cial Company" was formed in the United States. The idea of this company was to purchase land, as a speculation, among the islands of Polynesia, and also to form a large company for trading among and developing its purchases. Among other purchases they bought a parcel of land in the harbor of Pago-Pago, island of Tuituila, Samoa; and, at the instigation of the company, the American government sent out a war vessel-the "Narragansett," Commodore R. W. Meade, U.S.N., commanding to examine and survey the harbor of Pago-Pago, and, if possible, make a treaty with the natives by which the United States would acquire the right to use the harbor.

The "Narragansett" arrived at Pago-Pago in January, 1872. Commander Meade found the natives well disposed and favorable towards the United States, and made a treaty with the chief of Pago-Pago harbor, by which the government obtained permission to establish there a coaling-station. The harbor and surrounding coasts were carefully and accurately surveyed.

By this treaty the United States has secured one of the best-if not the best-harbors among the South Sea islands. It is very nearly landlocked, a great desideratum in these seas,-and has a body of water that will float the largest vessels. It is the key of the group. Lying directly in the track of commerce and steam navigation between the west coast of America and the islands of the east, its position will naturally force it in time to become a most important place, and a necessity to growing commerce.

It is situated midway between Honolulu and Sydney; and its position in relation to New Zealand, Australia, the Hawaiian Islands, the ports of South America, the Isthmus of Panama, and San Francisco, will make it a most necessary harbor for coaling, supplies, and repairs for all the trade and travel westward to Southern Polynesia and Australia, or returning thence to the shores of America.

To the United States it is particularly important in developing the commerce of its western coast,-if the time ever again comes when there is such a thing as American commerce,-by giving to its mercantile marine a port from which it could better compete with the trade of other nations, were it in the hands of American capitalists. Its position is plainly marked by thorough surveys by the American government; it is easy of access day or night, and is well protected from the hurricanes which sweep that part of the Pacific, and from the dangerous ocean swell which results therefrom. The native chiefs and their people are more desirous of maintaining friendship and relations with the American people than with other foreign powers, and to secure the benefits which would result from intercourse with that country. As a rendezvous for government war vessels it is also of the greatest importance, and the harbor could be easily defended in case of war. And the coaling-station, which the American government has already estab

lished there, has furnished its men-of-war cruising in these waters with a needful supply of coal, not only at a great saving of money, but when otherwise a supply of coal would have been unattainable within hundreds of miles.

In regard to the capabilities of the Samoan Islands, and American trade among them, Secretary of the Navy Robeson, in his annual report for 1872, says,

"It is by no means the province of this report to discuss questions of foreign policy, or to present any event,-even the plainest interests or requirements of our national commerce,—but I cannot forbear to say that, if we are not prepared to ignore wholly the imperative commercial needs, as well as the splendid commercial opportunities of our Pacific States, and to yield, also, the opening avenues of our Pacific trade to the comprehension and courage of more liberal, though more remote peoples, we should not neglect the opportunities thus afforded, at least to protect, if not to encourage, some of the American interests which are there struggling to establish themselves."

In 1873, the government determined to investigate more fully the advantages of maintaining relations with these islands, and a special agent, Mr. A. B. Steinberger, was sent out to inquire into the state of affairs. He reported favorably, sustaining all that had previously been said, and pointing out additional advantages. He remained in the islands a couple of years, and then returned to the United States.

He returned to the islands again in 1875, coming out in a government vessel, but in an unofficial capacity. The vessel arrived at PagoPago, in February, and her arrival was hailed with every demonstration of joy by the natives. The object of this second expedition was to establish, if possible, a permanent government. On the 22d of April, the ship went to Apia, the seat of government, where about ten thousand natives were assembled for the purpose of inaugurating the new government. After various documents and messages of greeting were read, Mr. Steinberger delivered the presents of President Grant, consisting of arms and ammunition, and a flag composed of seven alternate red and white stripes, with one white star on a blue field. A constitution was adopted, and Steinberger was elected prime minister; but on account of the hostility of the missionaries, he was obliged to leave the islands a few years afterwards. Since that time the government of the "kingdom" has been carried on with varying success.

The Samoan Islands have a valuable commercial future before. them, in which it is to be hoped American trade will play an important part.

FREDERIC B. VINTON.

PROGRESS IN MODERN ARTILLERY AND FORTIFICATION.

I. THE "BOOMERANG SPANKER."

THE chief study of artillery officers, and the greater part of their attention, has heretofore been in the direction of the increase of initial or muzzle velocity and exaggeration of range. The object to be attained is to pierce or batter in the sides of any ironclad which can be made to float, or to breach all fortifications which can be constructed, however thick the parapet; also to reach a range so extreme that an enemy's position can be cannonaded at such a safe distance that we are beyond the reach of his telescopes or his hearing the sound of our guns.

To attain this desired end it is only necessary to continue the progress in increasing the size of our heavy guns, and in enlarging the magnitude of our grains of powder, dynamite, and other explosives.

There will be a limit as to weight, length, mass, etc., which must act as a barrier to the inventive genius of our artillery and ordnance officers, over which their scientific ingenuity cannot vault.

