Names of the other parts, including the above plateVII. fig. 3.
Names of the other parts, including the above plateVII. fig. 3.
Names of the other parts, including the above plateVII. fig. 3.
A B, the length of the cannon.A E, the first reinforce.E F, the second reinforce.F B, the chace.H B, the muzzle.A o, the cascabel, or pomiglion.A C, the breech.C D, the vent-field.F I, the chace-girdle.r s, the base-ring and ogee.t, the vent-astragal and fillets.p q, the first reinforce-ring and ogee.v w, the second reinforce-ring and ogee.x, the chace-astragal and fillets.z, the muzzle-astragal and fillets.n, the muzzle-mouldings.m, the swelling of the muzzle,A i, the breech-mouldings.
A B, the length of the cannon.A E, the first reinforce.E F, the second reinforce.F B, the chace.H B, the muzzle.A o, the cascabel, or pomiglion.A C, the breech.C D, the vent-field.F I, the chace-girdle.r s, the base-ring and ogee.t, the vent-astragal and fillets.p q, the first reinforce-ring and ogee.v w, the second reinforce-ring and ogee.x, the chace-astragal and fillets.z, the muzzle-astragal and fillets.n, the muzzle-mouldings.m, the swelling of the muzzle,A i, the breech-mouldings.
A B, the length of the cannon.A E, the first reinforce.E F, the second reinforce.F B, the chace.H B, the muzzle.A o, the cascabel, or pomiglion.A C, the breech.C D, the vent-field.F I, the chace-girdle.r s, the base-ring and ogee.t, the vent-astragal and fillets.p q, the first reinforce-ring and ogee.v w, the second reinforce-ring and ogee.x, the chace-astragal and fillets.z, the muzzle-astragal and fillets.n, the muzzle-mouldings.m, the swelling of the muzzle,A i, the breech-mouldings.
A B, the length of the cannon.
A E, the first reinforce.
E F, the second reinforce.
F B, the chace.
H B, the muzzle.
A o, the cascabel, or pomiglion.
A C, the breech.
C D, the vent-field.
F I, the chace-girdle.
r s, the base-ring and ogee.
t, the vent-astragal and fillets.
p q, the first reinforce-ring and ogee.
v w, the second reinforce-ring and ogee.
x, the chace-astragal and fillets.
z, the muzzle-astragal and fillets.
n, the muzzle-mouldings.
m, the swelling of the muzzle,
A i, the breech-mouldings.
The use of these machines is to discharge upon the enemy globes or balls of iron, calledshot, which are therefore of various sizes, in proportion to the caliber of the cannon. The diameter of the ball is always somewhat less than the bore of the piece, that it may be discharged with the greater ease, and not damage the piece by rubbing it too forcibly in its passage; and the difference between these diameters is called the windage of the cannon.
The length of any cannon is always reckoned from the hind part of the base ring, or beginning of the cascabel, to the extremity of the muzzle. The second reinforce begins at the same circle where the first terminates; and the chace at the same circle where the second reinforce ends.
The first reinforce therefore includes the base ring; the ogee nearest thereto; the vent-field; the vent-astragal, and first reinforce-ring. The second reinforce contains the ogee next to the first reinforce-ring and the second reinforce-ring. The chace comprehends the ogee nearest to the second reinforce-ring; the chace-girdle and astragal; and the muzzle and astragal. The trunnions are always placed on the second reinforce, so as that the breech part of the cannon may weigh something more than the muzzle-part, to prevent the piece from starting up behind when it is fired.
A variety of experiments, made with great care and accuracy, prove that powder when on fire possesses at least 4000[2]times more space than when in grains. Therefore if we suppose that the quantity of powder with which a cannon is charged possesses one fourth of a cubical foot in grains, it will, when on fire, occupy the space of about 1000 cubical feet. The same experiments evince also that the powder when inflamed, is dilated equally round its center. One grain of powder fired in the center of different concentric circles, round which grains of powder are placed, shall therefore set fire to all those grains at once.
