Shifts and expedients of camp life, travel & exploration

by William Barry Lord; Thomas Baines

Trunks and Boxes.

For ordinary travel the solid leather bullock trunks, of regulation size, will be found both convenient and durable. All strap guides, loops, and handles must be riveted as well as sewn to the body of the trunk. Spare keys should also be fitted to the locks. In countries where it is customary for baggage to be carried by porters through narrow bush paths, and where destructive insects are numerous, we recommend the use of sheet copper boxes, 16in. long, 12in. wide, and 12in. deep, made with copper wire strengthening rods, worked in the edges of the plates or sheets. Ring handles, also of copper, should be fitted to both sides and ends, as iron when wet would corrode the copper. These serve to pass straps, cords, or lashings through. In making these boxes great care should be taken to fit the joints and cover so as to render them rainproof.

RESTING POLE FOR BURDENS ON TUE ZAMBESI. The insides should be tinned just as coppersmiths tin cooking pots. The above illustration will serve to show the manner in which one porter carries two of these cases, which, to be transported in this way, should not, with their contents, weigh over 20lb. each. If one box is carried, as shown in the annexed engraving, from 35lb. to 40lb. weight may be placed in it. Boxes for Cape waggon travelling should be about 3ft. long by 16in. wide and deep. They are best made of well-seasoned Memel deal, 1in. thick, dovetailed and angle plated. Such packing cases as are taken will require lining; thin sheet lead is convenient for this purpose, as it serves for bullet-making when the boxes are taken on shore.

Shooting Gear.

Bullets.

Rifles and guns.

To the traveller whose means of transport confine him to the possession of one gun, we say, without hesitation, purchase a plain, strong, muzzle-loading, double-barrelled smooth bore of 11 or 12 gauge. Length of barrel, 2ft. 6in., weight 8½lb. without the ramrod, a front action bar, side locks, and ramrod pipes large enough to carry a rod of extra large size and power. Two pairs of spare nipples, and one pair of fitted main springs, in addition to those in the locks. Bullets.A bell-metal or iron spherical bullet mould must be selected with the greatest care, as it by no means follows that because the figure 12 or 11 is stamped on it, that, like a wadding punch, it is calculated for a gun of the same gauge. Our plan, when about to purchase a new mould, is to form, with beeswax, heated in warm water or before the fire, a ball, and to trim, mould, and finally to roll it on a polished table under the hand, until, when placed on a piece of thin, soft, greased kid, and gently pressed down, it fits the bore accurately; then, with this ball as a guide, we search the moulds until one is found just the size to contain it without undue pressure being used in entering the hardened wax ball. This mould we secure, caring nothing for the conventional numbers placed on it. The spherical leaden ball, when encased in kid, should fit the bore just tight enough to require one steady downward thrust of the rod to force it home. If it travels on without pressure, it is too loose; if, on the other hand, tapping with the rod is needed, it is too tight, and liable to welt or disfigure the barrel. We have seen many much injured, and rendered very unsafe, from this cause. If several guns can be taken, then it will be well to purchase one or more breech-loaders of No. 12 gauge. Rifles and guns. In the choice of rifles, our readers must be mainly guided by the character and size of the game they intend pursuing. A poly-groove muzzle-loader, No. 12 bore, 2ft. 4in. in the barrels, and of about 10lb. weight, will be found a generally useful and reliable gun. There are, without doubt, many advantages attendant on the use of breech-loading guns and rifles. There are also drawbacks, which, except under peculiar circumstances, more than outweigh them. That the breech-loading form of construction, varied as it is, is of less strength and durability than that of an equally well made muzzle-loader, few will be disposed to dispute. The hinge joints, levers, and slides, should they chance to become bent, loose, or, worse still, broken, would require repair by an experienced gunsmith; whilst, as will be seen as the work proceeds, nearly all the common accidents to which even the strongest and best made muzzle-loaders are liable in the bush, can, by the exercise of a little ingenuity, be readily made efficient weapons by their unskilled owners. Gunpowder, lead, and percussion caps, such as they are, can, when your own store is expended, destroyed, or lost, be readily procured even in very out of the way corners of the earth; whilst the cartridges calculated for breech-loaders could be only procured in towns or trading posts of importance, where the cost would, as a matter of necessity, be great, and their efficiency questionable. Strong flint muskets (old army regulation) will be found best calculated for the use of native servants. A bit of agate, common quartz, or iron pyrites, answers the purpose of a flint, should one be lost. Nevertheless, some breech-loaders so perfectly combine the qualities of simplicity of construction, excellence of shooting, and facility of re-loading, that we forbear to put too general a veto upon them, especially when, by inserting a metallic wad, they can be converted in case of need into muzzle-loaders. Terry and Calishers, Westley Richards, and others, are favourites in the Cape colony; and we carried for four years in tropical South Africa one by T. Wilson, of Birmingham: it was compact and simple in action, devoid of hinges and levers. We have loaded with facility while running from a wounded elephant, and turned to fire again within eighty yards. The cartridge was easily made with wads of the proper size and a bit of tissue paper saturated with common fat; each shot ejected the greased wad of the previous charge, cleaning the barrel as it went. It could, if necessary, have been used as a muzzle-loader, and is now, after 1600 rounds have been fired from it, in as good condition as could be desired. The long sword bayonet we never used, but, instead, cut down a smaller sword to the proportion of a bush knife, and, by a little smith’s craft and patience, fitted it to be used as a bayonet if needed. A breech-loader has this advantage, that with a small bayonet a man, even in a sharp skirmish, is not defenceless while loading, for he has his point always before him ready for use should his enemy close. We have since had a spring locker let into the stock, to hold half a dozen cartridges and caps; so that, even when snatched up without the belt, the gun should not become useless after the first discharge.

