HAMMER 



2677 



HAMMOND 



reflected for the full .term in 1851. Five years 

 later he retired to become governor of Maine. 

 In 1857, however, he returned to the Senate, 

 where he remained until his election to the 

 Vice-Presidency in 1860. During the War of 

 Secession he gave Lincoln his cordial and un- 

 wavering support. From 1869 to 1881 he was 

 again sent to the United States Senate, and 

 from 1881 to 1883 was Minister to Spain. 



HAMMER, THROWING THE, a feat of strength 

 and agility that forms an important part of 

 modern athletic contests. The contestant 

 stands within a circle seven feet in diameter, 

 and after swinging the hammer round his head 

 to gain momentum, hurls it as far as possible. 

 The hammer is a metal ball weighing not more 

 than sixteen pounds; the handle, not more than 

 four feet long, consists of chains or wire ropes 

 with wooden grips for the hands. Much prac- 

 tice is required before one may become an 



people. Fishing fleets are active, and cod-liver 

 oil is secured in great quantities; salted fish, 

 reindeer and fox skins, salt and coal are ex- 

 ported, and not only Norwegian vessels, but 



POSITIONS IN HAMMER THROWING 

 At left, position of the feet at the beginning of 

 the swing ; center, beginning of the second turn 

 well up on the toes ; at right, the balance, after 

 letting the hammer fly. 



expert. Strength is needed, but this is not so 

 important as control of the muscles, which 

 must work in perfect harmony to produce the 

 best results. The record throw for a hammer 

 weighing sixteen pounds is 172 feet. 



HAM'MERFEST, a seaport belonging to 

 Norway, famous because it is the most north- 

 erly town in the world. In giving this distinc- 

 tion to Hammerfest, however, it must not be 

 inferred that there are not more northerly 

 human habitations; there are a few small set- 

 tlements, without incorporated government, 

 nearer to the North Pole. Hammerfest is sit- 

 uated on the island of Kvalo, near Tromso. 

 The summer temperature averages about 57, 

 while that of the winter averages 31; this 

 unusual mildness is due to the influence of the 

 Gulf Stream. The town is built entirely of 

 wood, and has churches, schools, electric light, 

 telegraph and other modern conveniences. 

 The sun does not set from May 13 to July 

 29, and this is the busy time of the towns- 



WHERE DAYLIGHT LASTS FOR SEVENTY- 

 TWO DAYS 



those of other countries, especially Russia, en- 

 gage in the city's trade. In this region there 

 is not a great variety of food for animals, and 

 cows and sheep have learned to eat fish. The 

 sun is not seen from November 18 to Jan- 

 uary 23, and the quiet of winter prevails; but 

 even then the fisheries are carried on to some 

 extent, as there is a period of twilight daily. 

 The town has a population of about 2,300. 



HAMMOCK, ham'uk, a hanging bed or couch 

 which to the sailor, accustomed to sleeping in 

 it, is comfortable and luxurious, but to the un- 

 initiated is neither pleasant nor especially safe. 

 The natives of Peru first made use of such 

 swinging beds, and it is from their word hamaca 

 that the English name is derived. During the 

 summer season hammocks of brightly colored, 

 loose-woven cord or hemp are much in evidence 

 on verandas or under trees, but the sailor's ham- 

 mock is a less ornamental and more substantial 

 affair. It is of heavy canvas three feet wide 

 and six feet long, and is swung by cords at the 

 ends to hooks under the deck. In the morning 

 it is taken down, the mattress is rolled up in 

 it, and the whole bundle is stored in a locker. 

 Sometimes when a sailor dies at sea his body is 

 wrapped in his hammock for burial, and it was 

 of this custom that Tennyson was thinking 

 when he wrote: 



O mother, praying God will save 



Thy sailor while thy head is bow'd, 

 His heavy-shotted hammock-shroud 



Drops in his vast and wandering grave. 



HAMMOND, IND., an industrial suburb of 

 Chicago, 111., adjoining it on the southeast. It 

 is situated in Lake County, in the extreme 



