TIGERLAND 



was a large and powerful tiger stopped in his charge and 

 eventually killed outright with a weapon in size, weight, and 

 appearance more resembling a rook rifle than anything 

 else, and I was naturally more than satisfied with its 

 performance. At the same time I was not so pleased with 

 the rifle as a quick-firing one for howdah use, for I found 

 the fact of having to first lift up and then pull back the 

 breech bolt, decidedly difficult to accomplish in the position, 

 and under the circumstances I was in, and am confident 

 that with a repeating rifle of the Winchester pattern, with 

 its simple lever action, I could have fired half as many shots 

 again in the same time and under similar conditions, given, 

 of course, the same magazine capacity. The L.M. repeating 

 action is no doubt an excellent one so long as the person 

 using it is on foot and has the free use of both hands, but 

 for shooting off elephants, or from a tree or when in any 

 cramped position in which it is occasionally necessary to 

 hold on, the double action of the bolt alluded to above is 

 decidedly a drawback. On the other hand, had I, in the 

 scrimmage I have described, been armed with a double- 

 barrelled rifle or gun, I question greatly whether I could 

 have succeeded in reloading at all after firing the two 

 cartridges in the chamber, for persons who have never 

 experienced it can have no conception how very violent 

 the movements of an elephant can be when he is unsteady 

 and constantly changing front, which communicates to 

 the occupant of the howdah a motion very similar to that 

 of a small boat in a chopping sea. Hence a magazine or 

 repeating rifle with an action easy of manipulation would 

 obviously be the most suitable weapon for use in a howdah, 

 provided they could be made to carry a charge of powder 

 and weight of bullet equal to the *500 double-barrelled 

 Express, and capable of delivering a shock sufficiently 

 powerful to ensure stopping a charging tiger or leopard, 

 for, in the instance above related, the first shot, though it 

 dropped the tiger and checked him for the time, would not 

 have prevented it ultimately getting home on to the 

 elephant had not the last shot fortunately found a vital 

 spot. 



Before experimenting with the L.M. I had previously 

 had considerable experience with a Winchester repeater, 

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