Description

There was some interest in military affairs, in the late1800s; especially among inventors. Not only was it patriotic,but there were fortunes to be made in developingthe next new thing in rapid-firing rifles or long-rangecannons. In 1871, for instance, when Thomas Huestis, thelight keeper at Seacow Head announced he had invented aworking machine gun, the Semi-Weekly Patriot speculatedon the wealth and prestige this might bring to him —and his province. Alas, the "Huestis Gun" never made itto the production stage. Nevertheless, there is evidencethat other inventive Islanders, intent on revolutionizingmodern warfare, were hard at work. At least, if the followingaccount, which appeared in the Patriot on 3 January,1879, is to be believed...