INEXTINGUISHABLE FIRE.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 10628, 5 June 1897, Page 2

INEXTINGUISHABLE FIRE.

'■ Thirteen centnrles ago (he Byzantine ' Greeka struok terror Into the hearts of 1 their enemies by aalng a composition 1 whloh, when Ignited, was very dlffiouU to 1 extinguish, The description of it handed • down through the generations Indeed de- ' Botibsd it as inextinguishable, bat that is 1 very doubtful. It Is believed to have been ' a mixture oi pounded teiln or bitumen, ' sulphur, naptha, and nitre. It was made 1 at Constantinople! and Its composition 1 was kept a profonnd secret for leveral > centuries. In naval warfare with the 1 Saracens it proved most efieotive. The > blazing oompoßltlon was thrown by 1 arrows and other meant on the opposing 1 ships, and proved veiy destructive. It 1 was, no doubt, this method of warfare 1 whloh, in later timei, suggested the nse 1 of fire-ships. Old vessels filled with ln« 1 flammable materials were taken to wind--1 ward of an enemy, and set loose to drift ' among an opposing fleet. In these days • of Iron ships snoh a device wonld be ' nseleßs. Bat a really nnqnenchable fire ' might under oert&ln oircamstanoea be ' used with great efleot. A fire that cannot 1 be put oat by mortal means until it has ' consumed every particle of Its fael 1b something mysterious, almost satanlo in Its character. Bat this, it is stated by a ' Clnolnnntl ohemUt with the very ordinary name of John Floyd, has been discovered. It is represented, as a subitanoe having the consistency of paste, and ' harmless while In a qaiet state; the friction caused by rubbing a hard surface will, however, set it aglow, and nothing will overcome the flame, the latter barnlag with a blue light and an Intense beat until the compound la completely destroyed by combustion, water having no effeot upon Id, Dynamite and gunpowder require a spark to Ignite them, while powder prodnooß an explosion, but not a regular fire ; bat to Ignite this compound there is just the slightest friction of rubbing it egalnsb some ordinary snbstance—there is then no explosion or rapid spreading of flames, but a strange, living fire, Incapable of being stamped oat or killed in any known way. The inventor states his unwillingness to make the Ingredients of this composition knowD, on account of rieka to the publlo by so doing, Lat us hope he will die with his secret nndisclosed.