358 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 



shoulder ; they hold it at the right side, at the height of the haunches, 

 and before letting down upon the priming the hook that holds a lighted 

 match, they fix their eyes upon the target. We remarked that this 

 mode of firing was eminently successful, which seems to prove, per- 

 haps, that to fire accurately with the rifle it is less necessary to sight 

 with the top of the barrel than to look steadfastly on the object." 



These last words are completely in accordance with facts perfectly 

 admitted, and prove our assertion that it is not necessary to take a line 

 of sight to hit an object, and that it suffices to look at it steadfastly, 

 with a strong will to hit it with the bullet. Thus the stone that whirls 

 in a sling, describing a circle, and escaping at an instant which indi- 

 cates only an internal instinct ; the quoit thrown by one hand, which 

 retires and then advances ; the end of a stick, which describes a circle 

 round the shoulder to strike accurately a point suspended in space, 

 are all instances in point, to which we must add the Australian boom- 

 erang in its incomprehensible gyrations. In these different examples, 

 the chief point is the attention and intention of the operator power- 

 fully concentrated on the object ; and we are led to suppose that by a 

 physiological cause, analogous to that which forces a muscle to bend 

 or extend, the stone, the quoit, the stick-end and the boomerang 

 through the apparatus of nerves forming the medium of communica- 

 tion with the mind become, as it were, endowed with the magnetic 

 will of the operator, and obey him as long as the impulse is not victo- 

 riously counteracted by gravitation, the resistance of the air, the in- 

 sufficient initial velocity, and other causes that stop the bullet. 



This theory a direction impressed on a projectile as it were by a 

 sort of magnetic power seems confirmed both by the example of 

 savages skilled in the use of the bow, and by the practice of the most 

 expert hunters, who content themselves with steadfastly looking at 

 the game, following its movements with their eyes, then bringing 

 the rifle to the shoulder, and instantly touching the trigger, without 

 taking time to aim. Some years ago, at Paris, there was an exhibi- 

 tion of South American savages and their war exercise. All drew 

 the bow with rare precision, holding it vertically, the right hand 

 at the haunch, the head erect, and the eye looking steadfastly at the 

 target. And as another example we will quote the description of an 

 English sportsman, given by M. Mangeot, a renowned gunmaker of 

 Brussels : " The English marksman never lowers his head, even be- 

 fore his game fleeing in a straight line. At its departure he full-cocks, 

 his head erect, so as to follow all its movements with his eye. When 

 he thinks it sufficiently far to allow him to fire at a fair sportsman's 

 distance, he brings the butt of the gun smartly to the hollow of his 

 shoulder, at the same time directing the muzzle to the object, the el- 

 bow slightly raised, to preserve the equilibrium of the piece, and with- 

 out an instant's delay he touches the trigger ; so that these two move- 

 ments are instantaneous." 



From the above facts we conclude that it is not absolutely necessary 

 to place the butt to the shoulder, nor to take a line of sight ; that it is 

 important to fix the eye on the object at the moment of firing ; and 

 that consequently if we wish to hit an enemy situated sufficiently far 

 to require us to aim above his head, if we discard the back-sight (whose 

 use is impracticable in battle), we must then, instead of sighting, place 



