Surgical Experiences in South Africa, 1899-1900: Being Mainly a Clinical Study of the Nature and Effects of Injuries Produced by Bullets of Small CalibreMakins, George Henry
History
Surgical Experiences in South Africa, 1899-1900: Being Mainly a Clinical Study of the Nature and Effects of Injuries Produced by Bullets of Small Calibre
Makins, George Henry
Gunshot wounds; South African War, 1899-1902; Surgery, Military
The Tweedie and Jeffreys bullets come under a somewhat different
category. In the Tweedie the top of the bullet is sawn off in such a
manner as to flatten the tip and widen the surface of direct impact, and
to expose the leaden core over a small area. The general principle of
the flat tip resembles that of the French Lebel bullet. In the Jeffreys
modification the mantle is sawn down for about half the length of the
whole mantle, the slits neither reaching tip nor base. I seldom saw
these bullets removed, but they were used to a considerable extent. Fig.
40 illustrates one of Mauser calibre in the possession of Mr. Cuthbert
S. Wallace. It perforated the abdomen, producing fatal injuries, but the
only alteration in outline consists in slight bulging and shortening.
This specimen, however, manifestly suffered but slight resistance. A
somewhat general impression existed that a number of severe injuries had
been produced by the Jeffreys bullets, but it was a matter of
conjecture, as few of them were removed. A weekly illustration appears
in the advertisement sheet of the 'Field,' showing the deformity of some
of them shot into animals, which bear a strong resemblance to the Mauser
figured earlier (fig. 31), and which we have seen can be produced in the
human body by contact of a regulation fully cased bullet with a bone
like the malar. A tendency on the part of the longitudinal slits to
become caught in the rifling of the barrel militates against the use of
this bullet.
[Illustration: FIG. 40.--Jeffreys modification of Mauser. The bullet is
in the possession of Mr. C. S. Wallace. It perforated the abdomen and
caused death. The bullet is only slightly shortened by bulging at the
shoulder]
[Illustration: FIG. 41.--1. Section of Mark IV. Lee-Metford. Note
thickness of mantle and exposed core at base. 2. Soft-nosed Mauser. Note
solid base. Short pattern]
Fig. 41 represents sections of the soft-nosed Mauser, and the British
Mark IV. bullet, and shows the different method of closure of the base.
If the former remarks on the influence of the closed base in maintaining
the stability of the bullet be correct, Mark IV. should be a very
destructive bullet. I have no experience of its use, but I am inclined
to think that here, as elsewhere, the thickness and resistance of the
cupro-nickel mantle would endow it with considerable stability, unless
it met with very great resistance.
[Illustration: FIG. 42.--Types of Bullets tampered with by the Boers in
the trenches. 1 and 3. Cross-cut tips, Martini-Henry and Lee-Metford. 2.
Groove cut at base of exposed tip of Lee-Metford. Another modification
of the Martini-Henry consisted in boring it longitudinally and inserting
a wooden plug]
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