The fact, that such
rifles are not destroyed and are found in the possession of trans-
frontier tribesmen, points to a very grave instance of dishonest and
illegal traffic being carried on by some person connected with the
arsenal. It need hardly be said that a searching inquiry was instituted.
Another point connected with these rifles is that even when they have
been officially destroyed, by cutting them in three pieces, the
fractions have a marketable value. Several were shown me which had been
rejoined by the tribesmen. These were, of course, very dangerous weapons
indeed. The rest of the hundred had strange tales to tell. Two or three
were Russian military rifles, stolen probably from the distant posts in
Central Asia. One was a Snider, taken at Maiwand, and bearing the number
of the ill-fated regiment to which it had belonged. Some had come from
Europe, perhaps overland through Arabia and Persia; others from the arms
factory at Cabul. It was a strange instance of the tireless efforts of
Supply to meet Demand.
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