Sandgrouse Shooting. 81 



Although these birds gave such good sport and were, 

 besides, a very welcome addition to the wiry fowls and 

 an occasional, and always aged sheep or goat which we 

 obtained from the natives, the shooting of them was by 

 no means a pleasure. The great dry heat of the 

 Soudanese summer injured almost everything we 

 possessed, and the effect it had upon the white powder 

 with which our cartridges were loaded produced most 

 trying results. I was told by an expert at home 

 that the extreme dryness of the atmosphere withdraws 

 the moisture from the powder and so causes a too 1 rapid 

 explosion. The fulminate in the cap of the cartridge is 

 affected in the same way, and, as a consequence, all the 

 powder is probably ignited at once, a great deal of gas 

 is generated, and a considerable explosion occurs. The 

 result is extremely uncomfortable and annoying. After 

 shooting 10 or 12 cartridges one becomes quite deaf, and 

 the recoil of the gun makes a painful bruise. 

 Moreover, a strong heavy gun after a time was so 

 damaged as to become dangerous to use. We found that 

 the explosion was much more violent after the cartridges 

 had been carried in the sun for some hours, and also 

 after several shots had been fired in quick succession. 

 Metal and glass exposed to the sun were always burning 

 hot, and after a few shots had been fired quickly a gun 



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