The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1891-10-23
EBENSBURG. PA. FRIDAY. OCTOBER

ont niRnJ was a" oN a
woman's shrieks of Help. Murder.
Thieves." proceeding, as l imagined,
from below me in the house.
As quickly as possible l, again with
no weapon, opened my door to the
hall (where the light had gone ont
leaving it as black as my midnight
walk was) and CROPPED my way down
the stairs to assist the person in
danger.
At about the middle of the staircase
ran against man coming up.
We had each other by the throats in
an instant, and after a short life or
death struggle we both, still trying to
strangle each other, fell and rolled.
locked together, to the bottom There
in the darkness we fought and choked
and only stopped when my sister
bravely opened the parlor door and let
the lighted gas illuminate the combat
Lucky indeed it was for all con-
cerned that she did so, for had she de-
layed much longer my poor brother-in-
law, on whom l was sitting and pound
ing. would have been seriously dam
aged.
The servant girl. it afterwards turned
out. had an attack of nightmare and
her screams had made the trouble.
Here again was Il case whore re-
volver in either of our hands would
have caused irreparable disaster
In my mind comes one instance after
another of the woes that happen by
owning handy pistols
\ little boy know found his fathers
revolver carelessly left in a bureau
drawer. Before he finished playing
with il he shot and killed his smaller
brother
A friend fearing burglars was in the
habit of sleeping with a pistol under his
pillow.
One night while in vivid, half
awake nightmare, caused by keeping a
pistol and thereby dreaming of burg
lars, he fired at some one moving across
his darkened bed chamber. II was his
bride, and she died in his arms
4 neighbor had an alteration with
his hired man. Stung by his inso-
lence he left the stable, went in his
house. got his pistol and returned to
enforce his commands In his fit of
passion he murdered the man, and
though he escaped hanging he lost his
reason
Another nsGhbor left his revolver
under his pillow one day. His daughter
on the floor, whore il exploded and
maimod her for life.
/ knew of several men who carried
revolvers for security against iInagin
ary dangers aud shot no one but them
selves
Then again l know of more who
have walked about with pistols in their
pockets and slept with them under
their heads for years without ever once
having occasion 10 use them anu never
will
consider those people as very un-
safe and undesirable folks 10 te near,
and sincerely pity their families who
are always in danger.
Long ago discarded the pistol ! i'm
agined was SO necessary for the prcser-
walton of my life and in consequence !
live without the slightest thought of
burglars and have peace of mind sleep
ing or waking
The average pistol-carrying man is
not only liable to kill his family, his
friends or himself but is in actual dan
ger of being shot by rogues who, 1T his
first movement toward his pistol
pocket will shoot him down in thar
'.self-defense" and not be hung for it
either.
And where there is single case of a
revolver being n prot-euon to its
owner there are thousands where IL
has proved just the opposite
When a woman can alone go around
the world in perfect safety man GER
tainly need not be afraid
In fact only coward in these civil
lied times will go armed, although, We
must confess, that n man must have
considerable courage to have about a
weapon almost sure to hurt him sooner
or later.
The old farmer who fixed a gun in
his chicken house so when the door
was opened it would shoot the chicken
thief found that ont. For he forgot
the gun was there when he went after
the eggs in the morning.
May his fate and the fate of others /
have mentioned make men sensible
enough to rely only on their fists. a
pistol is Il danger and nuisance and
of no use at all. ''Shoot it" before it
shoots you'll. c. Dodge, in Goodalf S
sun.