUSTER

-


44/72

< AM. .- r-4 J>largest ammuni-

,-

duethefact

that asthe country

r became settledand big game grewharder to find,

; -/ sportsmen gavemore attention towing-shooting. A sup-posedly ample stock wasmade up, and the Com-pany advertised thatsuch a shell was on

the market. Ordersaggregating ten million,fairly flooded the plant,

thus showing the powerof advertising and thesize of the market.

The first U M Cshot shells were ofbrass, but the papershell followed. At

first furnished to beloaded by sportsmen, the

factory began supplying them) ready - loaded in the '8o's.To-day several hundred mil-

lions are turned out each year.Brains and OpportunitiesThe vast plantmuch the

y"f tion factory in thework! is thus a pro-

duct of "Brains and Op-portunity." Every new rifle,

shotgun or revolver of anycaliber, is known immediately;

thereupon the best ballistic expertsin the country, under the directionof Mr. Wm. M. Thomas, BallisticEngineer, at once develop the loadbest adapted to it. So perfect anduniform are the results, that arm-makers have adopted them as stand-ard, and work in accord with theUMC Company in making changes.One incident illustrates the caretaken at every point: In makingpaper shells, the paper tube, wherethe edges lap, naturally had a ridgethat was awkward in the gun. Inorder to lap over smoothly, machinerywas introduced to grind thin theseedges; this step having been notedby Mr. Bird, the paper manufacturer,he developed a thin -edged paperspecially for this process. That iswhy a U M C loaded shell slips sosmoothly into your gun.Mr. Hartley's Energy

Until his death in 1902, Mr. Hartleywatched the work closely, and threwinto it his inspiring energy. Oncewhile making empty paper shells theprimer had to be changed. At thefactory great haste was being made,when Mr. Hartley arrived and inhis forceful way exclaimed: "Do itmore rapidly. Put benches in thestorehouses. Get a thousand moregirls if necessary. I want thoseshells reprimed!" It was done.The marvelous speed with

V-


45/72

DEER-STALKING WITH THE CROSS-BOW This Compact Arm with its Small Bolt and GreatPower was Popular with Many Sportsmen


46/72

"^%//v ; -

.


47/72

\

-,77^25*-. x -- the Erie Canal, where it runs through Ilion,stands a group of large, brick buildings aboutwhose early days wehave already learned. Here,

as described in an earlier chapter,came Eliphalet Remington more thaneighty years ago; but how amazed hewould have been could he have real-ized the greatness of its presentgrowth, for, as we roam through theworks, we come upon signs, " BuildingNo. S3," "Building No. 69," etc. Itis borne in upon us that a deal ofspace is required to produce all theRemington arms that the world de-mands.Of course, as in the cartridge fac-

tory, we find here similar vistas ofswiftly whirring shafts, belts and pul-leys; long rows of resounding machin-ery, and armies of operators. Thereare, however, points in which the

'

manufacture of guns differs from allother processes. These we will noticeespecially.To Prevent BurstingAt the outset, we touch a point ofinterest. When you raise a gun toyour shoulder you take a chance. Itmust be pressed close to your face,since that is the only way for you tosight it. It must contain a powerfulcharge, or it will not shoot to kill.Suppose that there be a flaw in thebarrel near the base, the gun mightexplode with serious results.This often happened with theclumsy arms of olden time. It isoccasionally heard of today.

Therefore, if you are a sportsman,it is reassuring to step into the roomwhere they test materials. Modernscience has learned a thousand things.It takes no chances.A new shipment of steel enters theworks. It comes from a steel millfamous for its products, and is sup-

-


58/72

Tpr "' posed to be made upon aformula which must giveperfect results, according to thelaws of metallurgy, but even these

passports are not sufficient. It muststand the test.By Machine and Chemistry

Accordingly, numerous samples aretaken from different parts of the lotand fashioned into "Test Plugs."Question number one is asked of the

;1 metal by the keen-eyed man incharge of the laboratory:"Were you carefully made uponthat formula? Do you contain the

exact percentage of carbon whichwill give the best results?"The answer involves weighing inthe most delicate scales, and test-ing with chemical reactions until itis absolutely certain that the steelis according to formula, and is uni-form throughout. But this doesnot pass it until question numbertwo is asked:"Are you as strong as you should

be? Come, show your strength."And now the test plugs go intoa powerful contrivance that strainsthem in the most scientific way,and shows the answer upon an

indicator. Since the giant forceof 300,000 pounds pressure to thesquare inch can be brought to bear,the slender plug must break at

some point, and this pointis carefully recorded.