From this principle it necessarily follows, that powder, when fired in a cannon, makes at the same instant an equal effort on every part of the inside of the piece, in order to expand itself about its center every way, But as the resistance from the sides of the piece turns the action of the powder, so as to follow the direction of the bore of the cannon when it presses upon the ball, so as to force it outwards, it presses also on the breech of the cannon; and this gives the piece a motion backwards, that is called itsrecoilwhich, as we have already observed, is restrained by thebreechingand the convexity of the decks. The recoil in some degree diminishes the action of the powder upon the shot. But this cannot be avoided; for, if the carriages were fixed so as not to give way to this motion, the action of the powder, or the effort that causes the recoil, would tear them to pieces in a very short time.
All pieces of artillery were formerly distinguished into the names of sakers, culverins, cannon, and demi-cannon; but at present their names are derived from the weight of the ball which they discharge: thus a piece that discharges a ball of twenty-four pounds, is called a twenty-four-pounder; and one that carries a shot of thirty-two pounds, a thirty-two-pounder; and so of the rest.
The metal of cannon is not equally thick in all parts, but is in some measure proportioned to the force of the powder which it is to resist. At the breech, where the effort is strongest, the thickness of the metal is equal to the diameter of the corresponding shot. At the first reinforce, where this begins to slacken, the thickness is somewhat less than at the breech: at the second, where the force is still further diminished, the thickness is more reduced than at the first: and, by the same rule, the chace has less thickness than the second reinforce. The thickness of the chace gradually diminishes from the trunnions to the mouth of the piece; so that if a cannon was without cascabel, trunnion, and mouldings, it would exactly resemble the frustum of a cone, or a cone deprived of the small end.
In a vessel of war, cannon are placed on a sort of wheeled sledge, called thecarriage, of which fig. 16. plateVII. is the plan, and fig. 17. the elevation. This carriage is composed of two large pieces of plank, called sides or cheeks, connected together by means of cross-pieces, which are either bolts, axle-trees, or transoms. The two axle-trees are fixed across under the fore and hinder parts of the carriage, being supported at their extremities by solid wooden wheels called trucks. The transom is placed directly over the fore axle-tree, and exactly in the middle of the height of the cheeks or side-pieces. The height of the transom is equal to two diameters of the shot, and the breadth to one diameter.
Explanation of the iron-work, and different parts of a sea-carriage, as exhibited in the plan and elevation of a thirty-two pounder, pl. VII. fig. 16. and 17.
Explanation of the iron-work, and different parts of a sea-carriage, as exhibited in the plan and elevation of a thirty-two pounder, pl. VII. fig. 16. and 17.
Explanation of the iron-work, and different parts of a sea-carriage, as exhibited in the plan and elevation of a thirty-two pounder, pl. VII. fig. 16. and 17.
a. The cap-squares, commonly called clamps in the sea-service.
b. Eye-bolts, by which one end of the clamp is fixed to the carriage.
c. Joint-bolts, upon which the other end of the clamp is fixed over the trunnions; after which it is fore-locked, to prevent the cannon from starting out of its carriage when fired.
b g. The cheeks or sides of the carriage.
d. The transom-bolt.
e. The bed bolt, upon which the bed rests to support the breech of the cannon. The bed is expressed by fig. 4.
f. Hind axle-tree bolts.
g. Breeching-bolts, with rings, through which the breechings pass.
h. Loops, or eye-bolts, to which the gun-tackles are hooked.
i. The fore axle-tree, with its trucks, k.
l. The hind axle-tree, with its trucks, k.
The wheels are firmly retained upon their axle-trees by means of iron bolts passing through the latter without the wheels: these bolts are called linch-pins.
The breadth of the wheels is always equal to that of the cheeks; but the height of the cheeks and diameter of the trucks must conform to the height of the gun-ports above the deck. The carriages of the lower tiers should therefore be so formed, that when the breech of the cannon lies upon the hind axle-tree, the muzzle of the piece should touch above the port, as expressed in fig. 19. which represents a cannon secured by its tackles and breechings, to prevent it from straining the ship as she rolls in a stormy sea.
