doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Wonder how many S x S's went down on the Titanic?

I think one point here needs to be kept in mind. The ship was sailing in April which is about 6 Months removed from hunting season. What would be the practical purpose in bringing your shotguns along?
I should add unless you purchased a brand new one while touring Europe.
Jim

Shopping spree in London.

There was probably more than one use for mercury in the mining towns. Penicillin wasn't discovered until 1928. For sveral centuries before the advent of the age of antibiotics, mercury was used for medical tratments.........specifically for syphilis.

If syphilis didn't kill you the mercury would! I believe that more than a few on the Corp of Discovery were treated with Mercury.


In March 1805, Clark casually writes in his journal, �Generally healthy except venerials complains which is verry Commion.� Three men are mentioned by name in the journals of the expedition as being treated for syphilis, although many historians believe the majority of the men suffered from sexually transmitted diseases. Sexual contact did occur between the Corps of Discovery and some of the Native American women.

"The standard treatment of syphilis was the application of mercury. It was given either as a salve to the lesion or as a pill. It was stopped when excessive salivation and sore gums occurred, signs of mercury poisoning. It was then resumed until the lesion was cured. Some medical historians propose that Meriwether Lewis suffered from neurosyphilis, causing mental derangement leading to his suicide."

Sorry for the aside from the main point of the thread. Perhaps, some on board the ship had the mercury treatment administered on board.

The thing down there I would want is the car that Mr Carter purchased. Do you know how cool it would be to restore it and say you had the only car shipped on Titanic. I would be happy with the engine, transmission, brass trim and frame. If the movie was accurate it should be located in the bow, it should be complete minus the body work.
I am sure most, if any guns on board, were in luggage and there would be no way to locate them on the shipping manifest. Passengers had a substantial luggage allowance in those days.

That's a great thought, but based on what I saw of the ship, it's probably all but gone to corrosion.

Here's an example of what salt water can do to a fine gun in short order. This browing Diana grade got saturated with sea water during an Atlantic Ocean transit while stored in the hold of a ship with other household goods.
It belongs to an associate of mine who was given it by the owner after the insurance settlement.
Jim

Doug, I would suspect that the shells refered to in the manifest were probably just that; the sea type that is, as I would expect them to have been recorded as cartridges having set sail from Britain.

Shotgunjones, interesting point you raised about guns and the Great War as it probably preserved a good many. Guns ordered and never collected or else guns sent to the makers for storeage and never collected. The death toll among junior officers was enormous. Lagopus.....

Thanks Michael, I would say you are correct. Thanks Pete and Douglas Tate on the Dragon's Blood...probably not used any more with the advent of 'modern' chemistry...?

Firearms were probably listed as something they were not for obvious reasons....like J.P. Sauer shipping potato's that eightbore mentioned...?....

The Renault Automobile that was made so famous by the movie is not shown on the manifest...so that leads one to believe the ships manifest does not list all the passenger merchandise that was shipped in the cargo holds, even insured or bulk items....?....

There were a number of rich Americans returning on the Titanic and I am sure many fine firearms went down that night, after all, everyone owned and shot guns back in those days......

I have heard rumors of the infamous "Salt wood" Brownings, but have not yet seen one- not being a real Browning fan (my 1911-A-1 Colts nonwithstanding) so thak you for sharing this with us. Gonna take a box car load of SOS pads and Formby's wood stripper to clean that puppy up---