THECANNON

THE DATA

In WDCS134 'The Anti-Beagle Boys Cannon' we are told that Scrooge purchased his cannon at the end of the Boer War in South Africa, from which we can deduct that it was bought in 1902: There were two Boer Wars, the first from 1880 to 1881 and the second from 1899 to 1902, but Scrooge was travelling the USA during the first period, so the actual year of purchase is then easily determined.

It is not known, however, if Scrooge did in fact buy more cannons, but in some stories more than one is shown or mentioned. What is known, is that he purchased both gunpowder and cannonballs at the same time, and some of the stories reveal that he bought these 'accessories' in bulk. This is deduced by the simple fact that the cannon has been fired a number of times over the years.
In the abovementioned story we are presented with the astonishing fact that Scrooge actually still uses the original gunpowder; one of the kegs is marked 'Queen Victoria's Royal Artillery'!

It is interesting that Barks did not consult his former stories - or make a modelsheet - when he drew the cannon. If you look closely, you will see that it changes appearance in subtle ways. The most easily seen 'modifications' are the number of bands and their placements along the barrel.

THE STORIES Presenting, in chronological order, all the stories in which the cannon took part.
NB.: The varying colours of the same cannon in this section are because the different panels were coloured by this website at varying times.	FC0282 The Pixilated Parrot - 1950 Scrooge is using his cannon as a guard dog pointing at possible burglars that might turn up in his office. Besides gunpowder and an assortment of cannonballs we also see - for the first and only time - the necessary ramrod used to push the ingredients to the bottom of the gun barrel.	WDCS134 'The Boer War Cannon' - 1951 Surprisingly, this is in fact the second story with Scrooge's cannon, which he here calls his Burglar-stopper. It is going to prevent the Beagle Boys from stealing his money. The cannon is actually the primary object throughout the story, but it is only fired once - towards the end.
WDCS135 'The New Money Bin' - 1951 In the very next story Barks introduces his newest invention, Scrooge's gigantic Money Bin. It has all the intruder deterrents imaginable including several cannons (seen both inside and outside!), suggesting that Scrooge, in fact, may have bought more than one in 1902!	FC0367 Christmas for Shacktown - 1952 Although this is basically a non-warlike and peaceful Christmas story Barks manages to use his ominous cannon on no less than three separate occasions - all in the capacity of a family deterrent! And he is willing to fire it every time...	FC0386 Only a Poor Old Man - 1952 Scrooge has brought an arsenal of defense articles to guard his money in a faraway lake. The arsenal includes his cannon that can thwart the devious attack schemes of the Beagle Boys. Although we are only shown one cannon, Scrooge cries out in the heat of battle: Load the cannons!
U$28 The Paul Bunyan Machine - 1959 Scrooge transports his cannon to Talltree, Idaho, in order to use it against the Beagle Boys' giant tree chopping machine. But the fired cannonballs are intercepted by the Boys and are nicely melted into multiple miniature toy cannons...	U$35 Gift Lion - 1961 The lock to Scrooge's safe has broken so he will have to stand guard armed with his cannon and a double-barrelled gun. Still, the Beagle Boys manage to cheat their way past him disguised as a lion tamer - and a lion...	U$43 For Old Dime's Sake - 1963 The sorceress Magica de Spell is about to perform an attack on the Money Bin in order to get her hands on the Number One Dime, so Scrooge moves his cannon down to the front door. But she manages to slip by anyway disguised as Scrooge himself.
U$45 Isle of Golden Geese - 1963 This time Scrooge sails his cannon on a long trip to Featherbrain Island off the coast of Chile to subdue Magica de Spell. This time Barks decorated the cannon with an embellishment.	U$58 The Giant Robot Robbers - 1965 Again, Scrooge uses his cannon in an attempt to deter the Beagle Boys from snatching his money. But one of their giant robots unceremoniously grabs the cannon and crushes it.	Maybe the cannon was not repaired. At least it was never seen or heard of again...

THE REAL SOUTH AFRICAN CANNONS

U$15 The Second-richest Duck

Old Gretel

In U$15 The Second-richest Duck Scrooge travels to South Africa on a mission to compete with another fantasillionaire, Flintheart Glomgold, who greets his miser opponent with a cannon, which can be said to be genuinely South African! Still, Barks did not get the appearance quite right as it has a distinct, far too big collar muzzle, that is not credible. Also, it must be of a newer type than Scrooge's cannon as it has two interconnecting barrels.

Barks' version of the Boer War cannon was not based on hard facts. It is obvious that he did not draw it from pictures in his encyclopedia or his otherwise much consulted National Geographics magazines, because it is nothing like the real thing. It is unusually potbellied and furnished with a broad muzzle rim, but the worst mistake Barks made was that he furnished it with a gun-carriage on small wheels, which would not have functioned at all on the ground. Barks' carriage version is in fact almost spot-on for former centuries' cannons on a ship's deck, where they were not meant to move any great distance!
The photo shows a restored cannon from the time of the second Boer War. It was manufactured in the South African Free State of Smithfield, where it participated in the Basuto wars. It was affectionately nicknamed Ou Grietjie in Africaans (meaning Old Gretel in English), a name that referred to the gunner's wife Margaret (Grietjie).

BONUS
59/73 Who's Out There? PAINTING	Who's out There? (1998) FIGURINE

Here is a real long shot linking Carl Barks to the Boer Wars:
Carl's third wife, Garé, had several uncles who fought in the wars (see more HERE).

http://www.cbarks.dk/THECANNON.htm

Date 2013-05-31