182 APPEKDIX. 



one pistol, one liolster may be converted into a convenient poucli. 

 It is essential that, in double pistols, carbines, or rifles, the axes of 

 the barrels should be perfectly parallel^ from breech to muzzle. If 

 this be strictly attended to, it is not oi much consequence whether 

 they be disposed of as in a fowling-piece, or, as it is called, " under 

 and over." One " under and over " pistol, eight inch barrels (the 

 upper one rifled), nineteen bore, swivel ramrod, with a moveable 

 spring butt, to be kept in the other holster vv'^hen not in use, is an 

 excellent weapon for an oflicer. The moveable butt must also 

 serve the purpose of a m.allet in loading the rifled barrel. Three 

 or four slight taps will send the ball home, for, particularly on 

 horseback, a rifle-barrelled pistol cannot well be loaded by pushing 

 with so small a ramrod. With the smooth barrel, the party may 

 fire away, either with ball or buck-shot cartridges, as fast as he 

 pleases. 



_ The copper cap offers the advantage of somewhat greater simpli- 

 citj, and consequently less liability to derangement ; and above all, 

 it is, with the application of wax as hereafter described, perfectly 

 water-proof. Por the rifle service, therefore, it might, perhaps, hi 

 one ponit of view, be preferable to the magazme ; and certainly it 

 is so hi every respect for fowling-pieces ; in the use of which, pro- 

 tection from the rain is of much more importance than the gaia of a 

 few seconds in loading, and where none of the inconveniences of 

 priming on horseback are experienced. ^ Duelling pistols should de- 

 cidedly be copper caps. With such pistols there is no occasion 

 whatever for a magazme ; and I have found that a dehcate trigger 

 cannot be subjected to the slio-htest casual pull or strahiof thelma- 

 gazine sth-rup, without great liability to accident. 



A remarkable defect in all the rifle-shooting that I have ever seen, 

 is the improper construction of the ramrod, which is much too light. ' 

 Erom this it results, that either the bullet is inserted with too little 

 constriction to ensure its revolving on its axis to the end of an ex- 

 tensive flight ; or, upon a tighter fit being attempted, much time 

 and awkward exertion are expended in driving it properly_ "home." 



The friction to be overcome in forcing a bullet into a rifle is, in 

 some respects, analogous to that of a wedge or nail in entering a 

 piece of wood. Nobody would think of diiving a nail or a wedge 

 by mere pressure or pushing, which would not effect the object 

 with a thousand times the force that would suffice in the shape of 

 percussion or impuigement. To load a rifle with a mallet is out of 

 the question, especially for military purposes ; but I find that the 

 very best effect is produced by haAong the ramrod of solid brass, 

 considerably heavier than the iron ones of the Government rifles. I 

 have also a bit of hard- wood, turned into the shape of a pestle, 

 acutelj^ convex at the thick end ; and to qualify it for hasty use, I 

 fasten it by a string to the button of my jacket. With this I give 

 the ball a smart tap, wliich drives it below the centre of its cu'cum- 

 ference into the grooves of the barrel. If the latter be perfectly 

 clean, the bullet ^viU go down all the way by mere pushing ; but 



