The Freeman's Journal, Or, New Hampshire Gazette

On Saturday morning some experiments were tried at Woolwich before Lord Viscount Townshend, Lord Amherst, Generals Harvey, and Defagutters, and a number of other Officers, with a rifle gun, upon a new construction, by Capt. Ferguson, of the 70th regiment ; when that Gentleman, under the disadvantages of a heavy rain and high wind, performed the following things, none of which had ever been done with any other small arm : first in four or five minutes at a target, at the distance, at the rate of four shots in a minute. Thirdly, he fired four times per minute at the same time at the rate of eight miles in the hour. Fourthly, he poured a quart of water into the pan and barrel when loaded, so as to wet every grain of the powder, and in less than half a minute he fired as well as ever without extracting the ball. He also hit the Bull's Eye at 100 yards, laying with his back on the ground : and notwithstanding the unevenness of the wind and wetness of the weather, he only missed the target three times during the whole course of the experiments.