If it fall even a trifleshort of the strengthrequired, which is5,000 pounds to thesquare inch, more

than double the pressureof a service charge, the steelis rejected. That is one of the reasonswhy you can raise your Remingtonto your face with perfect safety.Remington arms, by the way, aremade of "acid open-hearth steel,"which is stronger, weight for weight,than the Bessemer steel _%-..used by most manu- .:"*.' -\

facturers.We "Pass the Test"

If visitors were tested as severelyas the material, we should all beturned back at this point. Fortun-ately, we are favored and allowed topass inside. Here we spend, most in-terestingly, several hours wanderingfrom building to building, and admir-ing the ingenious skill with which themodern firearm is produced.Some departments quiver withthe shock of huge hammers whichcome crashing down upon themetal parts and give them,roughly, the shape thatlater will be finished and "" 'perfected by machine andtool.At other times, we

stand fascinated by theautomatic machinery ,Jkthat hums busilyalong, almost unat-tended as some .^faithful, intel-ligent servant flmr-who can betrusted to work by himself.

In one place, a press israpidly engaged in givingthe correct bend to

'


59/72

AN UNEXPECTED MEETING

Wf

^I^^B^^HKViH^^^^^^^HBiThe "Kentucky Rifle" with its Flint-Lock wasAccurate but must be Muzzle-Charged


60/72

REPEATING SHOTGUNMACHINING DEPARTMENT


61/72

AND RIFLES

the shining inner surface and rundown the barrel toward your eye.These lines are straight as a die, there-fore, the barrel is perfect. Shouldeither one waver the slightest frac-tion the inspector's quick eye at oncedetects it. Yours might not. Swiftlyhe picks up one after another andrepeats the process. Ah! there isone that doesn't sat-

isfy. This he placesin a frame having athree - point bearing ;taps it gently once ortwice, looks throughit again, repeats theprocess, and now findsit absolutely true.Or perhaps he usesa slightly different de-vice and does thestraightening with ahook instead of a ham-mer. Either methodaccomplishes the pur-pose.An Inspecting MachineBut the spirit of thefactory never rests

contented with past achievements.That is why there is now being in-troduced a new machine, of evengreater delicacy, showing reflectedcircles in the barrel, and doing thestraightening mechanically. Noother manufacturer uses such amachine.We must not forget the gauges.Have you any idea how many timesyour Remington rifle or shotgun hashad to pass through the gauging pro-cess? Not a single part of themechanism could go to the assembling

room until it had been separatelymeasured and proved perfect.There are two hundred and forty-five inspection points, and five hun-dred and seventeen gauges must beused: forty-nine on the guard; forty-six on the receiver; thirty on thebreech-block, and so on. On thereceiver for the No. io repeatingshotgun, however, seventy gaugesare used, and thirty-one for the trig-ger alone.Beyond the Power of SightSome .of these gauges are mar-

vels of delicacy, but there is onemachine used which perhapshas never been equaled. Notonly will it make measurementsto one twenty-thousandth of aninch but it is actually sensitiveto differences of a one hundred- *.Vthousandth of an inch. Such -a minute dimension we can ^&j|not even imagine; it is be- "*yond the range of the most :


62/72

where they use such devices shouldbe a "game-getter" ?From Past to PresentOne room links us with the past,

for in it are to be found a collectionof the guns manufactured at Ilionduring the past fifty years.We look in vain, unfortu-nately, for examples ofthe original rifles as madein the little forge by thebrookside; even theJencks carbine, which be-gan the series of Govern-ment contracts, is notshown.

Here, however, is the"Harper's Ferry" model,an antiquated muzzle-loading musketwhilethe next in order showsthe great step to thebreech-loader. In thethird, the nipple-lock hasbeen replaced by one ofmore modern make; alittle farther beyond isseen the entry of the fam-ous dropping breech-blockbacked up by the hammer.It was this improvementthat started the flood offoreign orders narrated in"The Romance of

Remington Arms."

%

3. Rider pat. 22 cal.4. Rem. pat. 44 cal.5. Smoot pat. 41 cal.6. Eliott pat. 32 cal.7. Beales pat. 32 cal.X. Rider pat. 50 cal.


