638 i&fngs of tfoe 1Rofc, IRffle, anfc Gun 



crack shots from Switzerland. The Swiss were then 

 supposed to be the finest rifle-shots in existence, and 

 Englishmen were eager to test their own skill by 

 comparison with that of the recognised champions of 

 the world. The Swiss marksmen, however, hardly came 

 up to our expectations. At short ranges, up to 300 

 yards, they were certainly superior to the bulk of our 

 men, but at the longer ranges they did not distinguish 

 themselves. 



There was one exception, however Jacob Knecht, of 

 Zurich, who won the Duke of Cambridge's Prize for 

 breech-loaders with 10 points out of a possible 20 at 

 800 and 1,000 yards. Knecht fired in a sitting posture ; 

 his position was admirably steady : he brought his rifle 

 at once to the aim, and after a single moment's dwell 

 fired. I remember well the excitement over that shoot 

 for the Duke of Cambridge's Prize. Lieutenant Lacey 

 had finished up with a score of 9. Knecht was 8, with 

 one shot to fire. Directly he had pulled the trigger he 

 sprang to his feet, exclaiming excitedly, " Ah ! gute 

 gute ! a bool's-eye a bool's-eye ! " His extravagant 

 expressions of delight, before the shot had been signalled 

 by the marker, were greeted with derisive laughter by 

 the incredulous crowd. But the old Switzer was right 

 his instinct had told him true ; up went the blue flag, 

 and Jacob Knecht was hailed the winner by one point. 



Another notable marksman of those early days was 

 Lieutenant Ick, Rifle Instructor to the 2nd Cheshire 

 Militia, a little, dark, active man, with a wonderfully 

 good eye and steady nerve. At a great contest on 

 Southport Sands in the September of 1860 Edward 



