The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1888-06-22
ANCIENT FIREWORKS.
Our Forefathers Thought Seven Shots In
Eight Hours Quick Shooting.

Our Forcfathers Thought Seven Shots In
Eight Hours Quick Shooting.
From He Lock aud Bell.
When hand firearms came into use
the only method of firing the gun was
by applying a blazing fuse to the prim-
ing in the pan. This was slow and un-
certain, and the difficulties arising in
the use of early firearms were so great
that some wonder may be expressed at
their being used ut all. The gunner
was forced to carry coarse powder for his
charge, fine powder for his printing, q
bag OF bullets, rest on which to place
his piece when firing, and Il burning
match. So much luggage rendered his
movements and progress exceedingly
slow, and every man who carried gun
was therefore attended by IN assistant
to keep his fire going The process OF
loading and firing was incredibly slow.
At n battle fought in 1886 the best SOL
diers were able TO fire only seven shots
in eight hours, while two years later, in
the battle Of Wittembergen, the quickest
arquebusers fired but seven shots each,
although the fight lasted from noon until
o'clock in the evening.
The first improvement in the method
OF firing the piece was the wheel-lock,
which came in the sixteenth century.
This consisted Of a steel wheel with
ratchets working against flint. The
wheel, being released by moving the
trigger, revolved rapidly and struck
sparks Of fire from the flint, thus ignit-
ing the powder. The wheel.lock
was considered wonderful invention,
but no long time lapsed after it became
common before it was superseded by the
flint lock, the construction OF which is
so well known TO most readers as to
need no description. Many pistols OF
curious patterns and workmanship are
found both with wheel and flint locks,
perhaps the most interesting specimens
being the daggs, used in Italy and the
South OF Europe. These queer weapons
were constructed wholly OF iron, were
consequently very heavy, and had the
handles turned almost at right angles to
the barrel. They made tremendous |
report, but aside from that and the dam
ger of bursting, they were worth little |
us offensive or defensive weapons. 1t is
commonly supposed that the breech-
loader is an invention OF very recent
years, but nothing is further from
the truth, some OF the earliest
hand firearms ever made being breech-
leaders. A hunting arquebus belonging
to Henry VIII. is still preserved in the
Tower OF London, the system being
nearly identical with that OF favorite
modern rifle, and not one modern plan
OF breech-loading is known that was not
ut one time or another foreshadowed in
these ancient weapons. The German
breech-loaders were, however, the best.
Many OF the early pistols were also
breech-loaders, some OF them being on
the drOp.down system-that is to say,
the barrel turning down on u pivot to
admit Of receiving the charge. Both in
guns and pistols the revolving system
was applied as early rs the fourteenth
century, and the museums OF Europe
contain hundreds of specimens OF tif-
tconth century revolvers-Crude, in
deed, but still capable OF good deal OF
rough usage. They were sometimes
double. barrelled, alternately presenting
one, then the other barrel; they had
three, four, five, six, and sometimes ten
barrels. Generally all communicated
with n common printing chamber, and
they were thus all fired together; but
this popularity is noticed only in the
,arly reyolycrs, for when all the barrels
were discharged simultaneously there
was no advantage in the fact OF their
being movable.