Guns in the Whale Fishery 
By JOHN R. SPEARS 
T HE first attempt to use guns in the capture 
of whales was made as long ago as^i73i. 
As the reader knows, the warships of that 
period carried swivels as well as great guns, the 
swivels being small cannon having a bore of 
something like an inch in diameter. They were 
called swivels because they were mounted on a 
universal joint or swivel, by means of which 
they could be pointed in any desired direction. 
Some bright man-o’-war sailor conceived the 
idea of using them to kill whales. The weapon 
that was then developed consisted of a stout 
barrel, perhaps thirty inches long, that was 
supplied with a wooden stock which was pivoted 
in an iron fork rising from the bow of a com¬ 
mon whaleboat. The projectile was a short, 
two-barbed harpoon, the shank of which was 
expanded a short distance above the barbs until 
it fitted comfortably within the bore of the gun. 
The expanded part of the shank was slotted, and 
a ring was made to slide to and fro within the 
slot. To this ring the harpoon line was se¬ 
cured. 
In loading this gun a charge of loose powder 
was poured into the barrel, a wad was inserted 
and rammed home with the butt end of the 
harpoon, the harpoon remaining, of course, 
within the barrel, ready for the shot. As the 
harpoon was pressed home the ring naturally 
slid along the slot and finally rested against the 
muzzle of the gun. The gun was fired by means 
of a flint-lock that was inclosed within a metal 
case to protect it from the flying spray. Of 
course, when the gun was fired, the ring slid 
along the slot in the harpoon until it brought 
up against the butt, then it dragged out the 
line. 
This swivel was used with some but no 
permanent success. Aiming was difficult while 
the boat was rolling and plunging over the 
waves, and with lack of accuracy came the 
danger of firing the harpoon into another boat 
instead of the whale. Moreover, the loose 
powder was often wetted and the gun became 
useless at the moment when it was needed most. 
In 1772 the swivel was again brought to the 
attention of British whalemen, and the Society 
of Arts became so much interested that rewards 
were offered for whales that might be killed by 
using it; but all in vain; because of the draw¬ 
backs already mentioned. 
In 1816 Captain Francis F. Hinson, a Ber¬ 
muda whaleman, had a harpoon-throwing swivel 
made to order in England, and it is said that 
he was quite successful with it. It is reasonable 
to suppose that the Yankee fishermen of the 
period were acquainted with Hinson’s work, but 
it is not until 1847 that any definite account of 
the use of guns in the American whale fishery 
is to be found. The following description of 
the first whaling gun used in our vessels is 
taken from the Nantucket Enquirer: 
“We saw yesterday at the store of Captain E. 
W. Gardner a very curious contrivance for 
killing whales. It is a short gun weighing some 
twenty-five pounds—the stock being of solid 
brass—from which a harpoon is to be fired into 
the animal. The handle of the harpoon goes 
into the barrel about a foot, and a line is 
fastened to it, of course outside of 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. * * * When the lance is fired 
into the whale the slow match ignites; and in 
about half a minute the fire reaches the powder 
in the head of the instrument, which instantly 
explodes, killing the animal outright. At least 
this is what the article is intended to do.” 
This gun was fired from the shoulder. For 
throwing harpoons it was not a success, but the 
bomb lance had come to stay. In 1846 the 
American whaling fleet reached record size. 
The grounds of the whole world were white 
with the sails of many competing ships, and 
any device that promised to give one crew an 
advantage over another was eagerly tried out. 
Loose powder was poured into the muzzle when 
this gun was to be loaded, and the charge was 
therefore often wet with spray. It was fired 
with a flint-lock and the priming got wet. The 
bomb—a simple tube—had nothing to keep it 
end-on during its flight, and it often struck the 
whale broadside-to; indeed, it sometimes ex¬ 
ploded when but half imbedded in the skin of 
the whale, and sent the pieces buzzing around 
the ears of the whalers. But because it worked 
well now and then it was permanently adopted. 
Of course improvements were made, though 
at astonishingly long intervals. The most re¬ 
markable attempt to improve the weapon was 
that made by a Scotchman named James Miln, 
who. in 1861, planned a two-groove rifle from 
which he fired a bomb carrying “one-half ounce 
concentrated prussic acid and a small charge of 
powder fired by a ten-second fuse.” 
Inventors had proposed the use of prussic 
acid in connection with hand-thrown harpoons 
as early as 1831. Whales were killed by the 
poison at that time. Mr. Miln killed one whah 
with his poisoned bomb, but the use of poisot 
never became popular. For the aeid was neces 
sarily diffused through the carcass to some ex 
tent, and it was said that whalers were killec 
while cutting in poisoned blubber in the earlie 
period of the use of prussic acid. There is nc 
detailed account of such deaths, but the circu 
lation of such a story was enough to preven 
the adoption of the poison bomb. 
Old-fashioned, muzzle-loading, whaling guns 
made to fire from the shoulder, can yet be seei 
on Cape Cod, but the use of the bombs tha 
landed in the whale broadside-to was discon 
tinue in 1852, when Captain C. C. Brand, oi 
Norwich, Conn., invented one that was featherec 
like an arrow. His bomb was an annealec 
castiron tube that carried a fuse at the front end 
a bursting charge within and folding rubbei 
wings at the butt end. These wings opened ou 
as soon as the bomb left the gun, and they kep 
the projectile flying end-on. These bombs 
always penetrated, and became increasingly 
popular with the whalemen. 
The next improvement appeared in 1877 wher 
a breechloader was introduced. It was a shoul 
der gun. The New Bedford Mercury give Capt 
Eben Pierce and Mr. Selmar Eggers the- credi 
of developing it. Its advantages over the muzzle 
loader were manifest. The powder charge was 
in a copper cartridge fitted with a cap like one 
used in common sporting cartridges. The 
weapon could therefore be loaded successfully 
no matter how the spray might fly. It was ; 
safer gun, too, because the powder was nevei 
put in until the gunner was ready to use it 
Then, too, the range was greater. A bomb ha; 
been fired to a distance of 750 feet from on< 
of these guns, but it should be said here tha 
the usual range in firing at whales is from thirty 
to fifty feet. Captain Pierce also made a bomt 
of brass tubing that was fitted with thin brass 
in place of rubber wings. 
Another breechloader was brought out by 
William Lewis and Patrick Cunningham, also o' 
New Bedford. This gun uses fixed ammuni 
tion; the powder and the bomb are united it 
one cartridge. The bores of all these whalet 
guns vary from seven-eighths of an inch to at 
inch and a half in diameter. The length of th< 
bombs is from seventeen to nineteen inches 
Their weight is from twenty ounces to twe 
pounds, and the exploding charge of the larges 
bomb is about two ounces. 
The length of the longest gun barrel is thirty 
eight inches and the weights of the guns vary 
from about eighteen pounds to twenty-eight— 
a big weight to use at the shoulder. The pow 
der charge for throwing the bombs is from twe 
and one-half to three drachms, but it is said tha! 
more than one whaleman has been kicked over 
hoard by the recoil when firing at a whale. 