Cannon are charged by putting down into the bottom first a quantity of powder, one third or one half the weight of the ball. This is done with an instrument, fig. 7. termed aladlewhich is a kind of cylindrical spoon, generally made of copper, and fixed to the end of a staff, called its handle. Upon the powder is put in a wad of rope-yarn, formed like a ball, which is pressed down upon the powder with the instrument expressed by fig. 17. called arammer. Upon this wad is put the ball or shot; and to secure it in its place, another wad is firmly pressed down upon it, which operation is calledramming-homethe wad and shot. The touch-hole of the piece is then filled with powder, from the upper-part of which a little train is laid that communicates with it. The use of this train is to prevent the explosion of the powder from operating directly upon the instrument employed to fire the piece, which in that case might be forced out of the hand of the gunner.
In the modern pieces, a little gutter or channel is framed on the upper part of the breech, to prevent the train from being dispersed by the wind. This channel reaches from the touch-hole to the base-ring.
The cannon being pointed to itsobject, or the place which it is intended to strike, the train is fired, and the flame immediately conveyed to the powder in the touch-hole, by which it is further communicated to that in the piece. The powder being kindled, immediately expands so as to occupy a much greater space than when in grains, and thus dilated it makes an effort on every side to force itself out. The ball making less resistance than the sides of the piece, upon which the powder presses at the same time, is driven out by its whole effort, and acquires that violent motion which is well known to the world.
In plateVII. all the instruments necessary for charging cannon are exhibited. Besides these already described, there is the spunge, fig. 10. which is used to clean the piece after firing, and to extinguish any sparks that may remain behind. In the land-service, the handle of the spunge is nothing else than a long wooden staff; but in ships of war this handle, that usually contains the rammer at its other end, is a piece of rope well stiffened byspun-yarn, which is for this purpose firmly wound about it. By this convenience the rammer becomes flexible, so that the piece is charged within the ship, as the person who loads it may bend and accommodate the length of the rammer to the distance between the muzzle and the ship’s side; being at the same time sheltered from the enemy’s musquetry, to which he would be exposed when using a wooden rammer without the ship. To spunge a piece therefore is to introduce this instrument into the bore, and thrusting it home to the farthest end thereof, to clean the whole cavity. The figures 8 and 9 represent spunges of a different kind; one of which is formed of sheep-skin, and the other of the strongest bristles of a hog. See the articleExercise.
Theworm, of which there are also different kinds, fig. 6. and 9. is used to draw the charge when necessary.
The bit, or priming-iron, is a kind of large needle, whose lower end is formed into a gimblet, serving to clear the inside of the touch-hole, and render it fit to receive the prime.
The lint-stock is a kind of staff about three feet long, to the end of which a match is occasionally fastened to fire the piece.
The fluctuating motion of the sea renders it necessary to secure and confine the artillery in vessels of war, by several ropes and pullies, which are called thegun-tacklesandbreechings, without which they could never be managed in a naval engagement. The breeching has been already explained, as employed to restrain the recoil. The tackles * fig. 18, are hooked to ring-bolts in the sides of the carriage, and to other ring-bolts in the side of the ship, near the edges of the gun-ports, and are used to draw the piece out into its place after it is loaded. Besides these, there is another tackle hooked to the rear ortrainof the carriage, to prevent the cannon from rolling into its place till it is charged: this is called the train-tackle, and is exhibited in fig. 17.
In ships of war, the cannon of the lower-decks are usually drawn into the ship during the course of an expedition at sea, unless when they are used in battle. They are secured by lowering the breech so as that the muzzle shall bear against the upper-edge of the port, after which the two parts of the breeching are firmly braced together by a rope which crosses them between the front of the carriage and the port; which operation is calledfrappingthe breeching. The tackles are then securely fastened about it with several turns of the rope extended from the tackle and breeching, over the chace of the cannon, as represented in fig. 19.
The service of the artillery, or the method of employing it in a naval action, is explained in the articlesEngagementandExercise. The manner of pointing, or directing them to different objects; the effects of different quantities of powder upon the cannonball; and the different lines described by its flight, are also treated at large in the articleRange.
We shall here subjoin a table of the length and weight of different cannon, for the information of those who may be entirely unacquainted therewith; and particularly our sea-gunners.
For an account of the particular number of men appointed to manage the different degrees of cannon, and the arrangement or distribution of the cannon according to the several classes of ships, seeQuartersandRate.