Before quitting the subject, it may not be amiss to give a few hints on the purchase of second-hand guns; these are often to be obtained for considerably less than their original cost, and just as good as when perfectly new. There are many establishments in London, where second-hand fire-arms in considerable numbers are regularly kept to select from; amongst these may be mentioned Whistler in the Strand, Vaughan in the Strand, Hewett of Blackman-street, Borough, and Watson of 313, Holborn. After deciding on the description of gun you require, and ascertaining the cost, see that the maker’s name is a good one, take the number of the gun, and either call, write, or telegraph as to identity and original price, which matters of information the manufacturer will immediately furnish. This is not an unnecessary caution, as, unless the would-be purchaser is experienced in style of finish, and quality of workmanship, he may possibly invest in an article sailing under false colours; and here let us most emphatically impress on the reader that at neither of the shops above referred to would he knowingly be allowed to be deceived. But that there are guns in the market with names on them which are forgeries few will deny, and it requires both the experience of the dealer, and the caution of the buyer, to guard against being taken in by them. Do not rashly reject a sound useful gun because it is made by a provincial Irish or Scotch maker, as there are many gunsmiths out of London who turn out guns equal in quality and shooting powers to any in the world. When examining a gun you are about to buy, try the locks by cocking and uncocking, see that the pitch suits your mode of shooting, draw the ramrod, lift the hammers to half-cock, drift out the bolt and reverse the barrels, when on looking underneath near the breech you will probably see the proof marks and the number of gauge at which the gun was proved; place the gun gauge in the muzzles and see that the two numbers correspond, as it occasionally happens that guns are proved at one number and bored out until they represent another—a most reprehensible practice, which militates greatly against the safety of the owner of the gun which has been thus tampered with. Do not, however, hastily cast aside a well-made Irish gun with a known maker’s name engraved on it because there are no proof marks, as, for some strange reason or another, the law of proof does not appear to extend to Ireland; and we have seen many guns of surpassing excellence made in both Dublin and Cork unstamped. The reason for this anomalous state of affairs we never have succeeded in getting clearly explained; we therefore merely speak of matters as we have found them.

Testing firearms.