Oil Lamps

Oil Lamps are an item seen commonly throughout the first two games in the Call of Juarez series.

History
The first description of a simple lamp using crude mineral oil was provided by al-Razi in Baghdad in the 9th century, who referred to it as the "naffatah" in his Kitab al-Asrar (Book of Secrets). In 1846 Abraham Pineo Gesner invented a substitute for whale oil for lighting, distilled from coal. Later made from petroleum, kerosene became a popular lighting fuel. Modern versions of the kerosene lamp were later constructed by the Polish invento Ignacy Łukasiewicz in Lviv, in 1853, and by Robert Edwin Dietz of the United States at about the same time.

Mechanics
The kerosene lamp is a lighting device that uses kerosene as a fuel. Kerosene lamps have a wick or mantle as light source, protected by a glass chimney or globe. Lamps may be used on a table or hand-held lanterns may used for portable lighting. The hot-blast design, also known as a "tubular lantern" due to the round metal tubes used in its construction, was invented by John Irwin and patented on January 12, 1868. The hot-blast design collected hot air from above the globe and fed it through metal side tubes to the burner, to make the flame burn brighter. The cold-blast design is similar to the hot-blast, except that cold fresh air is drawn in from around the top of the globe and is then fed though the metal side tubes to the flame, making it burn brighter. This design produces a brighter light than the hot blast design, because the fresh air that is fed to the flame has plenty of oxygen to support the combustion process.

Call of Juarez
Oil lamps can be seen hanging on poles or sitting on tables and barrels. If the player throws or shoots a lamp that is lit, the oil will spill and start burning immediately. If players takes an unlit lamp and shatters it, the oil will spill and only start burning once the player shoots it or when it comes in contact with fire. If the player lights an enemy on fire, the victim will start flailing until they die. In the mission Every Man Armed for Battle, Juarez throws down several sticks of dynamite at Reverend Ray, and finally a lit lantern to catch the hay on the floor on fire.

Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood
Most of the time oil lamps are unlit, however in some places they are seen lit. Enemies will grab nearby lamps and launch them at Ray/Thomas to force the player out of cover, as some scenery can be set ablaze. If the player starts a fire near enemies, they will start coughing and covering their mouth.

Trivia

 * In Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood, oil lamps are available in two forms, hot-blast and cold-blast lanterns. In Call of Juarez, they are only available in cold-blast form.