The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1893-09-19
THE OLD RIFLE
THAT DID GOOD SERVICE IN OUR
GRANDFATHEIc'S TIME.
Arp Tells All About cold Betsy" with Its
Flint and Steel LOck-The Improve
ment in Fire Arms.

VcntlOn. Never before Ill the history Oh
the world has there been such an era of
wonderful inventions and contrivances for
| the use and comfort and conveniences OF
mankind And it does not stop or even
| call u halt. Every year brings new sur
| prises, and now when we hear of some
! bold incomprehensible proposition we do
| not dare to say it is impossible. There is
! no advance in literature or painting or az
| chitecture or OratOry many other arts
| that require the highest order of intellect.
| Indeed, it is to be lamented that we no
| more have @ Shakespeare or Milton or
Goldsmith or Burns or Tom Moore: no more
a Raphael Michael Angelo; no more a
| Cicero or a Burke or Webster. Ripe schol-
] arship has declined, and this generation mas
! neither time nor taste for it, but i'll every
| thing that lessons labor and chcapens the
neccssarics and comforts of life we are Tar
| ahead of our ancestors.
| L was Illuminating about this because
| happened to come across an Old time rifle
| with a flint lock and | handled it with
| reverence. for il mad fired and fought in
| Jackson's war at New Orleans, and was
| still preserved and honored by the great
| grandsons of the soldier who loaded II De-
| hind the cotton bales and waited to see
| the whites of the enemies eyes before ne
| pulled the trigger. The name OF TINS
! rifle was etched i'll a rude way upon the
barrel and it was Betsy" All of them
| had names in the olden times-fcmllline
names, such as Betsy or betsy Jane VI
| Betsy Ann or Susan or Folly or Mandy or
| Kalline. Many of these old-tlme rifles are
| still in USE but the old flint lock has gone.
| Such a lock is curiosity now. nv, "a toWn-
raised boy has never seen one Inc haiu-
ware stores have ceased to keep them.
| The gunmakers have ceased to make them.
| and vet these are the locks that did the
| work in the revolution and the last BRUSH
war and the Mexican war and mace
many IN Indian bite tne me; u,lst'
many deer and turkey give their meat
to the hunter. | used to sell these locks
| when ! was boy clerk in my father
store, and could talk tluently about tne
| hammer and frizzen and roller and tHno-
| Ter and the dog and the pan. we SOLD hntS
by the score-tints that were WARRANTED
| sure fire The flint was made fast between
| two clamps i'll the cock or hammer, ana
| when the hammer was projected FORWARD
| against the steel frizZen the contact made
sparks to fall and they fell into the little
| powder pan that was attached to the
touch hole. If the touch hole was stopped
up there was q Flash i'll the pan and
| that was all. If the flint did Got make
spark, then the rule was to pick your
flint and try it again The powder IN the
| little pan was called the printing, and II 1T
! was not securely covered by the frizzen and
| got wet in the rain, it would not ignite Sane; ana
| hence the soldier was enjoined TO keep
| your powder dry" These old-time express
sions are still familiar and historic Some
| times we still hear backWoodSman say
| nov cut your patches, which IS an eX-
| preston of defiance and comes from the
| manner of loading rifle 4 small piece
| of cloth or rag was laid over the muZzie,
| the bullet laid upon it and pressed down
| into the bore just enough to clear the knife
| and then the cloth or patch was cut or
smooth with the top of the gun. The patch
! ing had to be Just thick enough to make
! the bullet go down tight when forced by
| the ramrOd sometimes 1t went too hght
and would get lodged hard and fast and mad
to be blown ont by putting powder in the
| touch hole The bullets were all nodded
at home, and if the necks were not cut of
very smooth. it made. them defect little
and miss the gunner's aim. This defce-
ton was very bad until rifles We're invented
Rifles mean little spiral grooves extending
from the muzzle to the breech. They give
| the ball a rotary motion before it leaves
| the gun and keeps that motion i'll IFS flight,
and even if ball is little one-sided or
irregular, it will go straight to the mark
The gun took its name from the grooves
that were called rifles. For years and
years man by. the name of ~ Rogers
they We're celebrated all over the south.
The equipments of rtleman were many
and peculiar, and We're all home made.
| His powderhorn was a cows horn that had
| been boiled and scraped and filed until it
was thin and clear and translucent. The
| charger was a small tube, made of tur-
! key bone or poss,lm leg or boar's tusk and
held just charge for the gun. a charge
| of powder is just enough to hide Il bullet
| when III the open palm of the hand. The
charger held that much and had 4 lip Oh
! one side The powder was carefully pour
, ed in the gun and then the patchin was
next in order. Now put on yonr ball and
| cut your patchin and ram her home. Then
the frizzen thrown back with the
thumb and the touch-hole and the pan
were filled from the powder horn while
! the gunner held the stopper between his
teeth. The flizzen was shut down and
Betsy Jane was loaded. The shot pouch
| was made Of deer skin or coon skin and
! ornamented with the tail of the animal
and sometimes with beads and enbroid-
ery. 1t contained various things besides
| thi. bullet modS and the bullets and the
patchln. There was grease for the lock
| and gun wipprS and fiints and screw driver
and wire for the touch hole. Betsy and
| her turnout AS much d, part OF the
! household as the baby. | used 10 trot
after one of these old ritemcn and carry
his squirrels and see him walk round the
tree or watch and wait until the little fel-
low slyly exposed his head and crack Went
| the gun and away sped the ball INTO m@
| eye \ good rtleman never broke L bone
in the body OF his game. ! know one now
who will shoot Il chicken or Il guinea i'll
the eye at sixty yards Off hand. When
| his wife wants one for dinner he takes
down Betsy and stands in the piazza until
| one comes III sight.
But the old locks passed away when, The
| percussion came. Then | got to selling
caps instead of hints And now the caps
have almost passed away AT and the nuts nn,z.,n
horn nor ramrod. Betsy and Jane are
out. Good gracious. If Jackson's men
had had these breech-loading doubo-bar-
relied guns, with a bag full of shells, there
wouldn't have been Il man left of all Pack
enimm's army.
| But I don't like these modern murder