63/72

.

i HHH. Beales pat. 38 cal.10. Rider pat. 32 cal.magazine repeater11. Smoot pat. 32 cal.12. Eliott pat. 41 cal.

single derringer

Passing over several types, the nextto claim special attention shows thetransition from single-fire to repeater.This is the Remington-Lee bolt-mech-anism rifle, developed after years of

experimenting in this fac-tory. It constitutes theparent of modern militaryrifles, and is the arm thatwas first used in battle bythe Chinese, as alreadydescribed, proving sosuperior to the Kropat-chek rifles of the French.The series of rifles cul-

minates, of course, in thefamiliar pumpor trom-bone action, and theautomatic repeater; in thislatter the recoil is utilizedto perform all the opera-tions of setting, firing,ejecting empty shells, andreplacing them withfresh loads.Shotguns, Pistols, andRevolversNor must we overlook

the similar progress, ashere set forth, in shotguns,from the dropping breech-block type to the trom-bone action and automatic repeaters.

Shotguns form an increasingly large pro-portion of the total output, because ofthe greater number of sportsmen huntingbirds and other small game. The require-ments of these hunters are closely

studied. The many styles of pis-tols and revolvers displayedare relics of the past.Their manufacture,

13. Smoot pat. 3K cal.14. Eliott pat. 22 cal.15. Rider pat. 32 cal.16. Rem. pat. 22 cal.17. Beales pat. 44 cal

MODELSContinuedRemington pat. juvenile, No. 4 model.Remington pat. juvenile. No. C model.Remington pat. target, No. 7 model.Browning pat. sporting, auto-loader.Pedersen pat. trombone repeater.

Rider pat. 20 ga., single shot, No. 1 modelWhitmore pat. 12 ga., 2-bar'l, lift lever.Remington pat. 12 ga., 2-bar'l, mod. 1889Rem. pat. 12 ga., 1-bar'l, semi-hammerlessRem. pat. 12 ga., 2-bar'l, hammerless.Browning pat. 12 ga. auto-loader.Pedersen pat. 12 ga. trombone repeater.


64/72

h^'

't:

with the exception of the doublederringer, has now been discontinuedby the Company in order to concen-trate attention upon the productionof rifles and shotguns.Rifling and Other MattersThere is much more to notice as we

go from building to building in thebig enclosure. In some places wecome out upon elevated passage-ways, running over the roofs ofbuildings; we examine with interestthe rifling department, one of themost critical points in the shopwhere the shallow spiral grooves arecut into the barrel in order to givethe bullet the rotation which willkeep it true in flight. These groovesof course must be of exactly the rightdepth and spiral that the best resultsshall always follow.We shall see, without stopping todescribe, the big oil-pumping enginesthat supply oil for the lathes anddrills; also the brazing furnaces, to-gether with many other things; andwe shall come at length to the gun-testing rooms."What! "you exclaim, "more tests?Is there to be no end to it?" Ap-parently not, for these are Remingtonguns with ninety-five years of repu-tation to sustain.Testing with Loads

First, then, is the barrel as perfect aswe believe it? We know that it is per-fect in gauge and workmanship, but isthere the slightest chance of an invis-ible flaw in material? The originaltests of material made this very, veryunlikely, but we will take no chances.If there be such a flaw, it must burstat more than double the service charge.

\'J.'t ' '

Accordingly the gun is laid in arest with its muzzle pointed throughan opening in the wall into a bank ofsand. We get behind a steel platefor safety, and put cotton in our ears;the trigger is pulled by means of astring,bang! the gun is uninjured;its strength has been assured.Then follow tests for action andspeed, and if the gun be an auto-loader the swift rattle of its dis-charges is surprising. The well-gauged parts move as smoothly as theworks of a watch. And finally thereare the target tests.Firing at Targets

Rifle after rifle in succession is laidin a rest and fired at a mathematicallydivided target upon the hillside.The results are noted through atelescope. Difficulty at this point in-varibly rejects the rifle.

Shotguns are discharged at papertargets in the shooting gallery. Wewalk through the hallway that runsoutside to the point where a boy ishandling the targets. We hear adistant bang. The boy pulls a han-dle in the side of the wall, and aframe emerges bearing a well-pepperedsheet of paper. This he unfastensand hangs up for reference, pinning afresh sheet in its place. These targetsmust all be examined and every shot-hole be counted. If in any case therebe found less than 75% of the shotwithin a circle of thirty inches fromthe center, the gun is at once rejected.Every Remington gun must pass

triumphantly through each of itstests. You will find the inspector'smark at the base of your rifle or shot-gun barrel; it is never placed there-^S^/^-

";

' ' 3

u.


