Year: 1875

In its comments on the recent rifle
match in Ireland Saunders News
Letter" makes the following remarks:


Nor should it be forgotten, as u
slight extenuation of our failure, that,
while the American team was selected
from O nation of forty millions, who
cradle, ours was selected from prov
ince of five millions, where, except in
privileged cases, the use of that weapon
is forbidden"


These are quite natural observations
yet they are erroneous. For long
period the rifle was peculiarly an
American weapon, but that period has
passed away, and the rifle peculiar to
that period has alsD passed out of use


The rifle did not originate in the Uni
ted States, neither rihed small arms or
great guns. The plan of ritling fro
arms was first known in Europe before
it was in use here 1t is nevertheless
! the fact that in the early history of the
American colonies and for long after
they became states, the rifle was large
ly in use by the greater portion of the
adult American male population.
Everywhere in this new country all
kinds of game was abundant, and par
ticularly squirrels, rabbits, wild tur-
keys, bears and dcers. The hunting Of
this game familiarized nearly all the
Inhabitants of the colonies with the use
of the rifle. This hunting practice was
supplemented by t he necessity of de-
ferce against the Indians, who then
ranged along the whole border of the
country, and for many years there was
an incessant frontier warfare. That
brought about the transition in the use
of the rifle from mere hunting piece
into that of military weapon, and
was the foundation of the skill in the
use of the rifle in warfare which made
the unframed American militia such
formidable adversaries to the trained
and disciplined armies of Great Britain
in the two wars with that country
But, as already observed, that period
and practice passed away many years
ago, except among the sparser popula-
tions of the remote western frontier.
The weapon of that time has also dis
appeared from use. 1t was roughly
made gun, with flint-lock as we'll as
riEed bore, with a length of six feet
OF barrel and sometimes more.


The modern rifle is very different
hrearm. The greater part of its i'm
provement has had its origin in the
United States, but The modern weapon
is quite as familiar throughout all the
military countries bf Europe in some
form as military weapon as it has
ever been in this country. 1t is
shorter arm, the barrel in the United
States being generally less than three
feet long-say from twenty-four 10
thirty-four inches. With this mod ern
rifle the population of the United
States is not in anywise more familiar
than the military countries of Europe,
and it is quite doubtful if in any com.
munity in the United States there could
be found greater number of persons
well practiced In the use of the weapon
than in any milarcommunitiesi in the
United Kingdom, France or Germany.
Belgium or Switzerland. In target
firing practice it il quite likely that
there are as many skilled marksmen in
either of these countries as in the Uni
ted States. So that it will be seen from
the consideration Of these points that
the observations made by Saunders
News Letter" are rot we'll grounded.
Phila. Ledger.