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I'm not sure which projectile there using in these whale guns but it would be in excess of .50 cal plus in size. They used to fire a whale bomb out of them with a delayed fuse that didn't explode until after impact and penetration with the whale.
[SIZE=2]125-YEAR-OLD NEW BEDFORD BOMB FRAGMENT
FOUND EMBEDDED IN ALASKAN BOWHEAD WHALE
NEW BEDFORD, MA (June 7, 2007) - - A nineteenth century bomb lance fragment, similar to lances manufactured in New Bedford, was found in a large bowhead whale in Barrow, Alaska, suggesting the whale was struck by the fragment around 1890.
Chemical analyses of bowhead eye lenses indicated that the whales have a lifespan of more than a century, with historical weapon fragments, such as stone end-blades and bone harpoon heads found in the blubber of recently captured animals, providing additional evidence of their longevity. The bomb lance fragment that was discovered embedded into the right scapula of a bowhead whale on May 16 was likely manufactured around 1880, adding further confirmation.
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The fragment was found by the crew of Captain Arnold Brower, Sr. when they were harvesting their whale taken in May 2007 near Barrow, Alaska. The Alaska Eskimo subsistence bowhead whale hunt is managed through a cooperative agreement between NOAA and the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission (AEWC). Currently, there are 10 whale-hunting villages in Alaska recognized by the AEWC and NOAA. Recently their 5-year hunting quota was renewed by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) which allows for 255 whales to be harvested by 10 Alaskan villages over 5 years.
“One thing that really sets the North Slope Borough [where the bomb was found] program apart from whale research programs elsewhere is the degree of hunter participation in the research,” said NSB Wildlife Biologist Craig George. “The NSB and the whale hunters have had a long, 30-year history of working closely together on science projects in an atmosphere of mutual respect; it's been a winning formula in terms of science.”
Captain Arnold Brower, Sr. gave George the fragment remarking, “I know this finding is important to science, so I’m trusting you to find out everything you can about it.”
The fragment that was found by Brower was compared to bomb lances in the collection of the New Bedford Whaling Museum and is similar in design and construction to a lance that was patented in 1879 by Ebenezer Pierce of New Bedford. Pierce later modified his patent in 1885, improving on the firing mechanism. The discovered fragment does not resemble the 1885 patent, indicating that the bomb lance was almost certainly manufactured between 1879 and 1885.
Bomb lances were introduced aboard whaleships in the seas near Barrow in the early 1850s. The lances allowed whale hunters kill the bowhead before it was able to escape to the protection of the pack ice.
“Bomb lances were small metal cylinders filled with an explosive and fitted with a time-delay fuse allowing it to explode a few seconds later, after it had been shot into the whale,” said John Bockstoce, D. Phil, adjunct curator of the New Bedford Whaling Museum. “They were originally designed to be fired from a heavy shoulder gun, and later, a darting gun, which was fixed to the harpoon shaft and fired when a whale was struck by the harpoon.”
The discovered lance provides some insight into the possible age of the bowhead whale. The tip of the fragment has six small indentations which are likely the ownership marks of a native Alaskan whaling captain. Native whale hunters were slow to adopt non-traditional equipment, and it wasn’t until after commercial shore whaling stations were established that foreign equipment was used by native hunters.
Thomas Brower is on this crew, I have posted a few images of him already.. those whale gun shots go for a hefty 1,000 bux a shot !!
The funny thing was, we had intended to join other crews for this hunt, but Eugene said he wanted us on his crew (for life) !! Those are his exact words.. !!
Whales have been sighted passing by Point Hope about 5 days ago. Rex Rock - whaling captain made a phone call to Eugene Brower to let him know whales have been spotted. Rex and another person made a recent trip to Barrow for a whaling captains meeting. They procedded to bad mouth us to several important people here in town. The captains told us about their rant, it all backfired into their faces !
We have a great spotless reputation here in Barrow and in many other villages, hate & jealousy is a terrible thing to have to deal with at times. Some people just do not know when to stop !
I think you need " quick time " codec ! I have heard one other person say they could not view the videos, but then they said success !
BEHOLD.. .. the tiny toy camera(s), used to create these images !! My point is well proven beyond dispute, you do not need to spend huge amounts of money with a myrid of X-tra gadgets to produce professonal quality images.
Believe it or not- this toy is capable of producing a movie of one hour in duration !! @ 320 X 240 - Lol.. wait... till the camps are set up, and we sit around for story time. I will do my best to provide you hours of side splitting laughter. The humor level is very 'high' out here on the ice, it is just themost exciting time of the entire year ! These next 8 weeks or so.. what ever it turns out to be, shall be full of awesome images depicting the Inupiaq way of life never before seen up close and this personal !!
I got lots more images to post.. I am so glad you all enjoy the images for what they are and I will do my best to keep 'text' to an absolute minimum!
Believe it or not, this camera has photoshop built into it !! Most of the filters are present to enhance images, it can even put a smile on someone's face that refuses to smile !!!
I'm ashamed to admit, but for the longest time I thought that ya'll just sat along the beach with swivel guns and waited for the whales to swim by. But then I realized that I was thinking about Ft. Yukon (look it up).
Lots of hard work, your catch is well-earned.
As for the shoulder gun, Google "brass shoulder cannon" - the first image is an unspoilt version of this same gun. A "misfire" is an oft misused term. A misfire is a failure to ignite - clearly not the case here.
This gun blew apart at the weakest point, the junction between the barrel and the chamber. This could only have occured as the result of a barrel obstruction. If the bear was laying on top of the shooter, held up only by this gun, it is totally believable that this could have occured.
Several years ago, I saw a Mk19 blow up in almost exactly the same fashion. I was too busy dealing with the aftermath to examine the barrel, but we all assumed the same thing - there was mud plugging the barrel. Mud, bear fat, what's the difference?
We were told, that the reason the gun barrell blew apart was because of the slight distance between the bears head and the mussle itself, I asked again and the same answer was given : It was a fraction of an inch from the head when the trigger was pulled, as in fur contact. That happened many years ago. but the gun is still kept as a souviener and reminder.
However it happend, being that close to an attacking bear is not something I would want to experience or witness. NO matter how well I am armed.
We were told, that the reason the gun barrell blew apart was because of the slight distance between the bears head and the mussle itself, I asked again and the same answer was given : It was a fraction of an inch from the head when the trigger was pulled, as in fur contact. That happened many years ago. but the gun is still kept as a souviener and reminder.
However it happend, being that close to an attacking bear is not something I would want to experience or witness. NO matter how well I am armed.
So going from this delayed catch-up...from your website...is the path done...are the whales coming from Pt. Hope....is the equipment needed out the path built? I won't say when I saw 300 miles away...they must be close? Pics are wonderful...cannot imagine and won't go there with the work. Love the pitch on the handle tools leaning
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