Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-01-06
BOY AND GUN.
Views of Wise Mother on an Impor-
tant Subject.
forest and Stream.


! Ten years ago the question of allowing
my son, boy of years, to use a gun was
| vexed one in my mind. One day it was
decidedly settled-frst in my own, and
later in the minds of the boys father and
| grandparents, and in this wise:
1t was a beautiful sunny day in October
day when young people, as we'll as their
elders, felt it almost a sin TO remain in
doors, when my aforementioned son Of s
years came rushing into my sitting-room
where the family were assembled with a
white scared face and trembling voice
"Oh, ma, Mrs. Perkins says Jimmy has
been killed out in the woods. She wants
you to go right over there !" This excla-
nation, although trife incoherent, was
lucid enough for me to understand that
some accident had happened; and lett
the house, only to return some hours later
| saddened by the sight of the death of a
promising lad Of 10 years, caused by the
careless handling of a shotgun. "To
think !" exclaimed the heart-broken
mother, while she was surrounded by sew
eral sympathetic friends, 81 have always
had such horror of firearms, and never
allowed Jimmy to handle gun. Where
| COulOl ut nave SOILe1 nOlu LnlS one
Poor child, and poor mother My heart
ached for her; but it did seem to me as il
she had not cared for her boy in the right
way, and that she was almost to blame for
his death. Almost any boy will get hold
of some sort of irearm and ego hunting"
| If he has to do it by stealth, so much the
worse, but do it he will, and to the aston
ishment and wrath of Jacks grandmother,
| the horror of Jacks grandfather, but with
| the approval of Jacks father, Jack had a
CUR. 1t was small light gun, but we'll
made and entirely reliable, and the boys
delight and dignity were indiscribable
Do you suppose he had it to play with or
! Internationally Not at all. 1t was in
vain tried to quiet the apprehensions Of
the mothers of the neighborhood by tell
ing them my reasons for the gift. In time
! two or three came to argue with me, and
their sons had the same privilege as mine,
but it was long time before had any
| followers.
| In the first place, as Jacks father was
not much of a sportsman, | took the boy to
man who lived in the neighborhood, who
often spent day in the woods, and told him
just what | wanted, viz, that Jack should
learn the proper use of a gun-that he
should know the dangers of firearms, and
also the pleasure of day spent in the
pursuit of game; and after applauding my
ideas, Mr.. Stearns readily agreed to take
Jack as pupil. After this, on Wednes-
day and Saturday, if the weather peanut
ted, Mr.. Stearns and Jack would $50
a-hunting" Sometimes | went also; and
when Jack was twelve years old Mr.
Stearns' company was sometimes dispensed
with, and we went together. As Jack
grew older he saw more and more the ne
cessity for care and caution, and now when
he goes off with dog and gun feel no I'M
easiness.
Why is it, wonder, that mothers SO
often fail to understand the natural long
ings of their sons? Is is too much to ask
that they put themselves occasionally in
the boys place. and feel that the gun, the
bicycle, the new baseball bat or the cam
era will save the boy from the temptation
of the cigarette, the saloon, the vicious lit,
erature or other evils of the day? Let
some other mother be heard from on the
gun question.