The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-06-03
NEW RIFLE ron TROOPS.
Small Caliber and Enormous Velocity the
eading Features.

small Caliber and Enormous Velocity the
Leading Features.
American soldiers who land in Cuba.
rife In hand. will find themselves in
possession Of a different weapon from
the old army musket of 81. The Did
horse pistol raised from a colt" has
been hung over the chimney piece and
modern rifles have been distributed.
Fifty thousand OF them were recent
ly delivered to the war department
from n OF the national armories and
0 1000 more are on the way. These
modern small arms are wonderfully
different from the guns carried by the
troops hitherto. The clumsy old As
caliber has been replaced by a weapon
that shoots as fast as a man can pull
the trigger. 1t is effective at the dis
lance of q mile, and the lead bullet,
clad in a steel coat. leaves the muzzle
at a speed of nearly half a mile a sec
ond. The idea of the up-to-date rifle
is to throw a small and very hard pro-
tectile with enormously Increased We
locity to a much greater distance with
greater precision than formerly.
A United States soldier armed with
the new rifle will carry 175 cartridges
and can take 175 lives II he be a crack
shot.
The question is still in dispute as to
whether a bullet ought to paralyze a
man or simply to infiict a slight in
jury. In battle 90 men out of 100 will
withdraw from the conflict slightly
wounded and seek medical treatment.
III they are hors du combat for the
time being. Often under such clrcum-
stances soldiers will yell and Shrek.
demoralizing their comrades. This of
course is an advantage to the opposite
side. On the other hand. II Is urged
that the new style of rife bullet has
not enough stopping power" Against
savages Ii is certainly not satisfactory,
inasmuch as they wi. keep on fighting
until crippled or brought down. taking
small account of their lesser wounds.
The finest soldier marksmen i'm the
world are those Of the United states.
Their skill has been developed under a
system of competitions wherein medals
and other badges of honor are awarded
to the victors.
The war department distributes 17e
medals annually. OF these % are gold.
81 silver and 80 bronze There are six
kinds of gold medals for various
grades of achievement. fve kinds of
silver medals and three kinds of bronze
medals. All of these are made at the
mint in Philadelphia. The gold ones
are very handsome. OF all of them the
finest bears the design of an Indian
shooting a buffalo with a bow and ar
row. with the legend "First-class
Prize, Distinguished Marksman." 1t
contains 500 worth of gold. However,
a change has been made and the med
ais are not to be Of precious metals in
the future. The reason In simply that
the soldier. when hard up. is tempted
TO pawn his ~hard-earned decora ton of
honor.
In the old battles every man fought
with his own Weapon. The revolver
that had lain In the wife's bureau
drawer undisturbed for q decade, wait
ing for the first burglar. played a part
along with the gun which had stood
in the shed for hawks. Everything
ven to the war. The South had the
best firearms, for they came of a long
line of gentlemen sportsmen who could
shoot.
1t takes an armory almost a year TO
make %. 200 rifles. And as fast as the
new ones are made the old for
the regular army are gathered up and
put in storage by the government.
Many of the gentlemen volunteers of
the New South ave begged permission
to carry their own favorite firearms
to Cuba, q permission which has been
granted.
The caliber of the new army rife ID
80 and that Of the new navy rife .23.
This difference is apt 10 make con
fusion in ammunition when army and
navy happen to act in concert.
Sharpshooters armed with the mod
ern style will play a great part in war
fare. The discharge of the new weap-
or is almost noiseless. and. smokeless
powder being used. there will be moth
ing to betray the location of a con-
cealed rifieman who pours a continu-
Gus fire with murderous accuracy into
the ranks Of the enemy. The COM
mander in the field sees his officers
and men fall around him without
knowing whence the blow is struck.
This will be highly confusing to the
veteran who fought the enemy at short
range through powder fash and thick
smoke.
Just here comes in an odd point. The
new weapon is an Improvement in the
direction of humanity. The bullet
travels SO fast hat apparently the
body Toes not attempt TO resist IL, and
Ii passes through flesh or zone without
inficting much of a shock. making a
small, clean hole and not breaking uT
the tissues IL goes through the hin
ner bones. as the shoulder blades. the
ribs md breastbone without smashing
effect.
An opportunity for a first-rate test
was afforded by the recent Chitra
campaign OF India. natives
with tiny holes drilled clear through
them, were out and about within q
hours. not suffering any inconvenience
7 such was actually the case with a ma
jority Of the Swstis who were u In
various engagements. This might be
understood more easily IL only the
ash had been injured. but bones wers
perforated and yet the men we're mo-
disabled.
Veterans see these scientific fact,
with a grim smile. yet show no back.
wardness 1T shouidering the weapon
which forces them TO earn new trick,