Omaha daily bee., 1899-11-08
TIE poER AND HIS RIFLE.
mud Tint of Twenty Ncnrs tEo.

Differences In the wenaon Now Uscd
and that of Twenty Years AEo.
In the war OF 1S79-SO the Beers displayed
deadly accuracy with the rifle, but thor
weapon then was very different frSm the
arm used at Dundee, Glencoe and Lady
smith. The rife OF twenty years ago was
built on the lines OF the British Martini re-
lates the New York Sun. II was ham
merless arm OF about nine pounds weight,
with thirty-inch half-octagon barrel and
shotgun butt stock. The calibcr was
forty-five with bullet weighing from i0j
to $50 grains The powder charge was
ninety grains in a brass-drawn cartridge
case Tho rifle was sighted UP to 1000
yards. Besides the usual stationary sight
it had a reversible front-that is, a sight
capable of being used as ordinary front
sight. and, by single motion, 1t was
changed into a fine pinhead sight covered
with a ring to keep it from being knocked
off. On an occasion where particularly
fine shooting was demanded this front globe
was further covered with thimbe- shaped
hood, shading it perfectly. The usual
standing rear or fixed sights we're on the
barrel. while on the guns grip was turn
down peep that was regulated by side
screw to an elevation Of 1000 yards. The
peep and globe were never used under 700
or 500 yards.
II was very much interested in the Boer
riflemen and their weapons" said Archibald
Forbes, who was with Sir Evelyn Weoi's
column in South Africa in 1S79-SO. "They
are marvellous rifle shots. They shoot their
antelope and other game from the saddle
not apparently caring to get nearer their
quarry than 900 or 700 yards Then they
understand the currents of air. their effect
upon the drift OF a bullet, and can judge
distance as accurately as it could be meas
ured by a skilled engineer. They can hit
an officer as far as they can discern his
insignia of rank. Sir George w. Colley, the
commander in South Africa, was killed at
a distance of 1,400 yards at Majuba hill. We
lost terribly in officers at the fight men
toned and also at Laings Mex and Rorkes
Drift. from the deadly rifle of the sharp
shooting Beers"
1t is easy enough to- see how the Boer be-
came so expert with the rife. History OF
one hundred and more years ago in the
southwest and the west of this country is
repeating itself en- the South African veldts,
Every old state Of the American union,
except Louisiana, was won from it's red
owners by the pioneer and his deadly rifle.
For 240 years the Hollander who went to
far-off South Africa and his descendants
have fought wild beasts and wild men for
the country they wanted. The Boer region
Of South Africa, producing fine wheat and
corn crops, is very fertile. 1t has native
grass that live stock thrives on, with
climate very much like that of the country
from southwestern Kansas to New Mex
leo. But to obtain this country the Boer
had first to conquer it. This made him a
sharpshooter. One hundred and fifty years
ago the Dutch farmer, with his flve-foot-
ho- avail
deadly shot within the.-l!mitations of his !
weapon. Every Boer is a. hunter. He has
to be. His farm is large, anywhere from
$1,000 to $4,000 acres. The country is
sparsely settled. The lion and other smaller
cats and the hyena were the natural enemy |
Of his focks and herds. They had to be
kept down by the Boer and later by the rifle. |
Kruger is himself said to have killed $50
lions, not to speak OF panthers and hyenas. |
Then the ever-present danger of native |
outbreak caused the solitary farmer or
Boer to see to it that he had the best arms
available for offense and defense.
The Boer weapon that did such execution |
the other day is the sporting model of the
German gun, perhaps the most
wonderful weapon of its caliber and weight
in the world. The military Mannlicher is
used in the armies of Austria, Holland,
The ideal Mannlicher is a sporting rifle !
known as the Haene model. 1t is a beauti- |
fully finished arm, weighing about eight |
pounds, and costing in South Africa 200 |
German marks. The rife barrel is thirty |
inches long. the carbine twenty four 1t !
has a pistol grip and sling straps, and is
It's caliber is fifty This
rifle has an extreme range OF $500 yards
and killing range Of 1000. At that distance
the bullet will go through two inches of
solid ash. and nearly three of pine, quite
enough force to kill, II the bullet struck a
vital part At twenty yards it will shoot
through fifty inches of pine. The bullet for
war is full-mantled, with a fine outer skin
Of copper or nickel. That for game Shoot
ing is only half -mantled, leaving the lead |
point exposed so that it opens back or mush-
rooms when it strikes. For deer, elk and