We told you some time ago that it was likely that another treaty would be arranged for, and it is now said that Sir Julian Pauncefote is to be kept in office that he may have ample time to arrange the details of a new agreement which shall be favorably received by both countries.

It is said that when he returns to Washington this winter he will bring with him full instructions to guide him in this difficult matter.

The next mail from Hawaii is being most anxiously waited for. It is expected that it will bring word what action the Hawaiian Congress has taken in regard to the annexation treaty.

The Legislature of the islands was called to assemble on September 8th, and the first matter to be brought before the law-makers was to be that of annexation.

While the United States have been invited by the Hawaiian Government to annex the islands, the voice of the people has not yet been heard. The decision of the Congress of the Sandwich Islands will therefore be eagerly looked for.

Some members of our Senate are of the opinion that the people of the islands are not really desirous of being annexed to the United States but if the representatives of the people vote for the measure, it will remove all such doubts from their minds, and greatly help the matter in its journey through our Legislature.

Mr. Thurston, the Hawaiian Minister to the United States, asserts positively that the Congress will decide for annexation.

He says that just before the Legislature in Honolulu adjourned, a joint resolution was offered, declaring that the interests of Hawaii demanded that she should be joined to the United States.

This resolution was adopted unanimously, and as there have been no changes in the Hawaiian Senate since the adjournment, he thinks it absolutely sure that the members voted in favor of annexation.

One of the inhabitants of Milledgeville, Kentucky, has a very interesting relic of the early days of our country.

It is an old flint-lock rifle which once belonged to Daniel Boone, the famous pioneer, who opened up Kentucky for us.

It is asserted that this rifle belonged to Boone when he went to Kentucky in May, 1769, and the history of the rifle can be so clearly traced back to its first owner that there seems to be little doubt of the truth of the story.

The barrel of the gun measures four feet one inch, and the entire gun six feet two inches.

The story goes that it was with this gun that Boone helped to kill the 2,300 deer whose skins were hidden in the mountains of Kentucky, while the pioneers went back to Virginia for more ammunition and supplies.

When the men returned a few months later, they found that the Indians had stolen and destroyed the entire lot of skins.

The present owner of the gun has had it for fifty years.

A new bullet-proof cloth has been invented by a priest of Chicago, Father Casimir Zeglen.

Father Casimir is a man of peace, who takes but little interest in implements of warfare, and this great discovery was made by chance. The discovery once made, he determined to bring his invention to the highest state of perfection, hoping that through it he might lessen the horrors of war, and save many innocent lives that are now sacrificed for the honor of a country.

The cloth is intended to be used as a padding or interlining for the soldiers' uniforms, and its inventor hopes to make the cloth so thin and flexible that it can be worn without inconvenience.

It has already been tested, and the results were highly satisfactory.

The test was made at Fort Sheridan, near Chicago, and it was decided to use the Krag-Jorgensen gun against it.

The inch steel bullet thrown by this rifle has, it is said, been known to pierce through armor-plate. It has made its way through twenty inches of packed sand, pierced twenty-two inches of oak timber, and fired from a distance of six hundred yards it will pass through five feet of earth.

The cloth stood the test of these terrible bullets wonderfully well. Five thicknesses of the material were used for the test, all the pieces being exactly the same size, and laid together in one compact pad.

The first shot was made at a distance of four hundred yards. It was found that the bullet had pierced through the first thickness of the cloth, but had become flattened out against the rest.

When the bullet was removed from the cloth it was said to have looked like a mushroom, the end that had first touched the cloth being flattened.

The experiments were continued at shorter and shorter range, but the cloth was never quite pierced through.

The military men who witnessed the trial were amazed at the results.

Colonel Hall, who conducted the experiments, said that he thought that the cloth might perhaps be penetrated at a distance of fifty yards, but even so, there was no doubt that it would afford immense protection for soldiers engaged in actual warfare.

The material of which the cloth is made is a secret. Father Casimir will only say that it is made of silk. He keeps it so closely covered that no one has had an opportunity of examining it.

He evidently has the most absolute faith in the qualities of his invention, for he is anxious that the authorities of Governor's Island, New York, shall make a test of his invention, and offers, to envelope himself in the cloth and let the soldiers fire at him.

He wishes to sail for Europe and give exhibitions of his invention in various cities.

If the Governor's Island test takes place, regular army rifles are to be used, and the only precaution the priest will consent to is, that the soldiers shall first fire at an animal, enveloped in the bullet-proof cloth. When it is found that the creature escapes unhurt, the priest insists that he shall be allowed to become the target.

G.H. Rosenfeld. ○

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The Great Round World and What Is Going On In It, Vol. 1, No. 47, September 30, 1897

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