The following judicious remarks for increasing the strength of the British navy, by changing the cannon used in ships of war into others of equal weight but of greater bore, have been selected from the proposal of the late ingenious Mr. Robins.
The advantage of large cannon over those of a smaller bore is so generally acknowledged, that a particular discussion of it might perhaps be spared. * * *
“The most important advantage of heavy bullets is this, that with the same velocity they break holes out in all solid bodies in a greater proportion than their weight; that is, for instance, a twenty-four pound shot will, with the same velocity, break out a hole in any wall, rampart, or solid beam, in which it lodges, above eight times larger than will be made by a three pound shot; for its diameter being double, it will make a superficial fracture above four times as great as the three-pounder, (more of a smaller hole being closed up by the springing of the solid body than of a great one) and it will penetrate to more than twice the depth; by this means the firmest walls of masonry are easily cut through their whole substance by heavy shot, which could never be affected by those of a smaller caliber; and in ships the strongest beams and masts are hereby fractured, which a very great number of small bullets would scarcely injure.
“To this last advantage of large cannon, which is indeed a capital one, there must be that of carrying the weight of their bullet in grape or lead shot, and thereby annoying the enemy more effectually than could be done by ten times the number of small pieces.
“These are the principal advantages of large cannon, and hence it is no wonder that those entrusted with the care of the British navy have always endeavoured to arm all ships with the largest cannon they could with safety bear; and indeed, within these last hundred years, great improvements have been made on this head, by reducing the weight of many of the species of cannon, and thereby enabling the same ships to carry guns of a larger bore: and, very lately, the six pounders in some of the smaller ships have been changed for nine pounders of a larger fabric than usual, which hath been justly esteemed a very great addition, to the strength of those ships.
“The importance then of allotting to all ships the largest cannon they can with safety bear being granted, it remains to shew on what foundation a change is proposed to be made in the fabric of all pieces from the present eighteen pounders downwards, so that they may be changed for others of the same, or less weight, but of a larger bore. This proposition turns on the following considerations.—The species of cannon proper for each ship is limited by the weight of the pieces; and when the charge and effort of the bullet are assigned, this weight in each species is, or ought to be determined by the following circumstances;
That they shall not be in danger of bursting;That they shall not recoil too boisterously;And that they shall not heat too much in frequent firing.
That they shall not be in danger of bursting;That they shall not recoil too boisterously;And that they shall not heat too much in frequent firing.
That they shall not be in danger of bursting;That they shall not recoil too boisterously;And that they shall not heat too much in frequent firing.
That they shall not be in danger of bursting;
That they shall not recoil too boisterously;
And that they shall not heat too much in frequent firing.
“All this is to be done by a proper quantity of metal properly disposed; and when the pieces are secured from these accidents, all additional weight of metal, is not only useless but prejudicial.
“Now what dimensions and weight of metal are more than sufficient for these purposes, we may learn from the present practice of the navy, in the fabric of the thirty-two pounders, the heaviest guns in common use; these are made to weigh (if the author’s information be right) from fifty-two to fifty-three hundred weight; that is somewhat less than an hundred and two-thirds for each pound of bullet.
“From this then the author concludes, that any smaller piece, made upon the model of these thirty-two pounders, and having their weight proportioned in the same manner to the weight of their bullet, will fully answer all the purposes recited above, and will be of unexceptionable service.
“And he founds his opinions on these two principles: first, that the strength of iron, or of any other metal, is in proportion to its substance; so that, for instance, where it has one half the substance, it has one half the strength; and this supposition, he presumes, will be scarcely contested. Secondly that the force of different quantities of powder fired in spaces which they respectively fill, is not exactly in the proportion of those quantities; but the lesser quantity has in proportion the least force: that is, for instance, the force of one pound of powder, in like circumstances, is less than one half the force of two pounds. And this principle the author has deduced from many repeated and diversified trials of his own; and he believes it will be found agreeable to all the observations which have been made, or shall be made, on this subject.
“From these two considerations, he hopes, it will be granted him, that, if two pieces, a large one and a small one, are made with all their dimensions in proportion to the diameter of their respective bullets, and consequently their weights in the same proportion with the weights of their bullets, then the larger piece, with the same proportion of powder, will be more strained, will heat more, and recoil more than the smaller.
