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Each sat enveloped in the folds of a dingy blanket, and their guns rested against the icy walls two of them rickety, long-barreled flint-locks; but Peter's new acquisition, a true "stub-twist," Hollis's double, was as good a fowling-piece as any sportsman needs. True to their customs, the Indians were taciturn enough, although Peter thanked La Salle rather warmly for his new weapon.
Infantry soldiers, with muskets, varying from flint-locks to repeating-rifles, were drawn up in a line on each side to keep the road clear. There were others walking along with long, flat paddles, and some with round heavy sticks, on the look-out for those who dared to attempt to cross the road.
"The band when it set out from Kirundu numbered 300 fighting men, armed with flint-locks, double-barrelled percussion guns, and a few breech-loaders; their followers, or domestic slaves and women, doubled this force.... Within the enclosure was a series of low sheds extending many lines deep from the immediate edge of the clay bank inland, 100 yards; in length the camp was about 300 yards.
If so, it would surely be the work of years to bring the untrained rabble that at present exists under discipline or order of any kind. All were armed with rusty flint-locks. As regards smartness, the officers were not much better than the men, who did not appear to take the slightest notice of the words of command, but straggled about as they pleased, like a flock of sheep.
I see they are all old single barrels and flint-locks." "I charge fifteen roubles a piece." "Well we will take two of them, and we want two pounds of powder and six pounds of shot, and a couple of dozen bullets. Now add that up and see how much it comes to." "Ninety-two roubles," the man said. "Well, I tell you what. I will give you this cloak and twelve paper roubles for them.
"How many men would it kill if they were put one behind another?" "How near would the guns come to hitting a man a mile off?" "Could the gunner knock a man's head off, or one of his legs, just as he pleased?" "Were the guns rifled or smooth-bore?" "How much powder did it take to load them?" "How hard did they kick when they were fired?" "Did they have flint-locks or caps?"
In the store were a couple of not very ancient flint-locks, and, upstairs, rummaging through some dusty shelves, I came across one volume of the Edinburgh, or second, edition of Burns in gray paper boards a terrible temptation, which was nobly resisted. Though there was once a valuable library here, with many books now rare and costly, yet all had disappeared.
If a hunter hit a buffalo with one arrow, he gave a scream, and that indicated that he had hit him just once. There were very few guns in those days and those were flint-locks. Sometimes when a hunter rode side by side with a buffalo, and shot the animal, the arrow would go clear through. The Indians were very proud and careful of their arrows. They did not wish to break them.
Each militant citizen carried his own gun, some favorite weapon, familiar from long practice in fowling, or from frequent service further afield against the bear, the panther, and the wolf. Some of the flint-locks were enormously long; many of them would have seemed extremely old-fashioned to an ordnance officer.
If we were to search for traits and incidents to illustrate the whole circle of both the stronger and the gentler virtues, we might find them in woman's record during the American Revolution. In scenes of carnage and death women not seldom displayed a cool courage which made them peers of the bravest soldiers who bore flint-locks at Bunker Hill or Trenton.
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