52 INSTRUCTIONS FROM WILD BEASTS. 



time, yet, although the poor creature was thoroughly 

 incapacitated of doing mischief, I had to give it the 

 other barrel to put an end to the gruesome sight. 

 Those who have not experienced knowledge of what 

 a charge of buckshot can. do at short range would be 

 astonished on witnessing its effect. 



It is with this knowledge that I endorse Sir 

 Samuel Baker's advice to have a shot-gun in your 

 howdah loaded with buck-shot, to use as a dernier 

 ressort. 



But there is a way to load such a gun as will give 

 results very much in excess of the ordinary methods 

 adopted. It is this. If using a ten, or any other 

 bore, find out how many grains of a certain sized 

 shot will chamber in the barrels, id est y how many 

 will sit closely without jamming in the shell upon 

 the wads covering the explosive. Having placed the 

 bottom layer of three or four pellets, according to 

 the size used in its proper place, sprinkle it over 

 with a thin coating of fine sawdust slightly pregnated 

 with grease, then add further layers treated in the 

 same manner, till you have four, when finish off your 

 cartridge. If more layers of shot are added, the 

 pattern will very much suffer. The most convenient 

 way to add the grease to the sawdust is to heat the 

 latter as much as you can without igniting it, and 

 then stir it round for some minutes with a modern 

 kerosene candle. If loader wishes to be expeditious, 

 the candle can be also warmed. The pellets must not 

 be jammed in tight, but simply lay upon those under- 

 neath them, care being taken that each occupies its 

 respective place. This can easily be ascertained with 

 the point of your little finger, or with a piece of wood 

 resembling a pipe tobacco-stopper. 



The advice Sir Samuel Baker gives in reference to 

 handling the knife when the sportsman gets into 

 difficulties, should be written in diamond letters on 

 every neophyte's memory. 