“Hence then, as we are assured, that the present thirty-two pounders are of a sufficient strength and weight for all marine purposes, we have the greatest reason to suppose, that, if all the pieces of an inferior caliber were formed upon the same model, measuring by the diameter of the bullet, these smaller pieces would not be defective, either in strength or weight, but would be to the full as serviceable on ship-board, as the present pieces, which are so much overloaded with metal.
“The author’s scheme then for augmenting the force of the present sea-batteries, is no more than this plain principle, that all ship-guns should be cast upon the model of the thirty-two pounders, measuring by the diameter of the respective bullet; so that for each pound of bullet, there should be allowed one hundred and two thirds of metal only.
“The advantages of this scheme will appear, by the following comparison of the weight of the present pieces with their weight proposed by this new fabric.
“Hence then it appears, that the twenty-four-pounders will be eased of six or eight hundred of useless metal; and instead of an inferior caliber now used, much larger ones of the same weight may be borne, especially when it is remembered, that this computation exceeds even the present proportion of the thirty-two-pounders; so that from the above projected eighteen pounders, for instance, two or three hundred weight may be safely taken.”
The changes then proposed by the author are these:
“The nine pounders lately cast, being, as the author is informed, still lighter than what is here represented, they may perhaps be only transformed into twelve pounders; but this will be a very great addition of strength, and the twelve-pounders thus borne will be considerably lighter than the smallest nine-pounders now in use. The weight of the present three-pounders are not remembered exactly by the author; but he doubts not, but they are heavier than the proposed six-pounders, and may therefore be changed for them.
“That many objections will be made to the present proposal is not to be questioned; but, as they will equally hold against the use of the present thirty-two-pounders, which are known to be guns of unexceptionable service, that alone, it is conceived, will be an answer.
“If it be supposed (as ancient practice is always favourably heard) that the excesses in the proportionate weight of the small pieces must have been originally founded on some approved principle, or otherwise they could not have been brought into use, it may be answered, that a hundred years since there were four-pounders made use of, which were heavier than some of the present nine-pounders, and had the same prescription to plead in their behalf.—Perhaps the origin of this excess in the smaller pieces may be accounted for by supposing, that when guns are used in batteries on shore, their length cannot be in proportion to the diameter of their bore; because the parapet being of a considerable thickness, a short piece would, by its blast, ruin the embrasures; and the smaller pieces being for this reason made nearly of the same length with the larger, did hence receive their additional weight of metal. But this reason holds not at sea, where there is no other exception to the shortness of a piece, but the loss of force, which, in the instances here proposed, is altogether inconsiderable; for the old twelve-pounders, for example, being in length from nine feet to nine feet, and a half, the new ones here proposed will be from seven feet to seven and a half long. The difference in the force of the bullet, fired from these different pieces, is but little; and it will hereafter appear, that in the present subject much greater differences than these are of no consequence.
“If it should be said, that the new fabric here proposed must have the present allowance of powder (which in the smaller pieces is half the weight of the ball) diminished, and that it must be reduced to the rate of the thirty-two-pounders, which is only seven-sixteenths of the weight of the ball; it is answered, that if the powder in all ship-cannon whatever, was still farther reduced to one-third of the weight of the ball, or even less, it would be a considerable advantage, not only by the saving of ammunition, but by keeping the guns cooler and more quiet, and at the same time more effectually injuring the ships of the enemy[3]; for with the present allowance of powder the guns are heated, and their tackles and furniture strained, and this only to render the bullet less efficacious than it would prove if impelled by a smaller charge. Indeed in battering of walls, which are not to be penetrated by a single shot from any piece whatever, the velocity of the bullet, how much soever augmented, still produces a proportionate effect, by augmenting the depth to which it penetrates: but the sides of the strongest ships, and the greater part of her timbers, are of a limited thickness, insufficient to stop the generality of cannon bullets, fired at a reasonable distance, even with a less charge than is here proposed. And it is a matter of experiment, that a bullet, which can but just pass through a piece of timber, and loses almost all its motion thereby, has a much better chance of rending and fracturing it, than if it passed through it with a much greater velocity.
