The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1897-10-13
GUNS OF THE PuRlTANs.


Not Tho BlunderEuGses Usually Rerxc5e Mt
cd IKT Artists.
One Of the most remarkable facts
to the investigator OF our American
antiquities is the almost total igno-
rance which prevails among even
those who are otherwise we'll in
formed as to the weapons, more es-
pecially the firearms, with which
our Puritan ancestors fought tti,eir
wars with the Indians. One of the
notions which seems iirmly estab-
lshed is thar the early settlers gen
orally uscdIthe bell muzzle blunder-
buss. Almost every artist who
iraws Thanksgiving or Christmas
picture of q Puritan going TO meet
ing gives him gun with a lnuzzle
like the end of n trumpet. ANow, the
fact is that the boil mouth firearm
was never a military arm among
English speaking people at all, nor
was such a 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 bur-
glars, for stagecoach guards and
similar purposes. The blunderbusses
which are commons enough in the
curiosity shops are almost without
exception later than 175O, and many
of them date only from the early
part Of this century.
A large, bell mouthed gun was in
use somewhat earlier on board Of
naval and other armed ships, but
this was a heavy piece mounted on
swivel and used very much as the
howitzer was later.
Then as to the locks. Even some
of our most distinguished writer's
seem to be completely at sea on this
point. One New England writer,
whom will not name for fear of
seeming disrespectful to "a man de-
serving of honor, wrote some time
ago in a magazine article that some
soldier in King. Philips war might
have invented the flint1ock by find
ing that IN Indian flint arrowhead
would make fire if inserted into the
cock Of his matchbox. Now, the
soldier OF 1926 was given match
lock, not because the military au-
thorities were ignorant of guns
which could make their own fire
(whee1 locks and snaphaunces were
in common use), but because the
matchbox was considered better for
ordinary use. More than this, if he
had thought of 1t, hewould have
known that his matchbox would
not make fire with a flint. The flint
lock with which our war of inde-
fcGaaoloo 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 E11rnnean collections, but 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
fintlock, was quite extensively used
by hunters. and probably by the IH-
dians, who would naturally object
to the match, which if kept lighted
would betray its. presence, especial
ly at night. Wheel locks were prob.
ably used to some extent by the,
earliest settlers, bnt' it was always
an exceptional arm and tofl lcostlyto
be generally used. By the time Of
King Philip 8 war it was rather old
fashioned and not likely to have fig
ured much. In Springfield is q fine
bronze statue Of one Of the early
settlers, who is represented with
wheel lock b1unde erbuss. This is, OF
course, possib ible ANY thing is posi-
BILE. But if any wheel look blnnder-
buss can be found in any collection
cf Europe or this inountry I ISwould
like to SEE il. Boston Transcript.
: 81 G.