. The Bookshelf for boys and girls Historic Tales and Golden Deeds part 4. s of thedesert, which kicks up showers of small stoneswith its hind feet when pursued; and the machinecalled the Onager flung showers of small stonesby a sort of kicking action. The Scorpion flung the solidity and thickness of the walls of Je-rusalem that, Josephus tells us, it took all ofone night for this battering-ram to dislodgefour stones! Vitruvius has left us the description ofa ram weighing 480,000 pounds; but prob-ably the most celebrated of all the ancient STORIES FROM ANCIENT DAYS 271 showers of p
. The Bookshelf for boys and girls Historic Tales and Golden Deeds part 4. s of thedesert, which kicks up showers of small stoneswith its hind feet when pursued; and the machinecalled the Onager flung showers of small stonesby a sort of kicking action. The Scorpion flung the solidity and thickness of the walls of Je-rusalem that, Josephus tells us, it took all ofone night for this battering-ram to dislodgefour stones! Vitruvius has left us the description ofa ram weighing 480,000 pounds; but prob-ably the most celebrated of all the ancient STORIES FROM ANCIENT DAYS 271 showers of poisoned darts. All varieties of theCatapult flung showers of small stones, darts, ar-rows, javelins, etc., while all varieties of the Bal-lista flung but one large stone, or large dart, at atime or single discharge. But the motive power Notwithstanding the great force with which theballista and catapult threw projectiles, there waswonderful accuracy in their aim. Josephus tellsus that he himself saw the head of a man takenoff and carried more than six hundred yards by a. was the same in all, and was obtained either fromweights or from springs, made of cords of hide orsinews, stretched or drawn back by levers. Thepower thus produced was sometimes very as great as 1200 pounds could be throwna distance of 800 yards. Think of that,—a powergreat enough to throw a big horse a distance ofover half a mile ! It is surprising, is it not? These machines were carried about with thearmies; but often the largest were built before thebesieged walls; and when the army moved awaythese were taken apart and transported in throwing great stones, the ballista wasoften used to hurl fire-pots and red-hot iron ballsover the walls into the city, to set fire to it. Thefire-pots were filled with resin and the wonderfulcomposition known as Greek fire. This latter wasmade of naphtha, pitch, and sulphur; and, oncelighted, it could not be put out, even by water. Itwas used agai
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectliterat, bookyear1912