“That a much better judgment may be made of the reasonableness of this speculation, the author thinks proper to add (and he believes future experience will not contradict him) that a twelve-pounder, as here proposed, which is one of the smallest pieces at present under consideration, when charged with one-third of the weight of the bullet in powder, will penetrate a beam of the best seasoned toughest oak, to more than twenty inches depth; and if, instead of one solid beam, there are a number of small ones, or of planks laid together; then allowing for rending and tearing, frequent in such cases, he doubts not, but it will often go through near double that thickness, and this any where within a hundred yards distance: that is, any where within that distance, which the most experienced officers have recommended for naval engagements. In the same distance, a bullet from the twelve-pounders now in use, charged with half the weight of powder, will penetrate about one-third part deeper: but if the efforts of each piece are compared together at five hundred yards distance, the differences of their forces will not be considerable. If this be so, it will not be asserted, I imagine, that the twelve-pounder here proposed is less useful, or less efficacious, for all naval purposes, than the weightier twelve-pounder hitherto made use of.
“The author has in this proposal fixed on the thirty-two pounders, as the standard for the rest; because experience has long authorised them. But from the trials he has made, he is well satisfied, a much greater reduction of weight, than is here proposed, might safely take place; and that one fourth, or even one fifth of the weight of the bullet in powder, if properly disposed, is abundantly sufficient for every species of ship-guns[4]. However, the author is far from desiring, that his speculations should be relied on in an affair of this nature, where he pretends not to have tried the very matter he proposes, but founds his opinion on certain general principles and collateral experiments, which he conceives, he may apply to the present case without error. He would himself recommend an experimental examination of this proposal, as the only one to which credit ought to be given. What he intends by the present paper, is to represent it as a matter worthy of consideration, and really such as it appeared to him: if those to whose censure he submits it, are of the same opinion, there is an obvious method of determining how far his allegations are conclusive; and that is by directing one of these pieces to be cast, a twelve-pounder for instance, and letting it be proved with the same proportion of powder allotted for the proof of the thirty-two-pounders: Then if this piece be fired a number of times successively on a carriage, and its recoil, and degree of heat be attended to, and if the penetration of its bullet into a thick butt of oak-beams or plank be likewise examined, a judgment may thence be formed, of what may be expected from the piece in real service; and the result of these trials will be the most incontestable confutation or confirmation of this proposal.”
CANNONADE, as a term of the marine, may be defined the application of artillery to the purposes of naval war, or the direction of its efforts against some distant object intended to be seized or destroyed, as a ship, battery, or fortress.
Cannonading is therefore used in a vessel of war to take, sink, or burn the enemy’s ships, or to drive them from their defences ashore, and to batter and ruin their fortifications.
Since a large man of war may be considered as a combination of floating batteries, it is evident that the efforts of her artillery must in general be greatly superior to those of a fortress on the sea-coast: I say in general, because on some particular occasions her situation may be extremely dangerous, and her cannonading ineffectual. Her superiority consists in several circumstances, as, the power of bringing her different batteries to converge to one point; of shifting the line of her attack so as to do the greatest possible execution against the enemy; or to lie where she will be the least exposed to his shot: and chiefly because, by employing a much greater number of cannon against a fort than it can possibly return, the impression of her artillery against stone-walls soon, becomes decisive and irresistible. Besides these advantages in the attack, she is also greatly superior in point of defence: because the cannon shot passing with rapidity through her sides, seldom do any execution out of the line of their flight, or occasion much mischief by their splinters: whereas they very soon shatter and destroy the faces of a parapet, and produce incredible havoc amongst the men, by the fragments of the stones, &c. A ship may also retreat when she finds it too dangerous to remain longer exposed to the enemy’s fire, or when her own fire cannot produce the desired effect. Finally, the fluctuating situation of a ship, and of the element on which she rests, renders the efforts of bombs very uncertain, and altogether destroys the effect of thericochet, or rolling and bounding shot, whose execution is so pernicious and destructive in a fortress or land-engagement; both of which, however, a ship may apply with great success. SeeRange.
The chief inconveniency to which a ship is exposed, on the contrary, is, that the low-laid cannon in a fort near the brink of the sea, may strike her repeatedly, on or under the surface of the water, so as to sink her before her cannonade can have any considerable efficacy.
