AMERICAN RIFLEMAN features treasures from National Archives photos National Archives

This vintage image shows These troopers were armed with armed with P’1842 muskets and knives. Snider-converted P’1853 Enfields. A

Treasuresof Nepal The mysteries of a 200-year-old Asian arsenal have just been unlocked, and tons of rare artifacts have been brought back to the for

all to see—and own. Gurkha Havildar (sergeant) Bishnu poses with a traditional Kukri knife and a “Long-Lever” Martini-Henry (r.) The in was so by Garry James, jammed with arms that much of it had to be Executive Field Editor removed from upper story windows, as the bottom floor was impassable (middle). photos by Lynne McCready Inside the arsenal were stacks and stacks of arms, such as the Pattern 1853 Enfields (far r.). All were universally dirty, having been

Photos from Nepal courtesy of IMA from Photos covered with almost 200 years of brick dust. 58 AMERICAN RIFLEMAN August 2004 All of us dream of finding buried Origin of the Treasure Nepal, located at the foot of the chests of Spanish doubloons or an Himalaya Mountains. In 1814 the undiscovered Rembrandt or a As all great treasure hunt stories Nepalese Army, composed of the cased Paterson revolver in grand- should, this one begins in the past legendarily fierce Gurkha fighters, ma’s attic.But, in the grim reality of and involves proud families, invaded northern —then today’s world, it seems as though intrigue, death, warfare, and for- under the control of the British East such romantic notions are just tunes won and lost. The scenario India Company—and occupied the that—notions. Imagine then, com- and cast of characters is so bizarre hill stations of Mussoorie, Simla ing across not just one or two rare and unusual that no modern novel- and Dehra Dun. arms—but thousands of them! ist would have the nerve to make Needless to say the English were Improbable? Perhaps. But it did them up. But it is true nonetheless. perturbed, not only for the effron- happen—in fact it’s still happening. The tale begins some 200 years tery of the thing, but for the real pos- AAnd it’s one heck of a story. ago in the exotic Kingdom of sibility that they might lose an area

AMERICAN RIFLEMAN 59 August 2004 AMERICAN RIFLEMAN features treasures from Nepal

boasting some of the most agreeable allowed the British to establish a their tough fighting abilities and weather for summer retreats on the Resident at Katmandu and permitted chivalric behavior. For example, in sub-continent. They launched a them to cross Nepal and trade with one of the earlier campaigns the counter-attack, and though initially . As well, the Company was British built a monument to the defeated, after several tries the allowed to recruit Gurkha soldiers Gurkhas which was inscribed,“They Company troops, under General into its armies. As a further part of the fought in their conflict like men and, , finally subdued the agreement, the British vowed to sup- in the intervals of actual conflict, Ghurkhas, broke through the ply the Nepalese armies with small showed us a liberal courtesy.” Katmandu valley and threatened the arms, artillery and ammunition—a Gurkhas, carrying their deadly trade- nation’s capital.Realizing the game promise, as we shall see later on, that mark kukri knives, have remained an was up, the King of Nepal, at the was more than generously fulfilled. important element of the advice of Prime Minister Bhimsen During hostilities, both the British ever since, and they have served Thapa (more about him later) decid- and Gurkhas gained considerable proudly in scores of campaigns and ed to sign the Treaty of Sagauli, which respect for one-another regarding both World Wars.They remain among the most respected and highly deco- rated fighting forces in the world. But, back to Nepal. After many years of honorable government ser- vice, Prime Minister Bhimsen Thapa (remember him), decided to retire to his country estate. Things weren’t to rest there however, for palace intrigues resulted in his being lured back to Katmandu in 1839 where he was imprisoned on charges of high treason. Bhimsen, a proud man, refused to be broken under torture. Finally he was told that his senior wife and children would be dragged naked through the streets of the city. Unable to deal with the shame, the former prime minister hanged him- self in his cell. Upon hearing of his death, Bhimsen’s wife, who was resid- ing at the family’s ancestral palace, Lagan Silekhana, hung herself from one of the residence’s high windows. Even today, a rope is suspended from the window in tribute to the statesman and his wife. In 1845, Bhimsen Thapa’s nephew became prime minister and set about righting the wrongs that had been done to his uncle, deftly removing all enemies in a subsequent purge. Lagan Silekhana was never reoccupied, and instead turned into a royal arsenal to house British gifts as well as home- fabricated arms and equipment.

