FOR THE HIMALAYAS. 



19 



can be fired with the sling on. The way proposed by K. C. A. J. 

 has the same fault as the Austrian sling that it carries the rifle 

 too low down below the hip, where it bangs about, and prevents 

 easy climbing. A large horn button sewn on the shoulder is a good 

 plan to prevent the sling from slipping down when carried on one 

 shoulder and not round the neck. For difficult ground, frozen 

 slopes, and where a stick must be used, the rifle must be carried on 



the back, high up. It can be easier carried by having a piece of 

 bent wood to fit the shoulder, attached by thongs at each end to 

 the rifle, just as the Swiss carry their heavy loads ; but this is 

 scarcely worth while for a rifle weighing only lOlb. or lllb." 



The foregoing is very sound and practical, but it has a dis- 

 advantage on the Himalayas. One is often scrambling up hill a 

 great deal, amongst birch and other trees, against the low hanging 

 branches of which the muzzle is continually striking ; even the 



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