Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1892-12-09

poles or under the Equator,
should be supplied with both shotguns
and rifles. Instances have been numer-
Gus where a party carrying but one style
of weapon could have done so much
better with the other that very natural
desire has arisen for universal or con-
vertible arm thatcould be made to serve
for either shot or bullets, as occasion de-
handed.
Hunters for feathered game in coun-
tries where the larger animals are some
times found have some of their paper
cartridges for their breach-loading shot
guns loaded with ball. So, too, the In
dams and Esquimaux of North America
very much like muzzle-loading double
barreled shotgun, because they can use
them for either ball or small shot. These
weapons are very accurate, too, at ranges
not greatly exceeding 100 yards; but the
bullet being round, it has neither t he
accuracy or penetration of the elongated
conical ball of tie breech loading rifle of
to- day.
During the autumn of 1872 shortly
after landing in the Esquimau country
of North Hudson's Bay, says W. H. Gil
der, went upon a hunting trip with
some Of the natives, who had come down
to our camp on the seashore to exchange
fresh reindeer meat for ammunition.
They reported game plentiful in the vi
cinity of their camp, and was tiIle1 with
a desire to add reindeer to my game
score.
oh
five days of which we were walking and
hunting away from camp, each night
resting in rude sealskin tents, or making
a very primitive shelter out of clay
stones. Two days only were required
for the return, as we started early and
walked as long as we could see.
The last day, along toward nightfall,
my companions saw some reindeer at q
distance, and, as usual, one of them tool,
my rifle to aid him in the chase. A lad
of some twelve or fourteen years, whose
parents had presented him to me shortly
after we came to live with them, and
who was my constant companion, carried
my double-barreled shotgun in view of
our meeting feathered game; but after
nv rifle was taken I took the shotgun to
relieve him of the load.
We were continuing our journey to-
ward the camp, guided by this boy and
u young woman, while the men hunted
the reindeer. Our route led US along
to the left of our line of march, when
the boy at my side suddenly whispered
"Took- too" which is the Esquimau
word for reindeer, and at the same time
pointed toward the top of the cliff just
ahead. Looking up l saw three big
antlered reindeer gazing intently at us,
and apparently too much astonished to
make up their minds what to do.
They were not much more than fifty
yards away, and their bodies were clear
ly outlined against the sky. How l
wished for my good breech loading rifle,
which had SO foolisAly parted with but
a short time before! felt that this was
the opportunity of a lifetime, and /
could not avail myself of it. All this
time the deer stood perfectly still, and
tantalizingly near, seeming to appreciate
the fact that had no gun fit to kill
them, while the boy most earnestly
whispered: "Took-too-par. Kokyoke
sellow." (Kill the little deer. Shot arc
in it, Just to show the little savage
what silly thing it was to attempt to
Kill! such large animal with small shot,
l threw the gun up to my shoulder and
blazed away at the heart of the nearest
reindeer. Imagine, then, my astonish-
ment, to see the animal give one bound
forward and tumble dead at the foot OF
the cliff.
found out afterward that when they
first saw the deer my boy had put
couple of bullets in the gun, on top of
the shot. and they were still there when
we surprised the three animals ON the
hilltop. The reason [ had not under
stood the lad when he said: "Kokyoke
sellow," was that kokyoke means shot of
any kind, and it was only when I subse-
sequently asked him how many shot,
and he replied, "one, big" that I knew
he had pul the bullets in the barrels.
Here was an excellent illustration of the
advantage of an arm that would unite
the best qualities of the shotgun and the
rife. Such a weapon would be the
ideal arm for the explorer where trans
portation is limited.
When belong and his party were
coming up the Lena Delta, and had so
little food, they saw but few reindeer,
but ptalmigau (the Arctic grouse) were
abundant enough to have enabled them
to exc out their slender allowance OF
other food, had they brought shotguDs
with them as we'll as, or even instead of,