The .577-450 Martini-Henry Bira gun (above), designed and built in Nepal, operates similarly to the American . The artillery (r.) represented everything from siege guns to howitzers and mortars. The brass and iron mortars (middle) were from various countries and periods. Napoleonic period brass cannons (far r.) had been converted to breechloaders. 60 AMERICAN RIFLEMAN August 2004 Pattern 1839 Conversion Musket

1853 Enfield With Snider Conversion

Martini-Henry “Short Lever”

Pattern 1842 Musket

Pattern 1842 Musket (With Sword ) There were thousands of , including some rare Sapper & Miner sword bayonets for P’42 muskets.

The Treasure Hunt guide’s claims to be considerably tions, Cranmer and his partner, Sudhir understated. It was an Aladdin’s cave Windlass, owner of Atlanta Cutlery, The story now jumps forward a full of wonderful things. emerged victorious. century or so to 1969 when Christian After hearing the tale, Cranmer Originally the bid was for 200 Cranmer, now president of Int’l immediately set about verifying the tons of armament, but after it was Military Antiques, was walking along story, and discovered that it was true. learned that there were 146 can- Oxford Street in London with an old He began negotiations with the nons destined for smelting, and an boarding school chum one day. His authorities, but as always there was a almost equal number of artillery friend, whose parents were in the glitch. Several different governmental carriages that were systematically high-end antiques business, had agencies felt that the material came being burned, it was decided that just returned from Nepal with a fan- under their jurisdiction, and it these too should be included in the tastic story about meeting a Russian became almost impossible to deter- package, bringing to 430 tons the ex-ballet dancer who owned a hotel mine exactly who to deal with. total of everything from bayonets in Kathmandu. Finally, in 2000, because of a seri- and knives to siege guns. According to the Russian, there ous lack of up-to-date weaponry to Congratulating themselves on their was an incredible cache of arms in an fight Maoist rebels—and an even successful bid, Cranmer and old palace in the heart of the city. greater lack of funds to pay for it—the Windlass didn’t realize their trou- Interested, Cranmer’s friend visited Nepalese decided to start accepting bles were far from over. the arsenal and, if anything, found his offers. After rather tortuous negotia- Arriving in Katmandu in January, 2003 for a one-month stay to super- vise the packing and shipping of their prize, Cranmer made a tour of the palace and realized that the job would be considerably more compli- cated than he had originally thought. At one time, with its gilded wall decoration and exotic murals, Langan Silekhana must have been one of the most splendid residences in Nepal, but after 200 years of neglect it was, as described by AMERICAN RIFLEMAN 61 August 2004 treasures from Nepal

Mk IV Martini-Henry “Long Lever”

