AN IMPROVED MODE OF AND APPARATUS OR MEANS FOR KILLING WHALES
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Welch, of Dundee, in the County of Forfar,
North Britain, Ship Agent, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED MODE
OF AND APPARATUS OR MEANS FOR KILLING WHALES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Welch at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 22nd
November 1867.
I, GEORGE WELCH, of Dundee, in the County of Forfar, North Britain,
Ship Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention of "AN
IMPROVED MODE OF AND APPARATUS OR MEANS FOR KILLING WHALES," to be as
follows, that is to say :-
This Invention consists essentially in the use of explosive shells specially
constructed so as to constitute a part of the harpoons employed for killing
whales.
The harpoon is made by preference of malleable iron, the extreme end of
which is screwed to fit into the shell, which under this Invention constitutes
the point of the instrument; the barbs and pin to which they are affixed are

page_text: made of steel; a strong elastic band is placed over the barbs, which are thus
held in position nearly flush with the shaft of the lance until the instrument
enters the whale, the band being provided with hooks which strip it off the
barbs on entering. On having entered the whale the pull back of the line
opens the barbs, and these coming in contact with a tube charged with
fulminating powder ignite it, and so explodes the shell, and at the same time
the barbs are fastened to the whale. This tube passes through the point of
the harpoon, and projects half an inch or thereabouts inside so as to be
caught by the joints of the barbs. The shell is made of cast iron, and filled
with the best gunpowder, and is screwed inside to fit on to the end of the
harpoon and shaft of the lance; the ridges or cutters on the shell are made
quite sharp, and the whole outer surface should be dressed smooth and kept
bright. The shaft of the lance or harpoon is made of the best malleable iron
with grooves cut inside to hold a fuse, the end of which is embedded in the
charge of a gun and ignited by the discharge; the fuse when burnt through
to the shell causes the latter to explode and kill the whale. A shackle of
copper wire is worked within the shaft, to which a "fogle" or cross bar is
attached to prevent the possibility of the instrument entering too far into the
whale. The line of the harpoon is attached to a ring of wire within the
shank.
It is to be understood that this combined harpoon and shell are to be
fired from the harpoon gun at present in use, or other similar thereto..
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Welch in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
20th May 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
WELCH, of Dundee, in the County of Forfar, North Britain, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirty-first year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said George Welch, Her special license that I, the said George
Welch, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said George Welch, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times

page_text: thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"AN IMPROVED MODE OF AND APPARATUS OR MEANS FOR KILLING WHALES,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said George Welch, by
an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should particularly describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great
Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after
the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Welch, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be partilerly described and ascertained in and by the following state-
ment, referen being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the letters
and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
My said Invention consists essentially in the use of explosive shells specially
constructed so as to constitute a part of the harpoons and lances employed for
killing whales.
The harpoon is made by preference of malleable iron, the extreme end
of which is screwed to fit into the shell, which under this Invention constitutes
the point of the instrument; the barbs and pin by which they are affixed are
by preference made of the best malleable iron; a strong elastic band is
placed over the barbs, which are thus beld in position nearly flush with the
shaft of the harpoon until the instrument enters the whale, the bands being
provided with hooks which strip it off the barbs on entering.
On having
entered the whale the pull back of the line opens the barbs, and these coming
in contact with a tube charged with fulminating powder or other explosive
material ignite it, and so explode the shell, and at the same time the barbs
are fastened to the whale. This tube passes through the point of the harpoon,
and projects half an inch or thereabouts inside so as to be caught by the joints
of the barbs. The shell is made of cast iron, and filled with the best gun-
powder or other explosive matter, and is screwed inside to fit on to the end of
the harpoon and shaft of the lance; the ridges or cutters on the shell are
made quite sharp, and the whole outer surface should be dressed smooth and
kept bright. The shaft of the lance is made hollow of the best malleable
iron, with a brass tube inside to hold a fuze, the end of which is embedded in
the chase of a gun, and ignited by the discharge; the fuze when burnt
through to the shell causes the latter to explode and kill the whale. The line
of the harpoon is attached to a ring of wire within the shank.

page_text: It is to be understood that this combined harpoon and shell or the com-
bined lance and shell are to be fired from the harpoon guns at present in use,
or from any other suitable instrument.
And in order that my said Invention may be properly understood I now
proceed more particularly to set forth the system, mode, or manner in or
under which the same is or may be used or practically carried into effect,
reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the letters and
figures marked thereon, that is to say:-
Figure 1 is a longitudinal section and Figure 2 a side elevation of a harpoon
constructed according to my Invention.
A is the shaft of the harpoon, on to the point or front end of which the
-shell B is secured, as more particularly seen in Figure 1. In the point of the
:shaft A barbs C are placed hinged upon the pin a, and these are kept closed
by an elastic band D, shown at Figure 2. The point of the sha is bored
out, and 'the igniting fuze 6 is secured into it, as shown; E is a wire ring to
which the line is attached.
A
The mode of using the instrument is as follows, it being understood that
the harpoon may be fired from any of the harpoon guns at present in use or
from other suitable instrument:-As the fuze b which ignites the powder in
⚫ the shell B is exploded by the opening of the barbs C (great care is taken to
secure them in a proper manner by a clasp or otherwise, as well as by the
elastic band D); when the harpoon has been placed in the gun and ready for
action the clasp is removed, but the elastic band D remains on until the
harpoon is in the act of entering the body of the whale, when the hooks c,
Figure 2, which are attached to the elastic band, catch the skin or blubber
of the whale; and as the harpoon passes into the whale the band D is
. stripped off the barbs C; the whale being thus wounded immediately darts
away, and a strain is thrown upon the line which is attached to the ring E.
The points of the barbs being released catch into the flesh or blubber of the
whale, and spread out to the position shown dotted in Figure 1. As the
point of the igniting fuze b is situated in the space between the hinged end
of the barbs C, when the barbs are suddenly forced open the shoulders e of
the barbs close, and by pressure and percussion ignite the fuze b, which com-
municates with the powder in the shell B and explodes it. The shells are
preferred to be triangular in section, sharpened at the points and edges, but
they may be made circular or of any convenient shape with cutting edges
formed on them, so as to enter the whale as easily as possible.
Figure 3 is an elevation and Figure 4 a section of a whaling lance. The
shells used with the lance are similar to those used with the harpoon which

page_text: has been herein-before described; but in the case of the lance they are
exploded by means of a waterproof time fuze a, seen in the section, Figure 4,
which is placed in the brass or other metallic tube 6 perforated at intervals
as shown to allow the gas to escape; one end of the fuze projects into the
shell, and the other end projects beyond the shaft of the lance, and is ignited
when fired from the gun.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner in
or under which the same is or may be used or practically carried into effect,
I would observe in conclusion that what I consider novel and original, and
therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-before in part
recited Letters Patent is,-
First. The use of shells filled with gunpowder or other suitable explosive
material fixed on the front points of the harpoon and ling lances as herein-
before described, or any mere modification thereof.
Second. The method of exploding such shells by means of a fuze which is
ignited by pressure and percussion of the opening of the barbs after the
harpoon has entered the whale as herein-before described, or any mere modifi-
cation thereof.
Third. The method of exploding shells attached to whaling lances by means
of a waterproof time fuze contained in a perforated tube inserted in the
bollow shaft of the lance, the said fuze being ignited when the lance is fired
from the harpoon gun or other suitable instrument.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Welch, have hereunt set my
hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of May, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-eight.
Witness,
ST. JOHN VINCENT DAY,
166, Buchanan Street,
Glasgow.
GEO. WELCH. (L.S.)