Make-shift rifle shells.
Rifle shells may be extemporised by having little tin tubes the length of the conical bullet and the size of the gun nipple made. These, when their ends have been plugged with wood, are placed one by one in the mould, held upright by a bit of very fine brass wire, and the lead cast round them, so that the lead at the base of the bullet may extend beyond the end of the tube and cover it. The thin end of the tube should project just a trifle beyond the apex of the cone, as a rest for the cap. The wooden plug at this end is now taken out; the tube filled with the best sporting powder, and a strong, well made percussion-cap put on the tube, and secured there with strong varnish, sealing-wax, or pitch. The loading of a breech-loader with these is accomplished with no danger, but with a muzzle-loader the very greatest caution is required. The end of the ramrod or loading stick should be very deeply countersunk, in order to take all pressure off the cap; and even with this precaution it is well to make use of an overhanging branch of a tree to place the rod against, whilst the rifle is thrust muzzle upwards until the ball is home. Shells somewhat on this principle were first brought into notice by the late General Jacob, of the Scinde Irregular Horse. They are tremendously destructive when skilfully used: destroying large animals by exploding in them, and blowing up magazines of gunpowder at all but incredible distances; but we have known them explode outside the elephant and other large pachyderms, thus failing completely in the object they were used for. Mr. Metford’s improvement on the Jacob shell is worthy of remark. Finding that it did not always explode, he mixed equal parts of chlorate of potass and sulphate of antimony; the two can be mixed on a plate with a bone paper-cutter or a quill pen. The more they are mixed, the more sensitive is their detonating power. The bullets are moulded with a hole from point nearly to base, as for Jacob’s shells, but no copper tube is used. The powder is filled in with a quill to the top, and settled down by a few taps of the base of the bullet on a table, and the end is then stopped with wax. But it is very questionable whether, in close encounter with large animals, it is not better, after all, to rely on the more certain effects of heavy balls of ordinary construction, with strong charges of powder behind them. With the numerous improvements in rifle shells we cannot deal, as many of them are too complex in their component parts for a wandering hunter or explorer to be able to imitate successfully.
Ladles, spoons, and other substitutes.
Small ladles or iron spoons are usually used to melt lead in, but, in the absence of these, bullets and other small matters may be cast in the following manner, which is a favourite one amongst the Indians:—A piece of dry hard wood, about 16in. long, 3in. broad, and 2in. thick, is prepared; on one end of this a spoon-shaped cavity, with a lip-shaped groove in the end, is made; in the bottom of this a few red-hot wood embers from the fire are placed on these same fragments of flattened lead, and on the lead some good-sized pieces of red-hot embers. A bit of bark is now twisted into a blow-pipe, from which a steady stream of air is directed to the miniature furnace, which almost instantly melts the lead, and fits it for running by the lip into the mould, just as it would from a spoon. Clean, excellent bullets are to be made in this way.
Lead ore smelting.
It sometimes happens that lead ore or galena is discovered. Lead as a metal, except in very rare instances, is not found in a native or malleable form; and as the ore is a sulphuret, brittle, and easily pulverised, some method must be had recourse to in order to smelt and render it fit for use. Some Indians do it in the following manner:—After reducing a large quantity of the ore to powder, between heavy stones, they seek out a hollow tree stump, clear out the bottom flush with the ground, and dig a pit just outside it. Then on the bottom or floor of the stump a thick layer of dry wood is placed, evenly on this a layer of the powdered ore, then another layer of wood, then one of ore, and so on until the stump is quite full. A small hole is then chopped with a tomahawk through the side of the stump, level with the ground and opposite the pit. Through this orifice fire is introduced, and the stump soon becomes a mass of glowing heat as the air rushes in at the hole at the bottom; so fast as the galena (which is usually very pure) is reduced to melted lead it trickles through the interstices of the heated pile, and runs out into the pit, where it is allowed to settle and cool.
The Dutch-Africans like to have their bullets of such a size that when one is put into a clean barrel it passes slowly down without rattling, the slight noise of the escaping air being heard as it descends. In a skirmish they load very quickly; the powder is poured from the large ox-horn into the hollow of the hand, and thence into the gun: a number of bullets are held in the mouth, one is dropped in, and the moisture cakes the powder round and holds it in its place with a very slight tap from the ramrod, or sometimes perhaps without; though we should never advise any one to incur so great a risk of bursting his gun.
LEAD SMELTING IN THE FOREST.