218 The Story of the New England Whalers 



the animal. The handle of the harpoon goes 

 into the gun about a foot, and a line is fastened to 

 it, of course outside the gun, by which the whale 

 is to be held. 



"There is also a bomb lance for the purpose 

 of killing the animal. The instrument is loaded 

 with powder, and a slow match is led from the 

 magazine to the end which goes into the gun. 

 When the lance is fired into the whale the slow 

 match ignites; and in about half a minute the 

 fire reaches the powder which is in the head of 

 the instrument, which instantly explodes, killing 

 the animal outright. At least, this is what the 

 article is intended to do. 



"The whole apparatus is certainly very in- 

 genious; whether or not it is really an improve- 

 ment on the present mode of killing whales is 

 more than we are able to say. That is a ques- 

 tion that must be settled by the whalemen them- 

 selves." 



Any study of the history of the sea shows that 

 sailors and shipowners are the most conservative 

 people in the world. It was thirty years after 

 Fulton made a success on the Hudson before 



