A few days ago Mr. A. E. Brooks of this city (Hartford, Conn.) received a very curious and interesting magazine gun from New York, bearing the name of Ex-Superintendent R. S. Lawrence of the street department as the manufacturer. Conceiving that there must be a good story connected with the arm which was one of the first magazine guns ever made in this country, a reporter of The Post sought out Mr. Lawrence and learned the history of the gun. “The rifle which Mr. Brooks brought to my notice, with my name on it,” said Ex-Superintendent Lawrence, “is one of a lot of 5,000 manufactured at Windsor, Vermont, by Robbins & Lawrence, for Mr. Courtland C. Palmer of New York. This rifle was known as the Jennings gun. A portion of the lot was then called single loaders, and a portion repeating rifles, carrying twenty charges. The charge of powder was contained in the ball, consisting of twenty-two grains of powder only. With the repeating rifle I have often fired twenty shots within one minute, but not with any accuracy, for the reason that all breech-loading guns up to this time used what is called the naked ball without any patch or lubricating material. The result in firing the gun was that the ball leaded the barrel, by building on, to such an extent that in firing twenty shots from a 50-100 calibre bore there would be a hole in the barrel less than 25-100.”

“In the winter of 1850, while the guns were being manufactured at Windsor, Kossuth arrived in this country, as was supposed by many for the purpose of purchasing rifles. Mr. Palmer was anxious to sell his rifles, and telegraphed on to Windsor that Kossuth would purchase largely, if he could be shown that the Jennings rifle could be fired with sufficient accuracy to hit the size of a man ten times out of twenty-five at the distance of 500 yards. I answered by saying that it was impossible to do any such thing with the Jennings rifle. Another message was sent to Windsor to come to New York by the first train and bring the best gun and ammunition. I complied with the request. Mr. C. P. Dixon, Mr. Palmer’s agent, had all things arranged for the trial at Astoria, L. I. I did my best in trying to accomplish the desired effect asked for, but not one of the twenty-five shots hit the target. Mr. Dixon said that we must make another trial the next day. I went to his hotel, more than ever disgusted with breech loading rifles, as all efforts had failed to make any accurate shooting with any naked balls. All gun men will understand this. My business was manufacturing rifles for the Government and for the Sharps Rifle Mfg. Co. Most of the night at the hotel was spent in trying to devise some way to remedy the trouble then existing with breech loading guns. At last the simple remedy came, which has proven the salvation of all breech loading guns.”

“Early the next morning we started for the target field. I did not tell Mr. Dixon at first of my discovery. I simply told him that the trouble was all over with. If he would stop at the Fulton Market and purchase a small piece of tallow the rifle would do all that was required of it, but he had so little confidence in the gun that he would not be prevailed upon to purchase the tallow. I then thought that I would keep the new discovery to myself for awhile, but changed my mind on arriving on the target field, and tramped a mile on the ice to a farmhouse, and purchased a small piece of tallow. With the aid of a lathe in the cartridge shop on the ground, I turned out a number of grooves on the balls and filled them with tallow. I then went on to the stand and hit the target ten times in twenty shots. By this time I had the sights regulated and could hit the target about every shot, and finished after many shots with a clean gun barrel. This was the first instance of lubricating material being used in breech loading guns or any other guns. I challenge any dispute on this subject. This was the salvation of breech loading guns.”

“At this time William E., a brother of Mr. Courtland C. Palmer, was in Paris with the Jennings gun. All parties were so interested with the success of the gun that Mr. Dixon, the agent, had two boxes of ammunition made up and sent by the next steamer to W. E. Palmer in Paris. In two weeks from the time of the trial in New York, the invention was known in Paris and applied to the French guns with the same success as was met with in the Jennings rifle. The same principle is used today in all breech loading guns. I came direct from New York to Hartford, and informed the president of the Sharps Rifle Mfg. Co. of my new discovery and tried to induce the company to introduce the lubricating material in the Sharps Rifle, as this rifle then used the naked ball and was subject to the same very serious trouble as the Jennings. Mr. Sharps was called on and the use of the lubricating explained, but he ignored the whole matter, calling it a ‘humbug.’ I returned to Vermont somewhat disgusted. In less than one week the president of the Sharps Rifle Mfg. Co. wrote to Windsor to stop all work until Mr. Sharps and himself arrived, stating that Mr. Sharps had tried the lubricating material and found that it was indispensable, and that no more guns must go out before the change was made for lubrication. The Jennings rifles, of which a few had been made for samples, were in a crude state. Robbins & Lawrence made new models and manufactured the 5,000 for Mr. Courtland C. Palmer. After this Mr. Tyler Henry, an old and first-class workman of Robbins & Lawrence, made in New Haven great improvements on the Jennings rifle. After this it went into the hands of the Winchester Arms Company of New Haven. They made great improvements on the gun and called it the Winchester Repeating Rifle. It is the outcrop of the old Jennings rifle.”[221]