Page:Memoir upon the negotiations between Spain and the United States of America which led to the treaty of 1819.djvu/70

60 that it is not easy to make use of it; for it very rarely and with great difficulty occurs, that the combination of circumstances is altogether favorable for striking the harpoon against the sides of an enemy's vessel, and fixing this dreadful machine under the keel, without its being discovered and prevented by the enemy.

Another invention of this kind is, what is called the infernal machine. This machine was invented by an armourer of Philadelphia. It is composed of seven musket barrels, united by a breech, like the common muskets, but proportioned to the size of the seven barrels: they are loaded with 30 balls each, and are so connected, that upon being fired, there is a continued discharge of 210 balls, one after the other, which, having the advantage of being directed by a single aim, may all take effect. It may with reason be called an infernal machine; for it is capable of defending against any attack, however powerful it may be. The Americans have used it with great success in their naval battles, and to this may be principally attributed the victory in the famous battle of Lake Erie, in which the whole English squadron was captured, owing to the mortality and confusion caused by this machine in one of the English vessels that boarded the American Commodore. The