Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1870-05-19
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: HARDLY anything just now attracts to
Itself a. much inventive thought - fe
gun. In olden times the sword WA tbe
Typical implement of war. = still re.
| mains % II slitefAtip6 and probably VII
continue long to do 10, just a. yet we
| sbcak of palms and 'iaurels, though ages
10 the custom died, ont which gave thap
eminence. The swerd hssl become lttle
more than . side ornament Even in cav
airy itn1pfs md more gives place to the
pistol and the carbine. ssAA
But it Is not Of the gun - : military
weapon that We mean chiefly 70 speak. II
| il as an instruments OF Amusement and
profit in the hands Of private citizens:
Every man should own good gun (better
| IL he can afford it. q shotgun and . rifle
| both). and no parent should let boy 60
past fourteen years bf age Without having
taught him TO handle b gun with skill and
safety. We shall give the reason for sour
position after first disposing Of an objec-
ton which all parents will at once express
viz: the d..gc. q accidents from ire
arms
We admit that firearms are dangerous
The long list Of fatal accidents scored up
every year leaves no doubt upon tina,
point. 1t win therefore seem pafadoxical
to many when we say that II % in part to
prevent accidents thst we recommend
| carly instruction In the use Of fire arms.
| No amount OF care will keep boys from
handling guns. Il Is fAsc!nsting imple-
ment. There Is . charm about . gun
which bewitches boys imagination.
Guns are now 90 cheap that everybody
can have one. Even If tinid parents
withhold fowling pieces from their sons,
IL will not prevent their handling them.
The town Il fun of them. And accident
ally or on purpose your son viii ind out
something about cunning.
The military companies are % many,
and the manual Of arms 20 hscinating,
and sharp-sho1ing has become such .
fashion, that you may be sure that an, Az.
erage boy win come by gun clandestine-
~. II he does not with your permission.
Now, We argue that il Is far more dangerous
TO leave boys TO find out secretly the plea
sures OF gun than it 10 TO teach them its
skillful use. A child soon learns caution.
After few weeks, boy Of ten years old
is in SIS little danger OF doing mischief
with q gun as be is Of taking poison or
falling into the river, or'down- sts1rA Or Of
stabbing himself with knife.
We hold il TO be SQUAD philosophy, that
children are safer by being taught how to
meet danger and to overcome IL, than by
seeking to keep them away from all dan
ger. It Ia not the bold and brave lads
that are apt to be harmed
In wrestling, climbing, swimming, rid
ing, leaping, shooting, they WHO have
been taught skill and self reiiance are sci
dom injured. It is the clumsy hand, the
awkward foot, Of one untaught in manly
exercises that courts disaster. The boy
that is familiar. with the gun - not the
one who snaps it at his sister, thinking
that il lie not loaded, and shoots her dead.
Il Is the green lubber who Las never been
permitted to know anything about fire.
arms that does that A wise father should
teach his boy how TO load, how 70 carry
gun safely, how to scale fence, and all
the precautionary arts Of hunting. 1t
would be well, too, TO teach every girl
how 10 use pistol. Many woman has
been placed in the power Of burglars for
lack Of that knowledge.
The moral uses Of firearms are not the
least to be considered. A boy with gun
on his shoulder. on Wednesday afternoon,
or on Saturday, tramping the forests
the hills, il learning self reliance, skill,
enterprise. He is far less likely to fall
under temptations which 30 easily beset
high spirited boys that have nothing to
do. than if ne was pent up in narrow
quarters at home. 80. (.
There 10 more power condensed in
small compass in rife than In any other
engine. IT is 80 docile, 80 manageable, 80
80 stantaneousin It's effects,
that ]. is attractive 70 every wide-nwake
boy. 1t Is still an object OF fascination TO
ourselves When we shall be 80 old as
not to care tor fine rifle, and not to be
curious of every new invention that makes
firearms more efficient, we shall consider
ourselves In our dOtage. vi a Il
But, with q little care. and instruction,
3 boy, soon hunts for something more than
merely to secure game. he becomes In
tereSted In satural history. He beglns TO
read about and TO observe the habits OF
birds, beasts and fishes. Nothing IL more
important than to teach child to derive
q pleasure from the use Of his higher facul-
ties. A boy that knows all the birds In his
neighborhOOd, their haants and habite
the styie of their nests, their eggs, the
color Of their young, their food, disposi.
C1Oub 0uu ubCb III 00SuAVp WIZ S~sAssA.OAe
Wild animals that exist In tho region
around Mis- home, the fora and simpler
elements Of geology, has opened up "a
himself tastes and habits which Will
have power upon Ms whole lie for good.
Such education, by broadening the sources
Of epj, yment, and by making him less
dependent. for hsppiness upon any single
set of circumstances, diminishes the power
Of misfortune and Of commercial reyulr'
sions. Men who derive their Joys from
one or two sources only are usually very
unhappy or very stupid In old age. The
widef the range on which the mind
pastures. the less likely will y be to suffer
from famine. oV' t0a ~ ''" Y
These considerations, are equally APP
plicable TO the rod. Whether it be gun or
rod, or bettcr yet both, tho man who!
never saw anything but the pan and the
spit 10 hot half . spprtsmAnN Cha true
sportsman has 2 keen zest for early hours,
fresh air. the EXPLANATIONS 81 vigorous
exerc &c; he learns 10 love the tAce Of
heaven, Of the earth, and Of the sun.
Rejecting the stewing and cpddlirg lu1u.
rios of . lazy life, he p1rchase6 health and
pleasure In Sone bargain. MOI - true
son Of the stream And the forest an UNI
kindly man 4 On. the contrary, . true
sportsman IL tender1of every living thing.