GAFF, in a ship or boat, spar or a sort of boom to which the head of a fore-and-aft sail is bent, such sail having its foremost side made fast by rings to the mast, and its lower edge, in most instances, held straight by the boom proper. The thick end of the gaff is con structed with to pass half round the mast, the other half being inclosed by a rope or wire; this serves to keep it close when the sail is hoisted or lowered. The jaws are usually made by fastening two pieces of wood by means of bolts to the thick end of the gaff, the for ward side of these pieces being hollowed out in the form of a semicircle so as to fit snug to the mast but sufficiently loose to allow of free play for the hoisting and shifting of the sail. Lately these jaws have been made entirely of metal, chiefly bronze. The after end of the gaff is called the ((peak," because it is usually raised much higher than the jaws when the sail is set. The ropes used in hoisting and lower ing the gaff are called ((halyards," the rope for raising the peak being designated the ((peak and that near the or the and are the only ones which have gaffs in square rigged ships, but these gaffs do not ordinarily lower or hoist and in place of jaws have eyelets holding the forward end to the mast or to a traveler working on a batten to the mast. The
latter method, however, is preferable as the gaff may be lowered when the sail is reefed.
• GAFFAREL,
Paul (Louis Jacques), French historian: b. Moulins 1843. He received his education at the Ecole Normal Superieure; was made professor of history at Besancon, removing afterward in a similar ca pacity to Dijon and Marseilles. He has pub lished many noteworthy works on colonial history; these include (Etude sur les rapports de l'Amerique et de l'ancien continent avant
Colomb' (1869); (Histoire de la Floride francaise) (1875) ;
du Bresil francais' (1878);
colonies francaises' (1880) ; (L'Algerie: histoire, conquete et colonisation' (1882); 'Les explorations f ran caises de 1870 a 1881' (1882); (Les campagnes de la premiere Republique) (1883);
con quete de l'Algerie jusqu'I la prise de Constan tine' (1887); (Les Francais au deli des mere (1888) ; (Campagnes du Consulat et de l'Em pire' (1888) ; (Campagnes du premier Empire' (1890) ;
Senegal et le Soudan francais (1890) ;
de la decouverte de l'Amer ique (2 vols., 1892) ;