65/72

MASTER OF THE SITUATION The Modern Sportsman with his Remington-UMCAutomatic Rifle is Prepared for all Emergencies


66/72

^BPBJSSK^S^* jr.. W-

until the completion of this entireprocess.Utilizing "Kicks"The auto-loading gun, the especialpride of the Remington Works, withits solid breech, its side ejectment,its perfect balance, and its self-actingmechanism, makes use of the recoil,"the Kick"and turns it into ser-vice. Something very much like this,in another sense, takes place in thefactory office, and perhaps it is afterall the most interesting feature ofthe institution. All the rest dealswith the present, but this has itsbearing on the future.Once a week, on Tuesday, thedepartment heads gather for thepurpose of discussing all letters, sug-gestions, or complaints. Complaints?Is it possible that such incrediblepains as we have witnessed can everfail to satisfy? Yes, occasionally,for the human being is a curiouscreature, and no one has ever satisfiedhim everywhere.But the Company invites com-plaints, is grateful for them. Eachpoint is weighed and discussed with

as much care as the inspectionof a barrel. Many minds have

many points of view. It is possiblethat some kick may contain a hint ofgreat value, of which no one hasyet thought. The kick must bemade of service.Your Letter

Therefore, if at any time you feelmoved to write to the makers ofyour gun, you may do so with thecertainty that the letter will be readand discussed around the table in the

long room, that has thebig bison-head at one end,surrounded by a collectionof curious and historic guns.There men, who have madeguns for more years, perhaps,than you have lived, will con-sider every point you raise,and if it should happen, asmight chance, that the pointyou make be new, they willhold you in grateful remem-brance.

.

i

J ft%

.1


67/72

r- -S~ i -----y -ymr-


68/72

and thinks with emotion of the greatRepublic it represents. "Remington"and"U M C" call to mind the yearsof time, the lives of men, and themillions of capital, that have beendevoted to the upbuilding. Each hasgained a meaning, full of interest tothose who know, but taken togetherthey represent a force, so much greaterthan the sum of both, that it maybe years before the world realizes itsfull significance.The new trade-mark, therefore,stands for the tremendous weight ofpast achievements, but its principalbearing is on the future.

It means that the greatest expertsknown to both industries have beenbrought into close co-operation undera single head. This is important inview of the fact that guns are madefor ammunition, and ammunition forguns. Each is useless without theother. An improvement in either,that is not accompanied by a corre-sponding improvement in the other,loses much of its value.Creative BrainsBut two corps of experts working

together from both sides of a singleproblem, are like the two blades of apair of shears cutting swiftly andtruly because of their union. Therecan be no uncertainty under suchconditions. Every new theory in gun-making must be developed throughthe co-operation of those who willproduce the ammunition for its use.Every idea, arising in the busy brains

of the cartridge and shell makers, isinstantly influenced by the

keen practical judgment

of the Ilion authorities. Thus it doesnot have to stand the test of outsideuse in order to prove success or failure.From the start it necessarily is right.Matchless Facilities

Brains, however good, must bebacked by resources. The RemingtonArms-Union Metallic Cartridge Co.has the advantage of unequaled facil-ities. From laboratory apparatus tomechanical equipment, commercialorganization, and financial capacity,its development is not hampered ata single point. Many of its devicesare exclusive, and every new resourceof value, that can contribute ever soslightly to the general welfare, issupplied as soon as it appears.Impelling SpiritBut more important than either,is the spirit behind both men andmeans. This country stands uponthe threshold of greater commercialdevelopment than the world has everseen. No past leadership will sufficeunless newly won with each newyear. Manufacturing, no longermerely an industry, is comingto be thought of as a scienceand an art. The full, broadrealization of these facts is thelargest asset of this Institution;its dominating thought of thefuture, and its determination tokeep a place in advance of even thegeneral forward movement, con-stitute the strongest insur-ance that every developmentof value will make itsfirst appearance bearingthe symbol"Remington-UMC"

."i*':*Kv

.


69/72


70/72

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARYBERKELEY

Return to desk from which borrowed.This book is DUE on the last date stamped below

WW i* **lNOV 1 8 19831

APR 20 1988,: APR U1988'

FEB 19 1989AUTO. DISvDEC 6 1986CIBOU AtH


71/72

U.C. BERKELEY LIBRARIES

CDOb2anio

259584

\


72/72

iM,

Hm

'

'\ -A

r-

** A V L '

(1912) a new chapter in an old story

Documents