Photograp by Record Press
The maker of turpinite, which is said to have been used by te french and to kill and " petrify " the enemy, leaving them standing bolt upright ! M. Turpin.
Amazing tales-so far, it must be said, unconfimed- are going the rounds about the latest death-dealing explosive, invented by M. Turpin, of melinite fame.
" Turpinite " as the mysterious composition has been called, is said to have been used by the French in the recent fighting with such devastating effect that " whole .... infantry have been found dead in their trenches, standing bolt upright and still holding their rifles in firing attitude, as though suddenly petrified. "
Its manufacture is reported to be taking place at a special factory in the suburbs of Paris, the shells being " finished off in a private laboratory by M. Turpin and two assistants working behind locked doors. "
Also a special big gun is said to be required, worked by M. Turpin's employés. Il is claimed by the inventor's friends that a single 56-lb, shell " is able to kill and - so to speak - to petrify every living thing in a space of 400 square yards. "
Horses and sheep, the story goes, were experimented on by exploding a charge near them ; the hapless creatures dropped dead on the spot the instant the " Turpinite " went off. The " petrifying " agent consists of fumes which spread rapidly.
