118 TRAVELS THROUGH NORTH AMERICA 5 
charged from one of these guns, is always very 
dangerous. The inside of the barrel is fluted, 
and the grooves run in a spiral direction from 
one end of the barrel to the other, conse¬ 
quently when the ball comes out it has a 
whirling motion round its own axis, at the 
same time that it moves forward, and when 
it enters into the body of an animal, it tears up 
the flesh in a dreadful manner. The best of 
powder is chosen for a rifled barrel gun, and 
after a proper portion of it is put down the 
barrel, the ball is inclosed in a small bit of 
linen rag, well greased at the outside, and 
then forced dow n with a thick ramrod. The 
grease and the bits of rag, which are called 
patches, are carried in a little box at the but- 
end of the gun. The best rifles are furnished 
w ith tw o triggers, one of which being lirst 
pulled sets the other, that is, alters the spring 
so that it will yield even to the slight touch of 
a feather. They are also furnished with dou¬ 
ble sights along the barrel, as fine as those of 
a surveying instrument. An experienced 
marksman, with one of these guns, will hit 
an object not larger than a crown piece, to a 
certainty, at the distance of one hundred yards. 
Two men belonging to the Virginia rifle re- 
giment, a large division of which was quar¬ 
tered in this down during the war, had such a 
dependance on each other's dexterity, that the 
