Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1892-11-13
moDERS WHALING WEAPONS.
Both the Old Harpoon and the Succeed
ing Bomb Gun Are Out OF Date.
san Fronetseo Examiner.

san Fr0netse0 Examiner.
Not the least interesting Of the arti-
cles disgorged by the whaler OF to-day
are the weapons with which the 0lub-
Der hunters STAY the leviathans OF the
deep. Whalers who keep pace with
the times use neither the old harpoon
nor the heavy bombthrowing gun that
succeeded it. a combination OF both
enters into the latter-day weapon, and
its use requires such muscle, nerve and
accurate Judgment that something OF
the glory and emoluments or the an
cient harpooner are once more attached
10 the successful boat header.
Two weapons are employed In killing.
Whalers Call the first one ''dartihg
gum" 1t is a queer looking continuance
mounted on a wooden shaft from eight
to ten feet long. and bearing more re
semblance to clumsy three-tined fork
with the tines OF unequal size and
length than anything else. The central
tine is the gun, and the others are re-
spectively the harpoon and the trigger.
But the harpoon is not called har-
poon; it is a 'toggle iron," slender
iron spike some two and a half feet In
length, with loop near the butt, to
which the whale line proper is made
fast. Half a dozen inches from the
point hinge is set in by rivet. When
closed for penetrating, this hinge pre-
sents a sharp, cutting edge and grad
ual slope that offers DO impediment to
the irons movement through the blub-
Der.
The slightest resistance from the rear,
such as pull on the line, opens the hinge
or toggie joint to right angles, and the
lower end of the hinge presents broad
concave surface, that holds the iron from
being withdraw save by tearing path
out through the lesh equal to the length
Of the hinge, Jomo five inches. This
iron penetrates much deeper than any
other portion OF the gum" and by 1t the
whale is held in leash and followed In
event the bomb fails to do his work.
The central line Of the huge fork Is
the gun proper. and queer looking
gun it is. A copper cylinder, an inch to
an inch and a half in diameter, firmly
fastened to a little square metal boy on
the end Of the shaft, is all that is visible
OF the mechanism, and there Is nothing
70 suggest qua about either cylinder or
box. There is a little door set in the
box, however, and when that Is opened
d lock and trigger are disclosed, which
connect with the third tine. On the III
side of the box the trigger fires an
ounce of powder in the butt OF the
cylinder, and this propels the bomb
from the mouth OF the cylinder at the
same time that 1t ignites ive-second
fuse leading to the chamber OF the
bomb.
The bomb looks more like a brass
railroad spike without head than an
implement Of destruction. 1t Is slight
ly larger than railroad spike, howev-
er, and is charged with tonite. 1t is
usually strong enough TO create fatal
commotion In the interior Of the largest
whale afloat.
An understanding Of the simple
method of the cumbersome affair is not
matter of difficulty. The bow is the
location OF the whaler who plays the
part of the harpoo7er OF old. His OBJ
iect is to bury his ponderous weapon
Just back of the fin. Twenty-Five feet
is considered long cast, but there
are few much sought after gi-
ants who can add ten feet to this dis
lance without losing anything Of their
accuracy of aim. The keen toggle iron,
pushed by the weight of the other ham
per, penetrates the soft blubber TO
depth Of four or five feet before 1t re-
leases itself from the loose rings used 10
hold it to the head of the wooden shaft.
The gums" penetration amounts to
just sufficient to steady 1t before the
third tine or trigger performs 1t part.
This trigger is blunt iron rod
OF just sufficient length 10 come In vlo-
lent contact, end on, with the whales
hide when the copper cylinder serving
as gun barrel is directed fairly against
the target. The pressure on the rod
touches off the trigger; this explodes
the powder charge and the powder
charge speeds the bomb after the tog-
gle iron into the whales vitals, the five
second fuse burning as 1t is dragged
through the outlying blubber.
The damage up 10 date Is trifing,
speaking from whales standpoint, but
when that explosion OF tonite occurs In
his inner consciousness it IL usually suf-
fcient to put any thoughts Of future ex'
istence out of his head. Not always,
though. The bomb may not 90 near q
vital spot or the fuse may not ignite
the tonite, aud there is an anxious min
ute or two while the monster goes be-
low, impelled by the shock OF b.:
wounds. If be comes up in "auory,
as whalemen call the death agony,
well and good, but If there is an intel
ligent vigor in his movements, betoken'
ing desire for revenge or escape, there
is another bomb waiting for him. This
one is from q 24-pound gun, for which
the head killer In the bow has exchanged
his darting gun. This latter, by the
way, Is all recovered but the bomb. The
powder charge rids 1t Of the bomb and
the toggle iron and the gun and the
trigger remain fixed 10 the wooder
shaft, which is connected with the boa
by few fathoms OF light line.
The real whale line Is fast to the tog
gle iron, buried deep in the monster
fat, and it goes whirring out OF It's tut
70 such limitless lengths that there is NJ
possibility Of the whales dragging the
boat down with him. Il is light line
but tough, and q whale could tow boa
around by It oil day without fear OF IL
| breaking.
The guns reserved for the finishing
bomb are OF two patterns. One is al
extremely heavy affair, bordering OF