The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1905-05-18
My Burglar

tresses, and long yellow curls like a
little girl. but cannot remember when
did not love a gun. Toy guns salts
fed my early childhood, but with my
first pair of pants came the longing
for a real gun, which rap
idly increased as | grew older MY
brother VIII, two years my senior,
was possessed with the same longing,
and by the time l was nine and he
eleven years of age, we had come TO
seriously consider ways and means OF
acquiring gun. Our father was very
positive in his refusal to assist us IN
any material manner, and even went
SO far as to forbid our attempting II
ourselves, considering us too young 10
be trusted with gun.
Inclined to obedience, we gave tne
matter up for a season, but could not
bring ourselves wholly to abandon u.
One day Brother Will came to me IN
great excitement, saying he had 1ounu
a gun that could be bought for Sl.oO,
and that we must set about raising
the money at once, before some ohe
else secured the prize. 1t was large
sum OF money for us TO get togetner'
and It cost much thought and LABOR
to do It. but the possibility OF owning
a gun stimulated us SO that we speed
ily accomplished the task, and one nhe
morning purchased and proudly pore
home our first real gun. II was an
antiouated army musket rusty ana
batterat, but to our eyes all that
gun ought to be.
We found 1t heavy load to carry
but no burden was ever borne more
cheerfully. A careful and critical eN-
animation Of our treasure, after we
had gotten It safely home, developed
the fact that 1t was SO heavy neither
of us had the strength to hold IL out
in firing position. But VIII soiVeo
this problem by suggesting that we
could shoot from a rest on some con-
venient stump or fence.
Then on further investigation we
discovered that neither OF us was tai
enough to reach up to the muzzie Oh
the grn to pour in the powder and
shot with which to load II. THIS was
more serious, and not SO easily rem
eoied as the flrst difficulty. | suggest
ed that we might carry box to stand
on when loading, but this plan did not
seem quite practical, and was not very
well received by my brother. IT Is
all we can do to carry the gun, with
out Juggling big box, too" said ne.
"And who ever heard Of ANYBODY go
ing hunting with a gun and a box 70
stand on when loading it?" he rather
Indignantly inquired.
think the fact OF its being so un.
orthodox. rather than its novelty
caused us to dismiss 1t as wholly i'm.
practical; for we could not consider
any method not approved by sports.
men, now that we had real gun.
We finally consulted an old gun.
smith. telling him our troubles, and
he advised that we have the barrel OF
the gun cut of, thereby reducing the
weight and the length, and agreed to
do the Job himself for the modest sum
OF forty-fve cents.
We promptly resolved ourselves, for
the second ume, into a ways and
means committed. and after few
days Of as earnest financiering as ever
fell 20 the lot OF men engaged in an
enterprise Of Importance, we sailed
forth to the gunsmith's with our gun
and the price OF the desired improve
ments.
with something like two feet cut of
the barrel, and the same from the iron
ramrod, we had an arm that either oi
us could hold--yery briefy--in firing
position, and readily reach the muzzle
off from the ground.
Cooking our gun gave us much trou
BILE at first, but this we finally learn
ed to do by resting the muzzle on the
ground, bracing the stock against oul
chest, and pulling on the ponderous
lock with both hands. The sound oi
the two clicks" announcing the
stages which we knew as half" and
whole cooked" was thrilling in the
extreme, bearing a strong resemblance
to the noise made by heavy fire-sei
falling on stone hearth. 1t was sim
ply sweet music to our ears, and VIC
knew that no gun ever had a stronger
or more business like click.
1t was some time before we could
persuade our father to allow US tc
test its shooting qualities; and when
we did, our further knowledge of the
gun, and it's strong characteristic
might be thus summed up: 1t had
wonderful capacity for ammunition
taking a handful each Of powder and
shot, at load, with handful of pa
per on each. A very loud and boom
ing report, when fred. A recoil
which led us seriously to consider, al
times, whether or not the propelline
power had not-in some manner, be
come reversed; and the knack o.
scattering shot in way beyond the
power Of belief.
We also discovered little later OF
that the threads Of the tube seat were
worn, and that occasionally the tubs
was blown out, whistling by our head.
with terrific force, and not killing US
although occurring several tines
-t.-...f., o~d co1ofwr haco..mn - A. Ia.