CANOE, a sort of Indian boat or vessel, formed of the trunk of a tree hollowed, and sometimes of several pieces of the bark fastened together.
Canoes are of various sizes, according to the uses for which they may be designed, or the countries wherein they are formed. The largest are made of the cotton tree, some of which will carry between twenty and thirty hogsheads of sugar or molasses. Some are made to carry sail, and for this purpose are steeped in water till they become pliant, after which their sides are extended, and strong beams placed between them, on which a deck is afterwards laid that serves to support their sides. The other sorts very rarely carry sail, unless when going before the wind: their sails are made of a sort of silk grass or rushes. They are commonly rowed with paddles, which are pieces of light wood somewhat resembling a corn-shovel; and instead of rowing with it horizontally, like an oar, they manage it perpendicularly. The small canoes are very narrow, having only room for one person in breadth, and seven or eight lengthways. The rowers, who are generally negroes or American savages, are very expert in managing their paddles uniformly, and in ballancing the canoes properly with their bodies, which would be difficult for a stranger to do, how well accustomed soever to the conducting of European boats, because the canoes are extremely light, and liable to be overturned.
The American Indians, when they are under the necessity of landing to avoid a water-fall, or of crossing the land from one river to another, carry their canoes on their heads; till they arrive at a place where they can lanch them again.
The following curious account of the canoes of the Esquimaux Indians in Labrador, has been lately transmitted to the author, which he apprehends will not be displeasing to his readers.
The Esquimaux canoe has a light wooden frame, and the shell, instead of plank, is made with seal-skins sewed together, which are not only extended round the bottom and sides, but likewise over the top; forming a compleat deck, and having only one opening, conveniently framed and situated to admit the Indian into his seat. A flat hoop is fitted to this hole, rising about four inches, to which the surrounding skin is sewed. The Indian’s seal-skin jacket, being of a proper length, he can occasionally bind the skirt of it round the outside of this hoop; by which means he keeps the canoe free from water, and is enabled to pursue his game far from land or in stormy seas. His paddle is about ten feet long, light, and flat at each end, with which he both rows and steers with great velocity and exactness. Mr. Crantz, in his History of Greenland, informs us, that the young men in their exercise are taught to overset their canoes, and when the bottom is upward, to recover, by the dextrous management of their paddle, their former upright position, the men rising again either on the side by which they went down, or on the contrary, as they please. The construction of this extraordinary little vessel, so admirably well adapted to the purposes of its owner, does the greatest credit to the ingenuity of this savage people. Though natives of the extensive country of Labrador, they inhabit only the sea-coasts, particularly the islands, the interior parts being no less barren, and possessed by other wandering tribes, their perpetual enemies and superiors at land; so that they are reduced to almost an entire dependance upon the sea for the common necessaries of life. Seals-flesh and oil are amongst the chief articles of their food; and with the skins they make tents, canoes, and apparel. Those islands on which the sea-fowl breed, they visit for their eggs and young; and kill birds in the water with their darts. We are surprised, that provided thus, they should do so much execution amongst these creatures; but when we behold a party of savages, each in his canoe, with only his harpoon and his lance, pursue, attack, and kill the largest whale, how justly are we filled with admiration. The whale’s flesh and oil they eat; and the tough substance of the gills, commonly called whalebone, they apply very ingeniously to a great variety of uses; trafficking with the overplus for such European goods as they want. In their language, the canoe is calledkaiak, or man’s-boat, to distinguish it fromumiak, the woman’s boat. The latter is a large boat managed by the women for transporting their families and possessions, when they shift their encampment from place to place, as most convenient for the particular hunting of the season. A kind of wolf-dog, natural to that country, is the only animal they breed for food. The same canoes, language, customs, and way of life, being common to the Greenlanders with the Esquimaux, it is evident they have been originally one people.
There is a Greenland canoe in the Repository of the Royal Society, covered with seal-skins, and exactly conformable to the above description.
CANTING, as a sea-phrase, denotes the act of turning any thing about.
CANT-Timbers, in ship-building, those timbers which are situated at the two ends of a ship. They derive their name from beingcanted, or raised obliquely from the keel; in contradistinction to those whose planes are perpendicular to it. The upper-ends of those on thebow, or fore-part of the ship, are inclined to the stem; as those in theafter, or hind-part, incline to the stern-post above. See the articlesTimberandNavalArchitecture.