musket flints and .75-caliber Brown there, but I’ll try to touch on the high Bess musket balls? Or what about the points and describe some of the more bronze cannon emblazoned with the interesting and abundant items. Bear cipher of Catherine the Great. in mind, now, that I’m a real British His one-month stay stretching to Colonial buff so I might have a ten- half a year, by June Cranmer had all dency to get a bit hyperbolic—but I’ll 430 tons packed into 31 containers try and remain as balanced as possible. Gehendra Rifle and ready be moved south, through India from Kathmandu to Calcutta. The Arms Unfortunately the convoy was hit by a monsoon, and a trip that should Pattern 1853 Enfields, Sniders: have taken three days took three Probably the most interesting arms to grueling weeks. the American collector, especially Despite adversity, all the loot is Civil War buffs, would be the P’53 now in the United States in two loca- Enfields. This was one of the most tions, at Int’l Military Antiques in New widely used rifle-muskets during the Martini-Henry Jersey and Atlanta Cutlery in Georgia, War between the States, and it was “Short Lever” where it has been unpacked, is being Britain’s mainstay longarm for cleaned and currently offered for sale. decades. Later, many would be con- I recently took a tour of IMA’s facili- verted to breechloaders via the Cranmer,“absolutely filthy.”The ties, and, frankly, it was virtually Snider system invented by New rooms of the palace, which had no impossible to keep a journalistic Yorker Jacob Snider. All of the P’53s electric lights or running water, were detachment concerning what I saw. and Sniders I saw at IMA were of the stuffed from floor to ceiling with The only word for it—and really it’s early pattern with barrel band stacks of muskets, swords, and quite inadequate—is “Wow!” springs. Most of the locks were artillery.To make matters worse, For example, for years I have trea- unmarked, and all indications point to working space was at a minimum and sured my very-good condition Mark II the fact that they were manufactured everything was covered in layers of Martini-Henry rifle. Let’s face it, until in India. Quality was quite good, and black brick dust (seven tons of which recently these things—in any kind of the condition of samples I pulled from still falls on Katmandu daily). shape—were difficult to come by. the stacks was just fine. They are very Realizing the job was going to be Imagine now, if you will, walking into a nice guns, generally, in .577 caliber. several times greater than originally huge storeroom where Martinis of vari- Bayonets are available. imagined, Cranmer dug in and started ous models and in different stages of Pattern 1839, 1842 Muskets: Prior to removing the treasure. Much of the preservation (most of them quite good, the introduction of the P’51 and P’53 material actually had to be passed out I might add) are stacked to the ceiling, Enfields, the Pattern 1842 (and earlier through high windows, as there was wall-to-wall.This scene is repeated Pattern 1839 flintlock conversions) no way it could be negotiated out of time and time again with such things were the workhorses of the British first floor doors. Every day brought as , Sniders, Army.The Nepalese P’42s and P’39s at new revelations. Of course, they knew Pattern 1842 muskets, boxes of bayo- IMA were in very presentable condi- about the Pattern 1842 muskets and nets, stacks of swords, piles of , tion. All were of the East India Snider and Martini-Henry rifles, but bags of flints, pyramids of cannon bar- Company style, featuring spurred trig- who could account for the piles of rels—it just goes on and on. ger guards. Lock markings usually had Model 1853 Slant-Breech Sharps car- Unfortunately space limitations don’t EIC insignia, but some had private con- bines and rifles, or the million or so allow me to talk about everything I saw tractors’ names, as well.The P’39 shown

One big surprise was the stacks of 1853 Slant Breech Sharps rifles and (r.) with no markings and no record of their origination. However, one expert has stated that “an American connec- tion cannot be ruled out.” Stacked alongside brass-trimmed muzzleloaders and bags of musket flints were piles of World War II vintage arms, such as these British-made guns (second image from left).

62 AMERICAN RIFLEMAN August 2004 here, for instance, was put up by According to the Russian, there was an incredible Manton of Calcutta—one of the preemi- nent makers on the sub-continent. cache of arms in an old palace in the heart of the city. Bayonets are available, and all the guns I viewed had the India pattern bayonet ... It was an Aladdin’s cave full of wonderful things. catch. As well as standard muskets, there are a few of the scarcer Sapper & Sharps Rifles, Carbines: These were locks. Research seems to indicate that Miners Carbines, again, EIC marked, certainly the most interesting arms I the guns themselves were made in but with the Hanoverian spring catch. looked at. Both the rifle and India, but that the locks were manufac- The guns are in .73 caliber. Bayonets are built on the 1853 Slant Breech pat- tured in England and stamped with are available for all of them—even the tern and include the Lawrence pellet Nepalese markings. Despite earlier scarce S&M sword bayonet. primer.The ones examined had no reports no Baker Rifles were brought Martinis: I spotted three basic types markings whatsoever, and general back from Nepal, though there were a of Martini-Henrys—“Short-Lever” quality,while not bad, was not up to number of Brunswicks—both standard Martini-Henrys of varying models, the standard Sharps product. Carbines models and smoothbored Indian pat- Mark IV “Long-Levers” and the had brass fittings (to include a patch- terns. I only saw one example of the Nepalese-manufactured Gehendra box) and long sling bars. Barrels mea- latter, and it was in good shape. Brown rifles, which were built on the Westley sure 22". Sights were of a couple of Bess, Baker and Brunswick bayonets Richards pattern. Probably the most styles, one similar to earlier Sharps are available. interesting of the batch from a design carbines and others looking much like Knives, Swords: Probably the great- standpoint, the Gehendras had some those on P’53 Enfields.The rifles are est treasures in the blade category are functioning problems, so the British, at quite long (40" barrels) and fittings, to the high-quality early (19th century) various times, sent over the other two include a spurred fore-end cap, are of kukri knives. There are also some models to supplement them. All brass. A large rear sling swivel takes later ones. The blades are marked Martini-Henrys I saw were ex-British the place of the standard lever pivot. with Nepalese writing, and all seem to military issue and were decorated with Christian tells me that he had the be in excellent condition. Heretofore the proper “VR” and crown cipher, as wood analyzed and that it is Honduran it’s been difficult to get a real issue well as the model number and date. mahogany—quite interesting.There kukri at a reasonable price. No Most had stock markings indicating are no records of these arms anywhere longer—these are a good deal and they had been sent from Indian arse- in Nepal or Britain.While the quality highly recommended. As well, I saw nals. Condition ranged from basket hints at indigenous manufacture, IMA’s piles of British military swords of cases to some in excellent shape. Most researcher in England states that “an varying styles, as well as Indian tul- were just fine, and if you’re a fan of the American connection cannot be ruled wars—some with pretty fancy decora- film “Zulu,”you could do much worse out.”While the guns are dinged and tion. Those Brit swords with hilts dec- than having one these Mark IIs in your dirty from storage, condition is gener- orated with royal ciphers seemed to collection.They are in .577-450 cal- ally quite good, indicating that they lean heavily toward the George V iber, and bayonets are available. saw little or no use.The guns appear to period (post 1911) and had “GRI” be around .54 caliber. No bayonets (“George, Rex Imperator”—George, have been found. King Emperor) indicating Indian Muskets, Army origin. Baker/Brunswick Rifles: All the Artillery: Frankly, this was some of Brown Bess muskets were pretty much the most fascinating material in the in pieces, and looked unsalvageable. trove. To begin with, IMA/Atlanta The good side of this is that there will Cutlery brought back several Bira be plenty of spare Brown Bess parts Guns. These are double-barreled, available, including some very nice continued on p. 64

