194 Scientific Intelligence. 



down each of these without any injury to the building, except starting 

 a few slates near the ridge post. Now, what appears singular in this 

 case, is, that no person out of nearly three hundred, officers and con- 

 victs, w^as in the least injured, although almost every one was more 

 or less aifected by it. Nearly all of these persons had either a steel- 

 ed hammer, a musket with bayonet fixed, or some metallic utensil in 

 their hands. Within a. yard of my situation, is an armory with thirty 

 guns, and as many steel pointed pikes — the points and bayonets point- 

 ing up. I can account for our escape, only by supposing that the 

 fluid was attracted by so many different objects, on all parts of the 

 building, and all over the yard, that it divided itself just before it 

 reached us, and passed off in such small quantities as almost to lose 

 its effects. 



It is singular that men standing five hundred feet distant from me, 

 should be affected in the same degree. I suppose that one hun- 

 dred tons of iron are exposed on the different buildings, in grates, 

 doors, pillars, &ic. fcc. One of the officers had a saw in his hand, 

 which, he says, seemed to be " light red fire." Another was stoop- 

 ing and picking up nails from the floor, and the instant after the 

 flash, found himself standing bolt upright, with his hands tightly 

 clenched together. The eflects of this bolt were felt over a surface 

 of one hundred and seventy two thousand five hundred feet, in near- 

 ly the same degree, -without any permanent injury being sustained. 



2. Electro-galvanic phenomena.''^' — Singular. — On Wednesday 

 of last week, while the workmen were soldering the iron water pipes 

 in Water street, electric shocks were produced to such a degree as 

 to cause them to discontinue their labors through the remainder of 

 the day. Several of our citizens who were standing by, got into the 

 ditch, and tried the experiment, when the effect was the same on all. 

 The pipes are united in the following manner : — they are nine feet 

 long, perfect cylinders, with a bore of six inches, and a bowl at one 

 end four inches deep. At the spring, is a funnel pipe which is in- 

 serted into the bowl of the succeeding pipe ; the spigot end of which 

 is inserted into the bowl of the next, and so on. When fifty or one 

 hundred pipes are laid down in tliis manner, the process of soldering 

 commences. This is done by first ramming into the joint a few 

 strands of rope-yarn, and then applying clay around the joint, leaving 



" From flip Wincliostor Rop^ililirnii, 