The principal of these last is the fashion-piece, which forms the outline of the counter, terminating it on the sides.
CAP,chouquet, a strong, thick block of wood, used to confine two masts together, when the one is erected at the head of the other, in order to lengthen it. It is for this purpose furnished with two holes perpendicular to its length and breadth, and parallel to its thickness; one of these is Square, and the other round; the former being solidly fixed upon the upper-end of the lower-mast, whilst the latter receives the mast employed to lengthen it, and Secures it in this position.
The principal caps of a ship are those of the lower-masts, which are fitted with a strong eye-bolt on each side, wherein to hook the block by which the top-mast is drawn up through the cap; the process of which is explained in the articleMast.
The breadth of all caps is equal to twice the diameter of the top-mast, and the length to twice the breadth. The thickness of the main and fore-caps is half the diameter of their breadths; the mizen-cap three-sevenths, and the top-mast-caps two-fifths of their respective breadths.
In the same manner as the top-mast slides up through the cap of the lower-mast, thetop-gallant mastslides up through the cap of the top-mast. The cap is represented by fig. 9. plateII.
CAPE, a promontory, or head-land, which projects into the sea farther than the rest of the coast.
CAPPANUS, a name given by some authors to the worm which adheres to, and gnaws the bottom of a ship.
The cappanus is extremely pernicious to ships, particularly in the East and West Indies: to prevent this, several ships have lately been sheathed with copper; the first trial of which was made on his majesty’s frigate Alarm.
CAP-SQUARE. See the articleCannon.
CAPSTERN, orCapstan, (cabestan, Fr.) a strong, massy column of timber, formed like a truncated cone, and having its upper extremity pierced with a number of holes to receive the bars or levers. It is let down perpendicularly through the decks of a ship, and is fixed in such manner, that the men, by turning it horizontally with their bars, may perform any work which requires an extraordinary effort.
A capstern is composed of several parts, (see plateII. fig. 11.) where A is the barrel, b the whelps, c the drum-head, and d the spindle.
The whelps rise out from the main body of the capstern like buttresses, to enlarge the sweep; so that a greater portion of the cable, or whatever rope encircles the barrel, may be wound about it at one turn, without adding much to the weight of the capstern. The whelps reach downwards from the lower part of the drum-head to the deck.
PlateII. fig. 10. The drum-head is a broad cylindrical piece of wood, resembling a mill-stone, and fixed immediately above the barrel and whelps. On the outside of this piece are cut a number of square holes, parallel to the deck, to receive the bars.
The pivot, or spindle, d, which is shod with iron, is the axis or foot upon which the capstern rests, and turns round in the saucer, which is a sort of iron socket let into a wooden stock or standard, called the step, resting upon, and bolted to the beams.
Besides the different parts of the capstern above explained, it is furnished with several appurtenances, as thebars, thepins, thepawls, theswifter, and thesaucer, already described.
The bars are long pieces of wood, or arms, thrust into a number of square holes in the drum-head all round, in which they are as the radii of a circle, or the spokes to the nave of a wheel. They are used to heave the capstern round, which is done by the men setting their breasts against them and walking about, like the machinery of a horse-mill, till the operation is finished.
The pins, e, are little bolts of iron thrust perpendicularly through the holes of the drum-head, and through a correspondent hole in the end of the bar, made to receive the pins when the bars are fixed. They are used to confine the bars, and prevent them from working out as the men heave, or when the ship labours. Every pin is fastened to the drum-head with a small iron chain; and, that the bars may exactly fit their respective holes, they are all numbered.
The pawls, f, fig. 10. are situated on each side of the capstern, being two short bars of iron, bolted at one end through the deck to the beams close to the lower part of the whelps; the other end, which occasionally turns round on the deck, being placed in the intervals of the whelps, as the capstern turns, prevents it from recoiling or turning back by any sudden jerk of the cable as the ship rises on the sea, which might greatly endanger the men who heave. There are also hanging pawls g, g, fig. 12, used for the same purposes, reaching from the deck above to the drum-head immediately beneath it.