Old lamps like that worked off of calcium carbide. Add water and it makes acetylene gas. At first thought, I figured any unburnt gas would drift down into the action. The idea of touching off 40 grains of BP behind a 69 caliber ball with a barrel full of C2H2 would be fun to watch. (From a distance) But after some thought, I figure having a heat source under a BP barrel would be an even worse, bad idea.