After Congress shall have been persuaded to force a "plant," either by the hot-house growth of an impending war or the cold-frame influence of our being left far behind by foreign improvements and progress, there may be no insuperable difficulty to prevent the actual manufacture of guns of illimitable length and calibre. Possibly, we may hope for a monster piece of ordnance so long that, whilst its breech is receiving the necessary welding strokes of a steam-hammer of one thousand tons at Rock Island arsenal, a similar process is being applied to the last ring of its muzzle at Springfield armory, Massachusetts, and the region of the chase and trunnions is receiving the same delicate attention from a triplicate thousand-ton tack-hammer at Watervliet arsenal.

Hammer away! There is no danger that the monstrous engine of war, however gigantic, will ever outgrow the anticipated limits of the universal Yankee nation or of the Ordnance Department! The farmers along the line from the Mississippi to the Housatonic may at first object to blocking the country roads, but they will soon learn to tunnel under the gun to connect them. The railroads also may make

some outcry and noise; but, although it is said that these properties were once valuable, and did, in early times, yield returns on their cost, they are certainly of no account now, and the managers of them had better go to work and labor at something like other people.

To this point we see no limit to the construction of any sized gun the market will take in paying quantities; but when we arrive at the loading, pointing, and sighting of the piece, a real obstacle is discovered which will fix a limit to the length.

The power of the lenses of our field-glasses will limit the length of the axis. The distance between the breech and the muzzle cannot well be greater than a good telescope can reach, or than a long-stepping gunner can march in a summer's day. Also the heretofore hypothetical relation which exists between calibre and length of bore will establish some limit as to the magnificence of the former. There must also be a reasonable limit to the size of grains for the powder, as it would not be convenient for a grain to be larger than could be carried between two men, in a suitable sling or hand-barrow. A limit is also unavoidably imposed so far as the range is concerned.

Among the boys, in our school-days, there was an axiom-never questioned" What goes up must come down," etc.; but still we remember that when the envious naval officers subjected Ames's guns to proof at Bridgeport, they finally, after failing to burst one, filled it full, elevated it to 45°, and tried to throw a projectile over Long Island! Some years after the occurrence, Horatio Ames related the circumstance, and, with his usual emphatic expressions, more forcible than elegant, asserted to us that the projectile "was not down yet, and never would come down!" So that the extreme range to be sought must be within the limit of where the projectile is sure to come down, before acquiring the character of an aerolite. Hence we see that it may be considered certain that there are limits, even with all the electrical aids, to the growth of the heavy artillery business.

On the other hand, we know of no limits which as yet hedge around the McLanes, the Hotchkisses, the Gatlings, and all other experimenters and inventors of coffee-mill, crank, vibratory, balloon, or other machine artillery. Almost every day we hear of something new in the way of gun or projectile, which can look around a corner, put a regiment out of the way with a corkscrew motion, or accomplish some other supposed impossibility of war.

The wonder of the present hour is the invention of the "Boomerang Spanker," by (as is supposed) a second lieutenant of artillery, who is a member of the next class for detail at Fortress Monroe in 1886. We regret that his secret has been so well guarded that we are unable at present to furnish the drawings or describe in detail all the parts and actions of his machine.

The peculiar and original secret of this piece does not rest with

itself alone, but exists also in its projectile, which is a flat, thin, metallic plate, instead of being, as heretofore, an elongated or spherical solid. It is also proposed that the gun-squads shall have their cooked rations served on these same plates, and thus save the large appropriations which Congress would otherwise be expected to make to supply annually such expensive china as would be appropriate.

The ingenious young officer became deeply interested in a young lady at that Old Point hotel which bears the name of the daughter of Esculapius. In one of their frequent promenades, whilst waiting their turn at the favored trysting-place of flirts, Gun No. 40, which they found occupied, they strolled to the beach. It is not to be surmised that every young lady from the hotel could be tempted to visit Gun 40 with any young officer; in fact, this one is the only instance of the kind which is recorded in official reports. But the imagination is not so clear in regard to the young men. Probably not one of them can be discovered who would forego accompanying a young lady there on sufficient provocation. Indeed, some of them would flirt with a vestal virgin, even if he foresaw that she would permit the fires to die out whilst hanging on the music of his words.

On the beach some children practiced, with skill, skipping flat stones on the surface of the water; and noticing that the missiles occasionally took wing and curved in the air with a boomerang motion, the idea on which the lieutenant founds his invention at once took so absorbing control of his mind that he entirely forgot the lines from Tom Moore, which he had carefully committed to memory for his fair dulcinea. The young lady, conscious of looking utterly captivating in a becoming spring gown, has never known why the neglected Gun 40 waited in vain, and why, instead, she devoted herself to watching the silly actions of uninteresting children.

Meanwhile, the great Boomerang idea, which was to create an entire revolution in attack and defense of fortified places, was being evolved.

The flat, thin, spanker projectile from the Boomerang gun, being aimed so as to clear the crest of a fort about a foot, is caught up by the air and comes back again, taking the infantry, standing on the banquette, with their attention closely engaged in front, unexpectedly and with demoralizing effect, in the rear. There is no escape from it, for it behaves somewhat as the boys' fire-serpents do on Fourth-of-July nights, and goes everywhere. It is as likely to go into a casemate arch as anywhere else.

With a sufficient number of these pieces in the hands of an attacking force, there is no alternative for the beleaguered garrison but to escape from the stern embarrassment of their position by instant flight, or to request to be taken in on easy terms.

If we had had the whole artillery reserve at Yorktown made up of