150 TEE CRUISE OF TEE " CACEALOT." 



induced to use it, and consequently it had not been much 

 in evidence. Theoretically, it was an ideal tool for such 

 work, its chief drawback being its cumbrousness. It was 

 known as " Pierce's darting gun," being a combination 

 of bomb-gun and harpoon, capable of being darted at the 

 whale like a plain harpoon. Its construction was simple ; 

 indeed, the patent was a very old one. A tube of brass, 

 thickening towards the butt, at which was a square 

 chamber firmly welded to a socket for receiving the pole, 

 formed the gun itself. Within the chamber aforesaid a 

 nipple protruded from the base of the tube, and in line 

 with it. The trigger was simply a flat bit of steel, like 

 a piece of clock spring, which was held down by the 

 hooked end of a steel rod long enough to stick out beyond 

 the muzzle of the gun three or four inches, and held in 

 position by two flanges at the butt and muzzle of the 

 barrel. On the opposite side of the tube were two more 

 flanges, close together, into the holes of which was inserted 

 the end of a specially made harpoon, having an eye 

 twisted in its shank through which the whale line was 

 spliced. The whole machine was fitted to a neat pole, 

 and strongly secured to it by means of a " gun warp," 

 or short piece of thin line, by which it could be hauled 

 back into the boat after being darted at a whale. To 

 prepare this weapon for use, the barrel was loaded with 

 a charge of powder and a bomb similar to those used in 

 the shoulder-guns, the point of which just protruded 

 from the muzzle. An ordinary percussion cap was 

 placed upon the nipple, and the trigger cocked by placing 

 tiie trigger-rod in position. The harpoon, with the line 

 attached, was firmly set into the socketed flanges pre- 

 pared for it, and the whole arrangement was then ready 

 to be darted at the whale in the usual way. 



