Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XII.djvu/106

 98 MUSKET so that the musketeer was sure that by some means he could fire his piece. During the 16th century muskets with wheel locks were introduced into all the continental armies, but pikes were also used by foot soldiers, and the proportion of muskets to pikes was about one to three. The musket at that period bore the same relation to the infantry that the field piece does in armies of the present day. It was a good attacking weapon, but in close quarters the brunt of the action was borne by the pikemen, for the musketeers had as much as they could do to take care of their unwieldy weapons. In the 16th century the flint lock as it exists at present was also invent- ed in Spain, and it was merely changed in de- tails of construction, and by some subsidiary inventions, until it was in general superseded by the lock for percussion caps in this century. For a long time the flint lock was regarded with disfavor as too complicated, and likely to fail, and for nearly 100 years its use did not become general. It was adopted in France in 1630. The English were behind continental nations in portable firearms in the 16th and 17th centuries. As late as 1668 "The Corn- pleat Body of the Art Military," by Lieut. Col. Eichard Elton, which gives a system of infantry tactics and manuals for the pike and musket, recommends that two thirds of each company shall be armed with the musket and one third with the pike. The musket manual is for the arm with the match lock or serpent, and there is nothing in the book to indicate that its au- FIG. 5. Chenapan or Snaphaunce Lock. carried his musket and its rest, and a large sword. Over his left shoulder was slung a broad leather belt called a bandolier, the ends of which were fastened on the right side. On this were FIG. 5 a. Arab Lock of same construction. ihor had ever heard of the wheel or flint lock The latter was introduced into England about the year 1690. The musketeer in the days of matchlocks was a very unwieldy soldier. He FIG. 6. Musketeer of 16th and 17th centuries, fully equipped, showing Schweinsfeder and Musket. hung a number of wooden, leather, or tin cylin- ders, each containing a charge of powder for his musket. The balls were contained in a leather bag, and the priming powder in a flask or horn, and both were slung by separate slings from the left shoulder to the right side. He was a man of much greater consideration than is the infantry private soldier of the present day, and in some armies was allowed a servant to carry his musket on the march. At the battle of Wit- tenweiler, in 1638, which lasted eight hours, the musketeers of the duke of Weimar fired seven times only. This account shows that the use of the musket at that time did not add greatly to the destructiveness of wars. The Schweinsfeder (hog's bristle) was the imme- diate forerunner of the bayonet. It was a long rapier with a thin handle, and its sheath was the musket rest, which was an iron tube forked at the upper end. When the rapier was to be used, the handle was inserted in the muzzle of the musket, which then became an efficient pike. As the arm became lighter, the musket rest gradually went out of use, and in order to keep up the use of the arm as a pike as well as a firearm, some new weapon had to be de- vised. So in 1640 the bayonet was introduced, taking its name from Bayonne, where it was first made. At first the shank or handle was made of wood, and was inserted in the muz-