The author (r.) and IMA President Christian Cranmer (l.) inspect a pair of the mysterious Nepalese Sharps rifles. The Sharps rifles (above) featured 40" long barrels and were apparently intended to be fitted with socket bayo- nets. The Sharps carbines were all brass-mounted and fitted with 20" bar- rels and ladder-style rear sights. Both had Lawrence pellet primers and unique sling swivels (above l.) that replaced the normal hinge pins. AMERICAN RIFLEMAN 63 August 2004 AMERICANtreasures RIFLEMANfrom Nepal features xxxxxxxx continued from p. 63

Nepalese-made-and-designed with a recoil mechanism. The earliest mechanical machine guns based on piece noted was a Russian brass can- the Gardner principle. Chambered in non cast with the arms of Catherine .577-450 Martini-Henry, they are noth- the Great, though there were some ing if not imposing. From their huge mortars that looked as though they boxy steel receivers through their could predate that. gigantic drum magazines and mas- Other stuff: As noted earlier there are sive field carriages, they are undoubt- just too many different items to cover edly the strangest looking automatic them adequately. Noted in passing arms ever built—and they’re also and recommended are Martini- really neat. There were tons (literally) Henry combination tools and oil bot- of other artillery pieces from stubby tles, as well as Brown Bess flints and little mortars to some pretty heavy- musket balls. duty brass howitzers. I was particularly So there you have it, this century’s impressed with some Russian guns first—and perhaps last—great that looked similar to those in photos treasure hunt.The nice thing about it is, taken during the Crimean War. More unlike much material brought up from than likely they were captured in the the Caribbean or North Atlantic, the Crimea and eventually sent surplus to riches can be purchased by the aver- All Pattern 1842s (top) found in Nepal Nepal.Who knows, they could have age enthusiast. History on such a grand were of the with been in the batteries that fired upon scale, has rarely been so affordable. spurred triggerguards. Lock markings the Light Brigade! There were a large For more information, contact Int’l show the “EIC” insignia. Though not as abundant as the P’42s, the Pattern number of brass Napoleonic-period Military Antiques (Dept.AR), 1000 1839 conversions (bottom) were guns that had been converted to Valley Road, Gillette, NJ 07933; represented in some numbers. This breechloaders, as well as a British (908) 903-1200; www.ima.com; or particular example has a lock built by nine-pounder muzzleloading field Atlanta Cutlery,(Dept.AR), Box 839, Manton of Calcutta—one of the gun of Zulu War vintage that had been Conyers GA 30012; (800) 883-0300; preeminent makers in India. altered to breechloading and fitted www.atlantacutlery.com.

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