The Douglas independent. [volume] (Roseburg, Or.) 187?-1885, 1880-10-30
With a PISTOL in His Pocket.

II there is one pursuit which above all
others is so peaceful in its nature as not
to call for the services OF armed men, it
is the climbing of tree for the purpose
of gathering chestnuts. Hardly any two
things can be moro thoroughly incom-
patible than nuts and pistols. The club
which is weapon altogether different in
its character and its aims from the pistol.
has sort of relation to the business of
gathering chestnuts. But the club is
used not so much by the boy who climbs
the chestnut tree as by the one who
stands on the ground and awaits the
fall of the nuts. To fling a club up
among the branches of chestnut tree
sometimes has the effect of bring
ing chestnuts down. More often
the effect is not felt on the chest
nuts, but rather on the head of the boy
who sends the club up. When in its
descent it stuns him by blow on the
skull or sets the blood flowing from his
cruelty bumped nose, the boy mutters q
quotation from that old proverb which is
to the effect that whatever goes up is sure
to come down. The club is as clumsy a
weapon as it is antiquated. Clubs can
NV OC SttAAACA III -ROthcbS HIJl1 any
great degree of convenience. According
! to the pictures in the Sunday school
books, Cain slew Abel with club. But
the pictures do not represent Cain as
drawing the weapon from his hip-pocket.
Even New York policemen do not carry
clubs in their hip-pockets, but hold them
in their hands ready for instant service.
! The hip-pocket is a fashionable neces-
! al a. l.
mands of the age who makes trousers
without it. All classes and conditions of
masculine society must wear this pocket.
The oetogenarian grandfather the peace.
full clergyman, the scholarly professor,
the boisterous politician, the growing
youth and the little boy in his first trou-
sers, must alike have a hip-pocket.
While there are many purposes for
ingly convenient, there is no denying the
fact that it was originally invented by
some war-like person us handy place
for carrying pistol. Although there
are many wearers of this kind of pocket
who carry no pistols, yet there are many,
especially young men, who think the
pistol quite as much of necessity as
the pocket. Therefore, they seldom go
! uIlaLTHCu 4Ao pIotO1 10 ab muCn W
home in their hip-pocket as eyeglasses
are on the noses OF near-sighted
men, or bangs on the foreheads
who thus stuff pistols into their
pockets are not bloodthirsty fellows.
They have no desire to murder anybody.
Most of them are poor shots in pistol
practice and could not with the most
.<1f, Il la
cat across the street. They have no
definite idea that ruffians will attack
them with view to taking their lives,
nor have they positively come to the
conclusion as to what they would do in
the event of any such attack being made.
They think they would bravely stand
their ground and discharge from four to
six balls into the vitals of the intruding
rufian. The probability is that they
would run away
A day or two ago the youthful son of q
New York capitalist inflicted on himself
q needless and dangerous wound. He
had gone up tree to gather chestnuis.
He fell, and in his fall discharged the
pistol which happened to be in his hip
pocket and which he had taken up the
tree with him. At first it was reported
seemed probable that he would die. Had
he died his life would have been sacri
feed to foolish and unnecessary prac
tice. Ii he lives he will carry with him
the indelible mark of his folly. Had there
been bear up the chestnut tree or
squad of hostile Indians concealed
, among the branches the pistol nigh
have been necessary instrument of self
lofappa 1f,pfao1 nf haipfp ,f aa1f 4o,.
, ture. There are thousands of lads al
|. over the country who carry pistols JUS
as this unwise youth did They &C
; armed to school, to the store, to see thei
girls, to walk on the streets and to en-
gage in the various duties and pleasure.
, of life. When they have nothing else t.
, do they pull out the pistol to see if i
, needs cleaning or to be sure that thl
trigger works properly. Then the,
, point the weapon at their little brothe
! or sister, purely as q bit of til,
| most hilarious fun. When th,
inevitable bullet crashes through
: brother or sister, and bleeding littl,
| corpse lies on the floor, there are tear
, and remorse and exclamations of "didn'
know it was loaded" apd all that. Th,
. carrying of a concealed pistol is by Law
an offense against the public peace. |
, is a great pity that the law is almost
dead letter. Especially about election
, times it is bad to carry pistols. TIL,
angry passions may rise and shots ma,
be fired with disastrous effect. There i
not one case in ten thousand where
, man who carries pistol has reasonabl,
need to use it. AS for the boys, the,
have no more need to carry pistols abou
them than to arm themselves with Cat
ling guns. The hip-pocket is hand,
, appendage to the raiment; but it serve
] quito as well for the stowage of tn,
peaceful handkerchief as for an armory
Better sew it up than carry murderou
, weapon in it.