Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1891-09-24
PACKING A GUN.
That Means Carrying a Pistol-A Habit Fall
ing Into Commendsble Disuse.

San Francisco Chronicle: West OF
the Missouri river the constitutional
privilege of bearing arms is universally
translated into the vernacular as
packing gum" By no chance does
the gun-packer ever refer to a pistol
as pistol. To him the weapon is al
ways gun, whether it be the usual
45-caliber, or the old style Allen pep
per box, or even the 32-caliber, which
originated the remark of the Texan
that if he were ever shot with one of
those things and found it out there
would be trouble.
But whether one may prefer the
frontiersman's term or some more ele-
CANT form OF expression, the chief feat
ure of interest to be noted is that the
habit of carrying a pistol is falling in
to disuse. 1t is not many years ago
that everyone, especially on the Paci-
nc coast, would as soon have thought
OF starting on a journey without
tooth brush or a pocket flask or with
out any other article of necessity as
"ieHoot q RiSboiy NhCiCho NJ" Al a
thorough search were made OF the pas
sengers in a railway train not more
than one in twenty at the very outside
would be found to be armed.
There are several reasons for the
custom of packing a gun" having
fallen into desuetude. One is the or
binary uselessness of the weapon. If
train or stage is held up, every ad-
vantage lies with the robbers so far as
the passengers areconcerned. The as
sailants are ready, while the passen-
gers are not, and they do say that the
view down the muZzle OF full-siZed
six-shooter in the hands of q masked
or disguised robber is an experience
which no one ever forgets who has
ever been through it. One of the best
known detectives of the state allowed
two handsome revolvers to be taken
from his pockets because the stage
robbers chad the drop" on him, and
he knew it.
A second reason for not carrying
pistol is the discomfort and inconven-
Ience OF 1T. If it be carried in the hip
pocket, as is not unusual, it drags
down all the time, and is a decided
nuisance when the wearer sits down.
Ii the pistol be carried in a holster the
belt slips and works around until the
pistol gets into some position which
makes its possessor decidedly uncom-
Portable, and there it manifests dis
position to stay.
Still another reason is the danger
which q pistol causes, especially If 1t
be unloaded. 1t has been calculated
that about 500 per cent of all the
fatal accidents from pistols come from
weapons which everyone is sure are
unloaded, and probably half OF all the
rest come from the careless or ignor-
ant use OF the weapon, or from some
desire to be smart or show off with it.
Unfortunately it is not the pistol
wielder who is hurt generally, but
some innocent and unlucky bystander
or some child who has not been able
TO recognize the genus stultus from a
single specimen.
1t is quite time that the custom of
carrying weapons should pass into OBJ
livion entirely among civilized people,
unless under exceptional Circumstance
es. During an epidemic of robbery,
such as We had here some months ago,
n pistol might possibly be useful,
though to walk in the middle of the
street and blow a police whistle at
any suspicion of danger, at the same
time taking to ones heels, is generally
much more effective. We have out
grown the times when every dispute,
however trivial, was settled by an ap-
peal to arms, and those times can
never be restored. In thepresent con,
ditions of life in the United States
even in so barborous a country as the
east fancies California to be, packing
a gun, is, as rule, pure affectation
which would better be dispensed with