Des Arc citizen., 1866-08-04
THE PRUssIAN NEEDLE-GUN.

THE FkUSSlAN NEEDLE-GUN.
 ALondon correspondent gives the follow ing description of the destructive weapon now in use in the Pryssian army:
 Our civil war has left Americans not much to learn about breech-loading small arms: in fact, in some of the newspaper disquisitions on the subject, it is suggested that our weapons are as far superior to the Prussian zund -nadelgewehr as is that to the muzzle loaders-the Cochrane pateu. (justimported hcre) and the Spencer seven shooter being especially mentioned But as a matter of curiosity, you will like to know what this needle-gu is, and as l had the chance to inspect sample in the studio of an artist-friend, here is my report It is not half the size, and not third of the weight of the Enfield rife. It has little or no stock, a small rihed bore, and, altogeth- CT looks something, like an air-gun- Its peculiarities are it's breech-loading appar- atus and its needle. The cartridges are primcd in the making and fit tightly to the chamber, and the needles cxplodes without percussion cap. As a breechloadcr it loads rapidly, as a needlc-gun it shoots rap- | idly, and as q 'shooting-iron' pure and simple, it is light enough to be handled like toy by the soldier There never was a sharper rebuke to official stupidity 1 throughout Europe than the homicidal success of this weapon, which has been for years known to the continent only to be reported asainstby professional "big wigs l in England, France and Russia. The secret of the invention is, like efficiency in other matters, ra return to first principles 1.-the ignoring of all complication, which commonly gets out of gear, but is especial ly beloved by circumlocptionary dunder- heads all the world over. It's Prussian patron, the Baron Manteufel, who, about 20 years back, placed it in the hands ofh his soldiers, was content that the gun should be gun, and nothing else, and did not ask 1t to do anything but shoot, and shoot well. Elsewhere the "big wigs" wanted it to serve as a club or apike, carrying such a stock as should fit it for the first or bay onct for the second, ignoring the obvious fact that what it gained in one respec. it lost in the other. It never occurred to them that, if the needle, gun were so sure, so light and so rapid as to kill of most of the enemy at the beginning of the battle, there would be no necessity for ''bayonct and butt" practice, And this was just what occurred in the late Bohemian battles According to Benedek's orders, the Aus trians fired and charged; but when they got within l50 yards of tho Prussians they encountered such ghastiy return volley as to stretch them in winrows upon the ground, like wheat after the passing of the reaping machine. The Prusslans, confident of their weapon, stood in three ranks the first knceling, taking aim, and firing therfve or six shots minute e-some say eight---untilnothing human could dstand before it, Finally, to dismiss the needle gun for the time being, British officially is greatly moved at these awful accounts of it, and has ordered 20, 900 of tho formida- blc breech-loaders for the English army. They are to be delivered shortly and probably be forthcoming just before it shall be discovered that VIC have something infinitely better. ~