Flint arms were much more efficient than matchlocks. They were faster, more dependable, and less cumbersome. The powder in the priming pan was ignited by striking a piece of flint held by the cock against a piece of steel, called the frizzen or battery. The frizzen was poised directly over the pan so that the sparks produced by the contact of the flint and steel would drop into the powder. Flint arms could function in ordinary dampness and even in a light rain. There was no match to light and keep free from ash in advance of any expected action. And since there was no match, there was no light or smell to betray an ambush. It is difficult to determine exactly when flint arms superseded matchlocks as the standard military firearm at Plymouth. There were a few flint arms in the _Mayflower_ in 1620, for flints are specifically mentioned among the military stores on board. Miles Standish, a professional soldier, naturally had the best weapon available. Edward Winslow, in describing the first encounter between the colonists and the Indians, noted that Standish with his “snaphance” and one or two other Pilgrims, who were apparently equipped with flint arms, fired at the Indians and held them at bay while a brand from the fire was carried to the others so they could light their matches. For the first ten years the supremacy of the matchlock was probably not seriously threatened. From 1630 until the outbreak of King Philip’s War in 1675, however, the change is plainly visible. There are more references to matches than to flints in inventories and court records until the beginning of the Pequot War, but the tales of snap-shooting increase, and during the war the stories of ambushes and surprise attacks throughout New England indicate that flint arms were becoming more plentiful. In 1643 the Plymouth General Court ordered that every soldier should be supplied with either a matchlock or a “snaphance.” By 1645 Governor William Bradford could report that the Plymouth troops had been sent to a muster at Seacunk “well armed all with snaphance peeces.” In 1645, also, while matchlocks were allowed for private arms, the Plymouth General Court allowed only “snaphances” or “firelocks” for Town arms. With the coming of King Philip’s War, the era of the matchlock at Plymouth was definitely past. The campaigns of that war, forays into the wilderness, night attacks, ambushes, battles in the rain, and encounters between individuals which required snap-shooting indicate clearly that the “snaphance” was the principal weapon. In 1677, towards the end of the war, the Plymouth General Court outlawed the matchlock completely as an acceptable weapon. In abandoning matchlocks at this time, Plymouth was years ahead of Europe where the clumsy firearm persisted until after 1700.