The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-01-18
GUNS OF THE PURITANs.
Not the BIunderbusses Usually Rep
resented by Artists.

From the Boston Transcript.
one OF the most remarkable facts to
the investigator of our American an
tiquity is the almost total ignorance
which prevails even among those who
are otherwise well informed as to the
weapons, more especially the firearms,
with which our Puritan ancestors fought
their wars with the Indians. One of the
notions which seem firmly established is
that the early settlers generally used the
bell-muzZle bunderbuss Almost every
artist who draws a Thanksgiving or
Christmas picture of a Puritan going
to meeting gives him a gun with a muz-
zle like the end of n trumpet Now, the
fact Is that the bell-mouthed firearm
was never a military arm among Eng
lish-speal5ing people at all, nor was such
weapon ever common either in this
country or in England until about the
middle of the last century, when it came
into use for the defense of houses
against burglars for stage coach guards,
and similar purposes. The blunderbusses
which were common enough in the GU
rloslty shops are almost without excep-
ton later than 1850, and many of them
date from early in this century.
A large, bell-mouthed gun was in use
somewhat earlier on board naval and
other armed ships, but this was heavy
piece on a swivel, and used very much
as the howitzer was later.
Then as to the looks. Even some of our
most distinguished writer's seem to be COM
pletely at sea on this point. One New
England writer whom will not name, for
fear of seeming disrespectful to a man
deserving of honor, wrote some time ago
IN magazine article that some soldier
in King Philips war might have invented
the hintlock by finding that an Indian flint
arrow head would make fire if inserted
into the cock of the matchbox. Now, the
soldier of 1915 was given a matchbox, not
because the military authorities were ig-
norant of guns which would make their
own fire (wheellocks and snaphaunces
Werei common use), but because the
matchbox was considered better for or
binary use. More than this, If he had
thought of it he would have known that
his matchbox would not make fire with
fint. The flintlock with which our war Of
independence was fought requires pow
erful blow to make the flint strike fire
from the steel. This the matchbox did
not have, nor did the pan cover open in
such way as to make this possible.
At the time of King Philips war and for
a long time afterward. the ordinary fire.
arm for infantry was the matchbox mus
| ket. These are plenty in European collec-
| tons. but very rare in America. / have
never seen one In any collection In this
country. At the same time the snap
haunce, a primitive form of the hntIock
was quite extensively used by hunters, and
probably by the Indians, who would natu-
rally object to the match, which, If kept
lighted, would betray their presence, es-
pecially at night. Wheellocks were prob
ably used to some extent by the earliest
settlers, but it was always an exceptional
arm and too costly to be generally used
BY the time of King Philips war 1t was
rather old-fashioned and not likely to
have figured much. In Springfield is a
fine bronze statue of one Of the early set
tiers, who is represented, but If any wheel
TGf4fsi -
anything is possible-but If any wheeIlock
blunderbuss can be found in any collection
of Europe or unis country. would like
to see il.