San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1897-03-27
TIE Daily tiqRt
SATURDAY, MARCH %, 1897.
THE GUNS OF THE PURITANs.
Not the Blunderbusses Usually Repre-
sented by Artists.

sented by Artists.
One of the most remarkable facts to
the investigator of our American an
tiquities is the almost total ignorance
which prevails among even those who
are otherwise well &lformed 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 blunderbuss. Almost
every artist who draws a Thanksgiving
or Christmas picture of Puritan 60
ing to meeting gives him a gun with
muzzle like the end of trumpet. Now,
the fact is that the bell-mOuthed fire.
arm was never a military arm among
English-spealling people at all, nor was
such q 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 blunder-
buses which were common enough in
the curiosity shops are'almost without
exception 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 locks. Even some of
our most distinguished writers seem to
be completely at sea on this point. One
New England writer whom l will not
name, for fear of seeming disrespectful
to man deserving of honor, wrote some
time ago in magazine article that some
soldier in King Philips war might have
invented the fintlock by finding that
an Indian flint arrow head would make
fire if inserted into the cock of the
matchbox. Now, the soldier of 1875
was given a matchbox, not because the
military authorities were ignorant of
guns which would make their own fire
(wheellocks and snaphaunces were in
common use), but because the match
lock was considered better for ordinary
use. More than this, if he had thought
of it he would have known that his
matchbox would not make fire with
flint. The flintlock with which our war
of independence was fought requires a
powerful 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 long time afterward the ordinary
frearm for infantry was the matchbox
musket- These are plenty in European
collections, but very rare in America.
have never seen one in any collection
in this country. At the same time the
snaphaunce, a primitive form of the
flintlock, was quite extensively used by
hunters, and probably by the Indians,
who would naturally object TO the
match, which, il kept lighted, would be.
tray their presence. especially at night
Wheellocks were probably used TO some
extent by the earliest settlers. but it was
always an exceptional arm and too cost.
ly to be generally used. BY the time OF
King Philips war it was rather old.
fashioned and not likely to have figured
much. In Springfield is fine bronze
statue of one of the early settlers, who
is represented with a wheellock blum.
derbuss. This is, of course, possible
anything is possible-but if any wheel
lock blunderbuss can be found in any
collection in Europe or this country,
would like to see it.-Boston Transcript