SHOOTING ACCIDENTS 47 



In the old muzzle-loading days there was some 

 excuse for carrying a loaded weapon back to camp 

 or house as the case might be, on account of the 

 trouble of extracting loads, especially bullets, but 

 now, with breech loaders, they are so quickly 

 loaded and unloaded, that really there is no ex- 

 cuse for handling any loaded fire arms in camp or 

 in any other such place, unless actually necessary 

 at the moment. When out shooting in a canoe, 

 the gun should always be unloaded previous to 

 landing. The few fatal accidents that have oc- 

 cured on the coast have been due to neglect of this 

 precaution, or to taking hold of the gun by the 

 muzzle, or near it, and dragging it out. Nervous 

 or excitable persons should refrain from joining 

 a hunting party, and in fact should not be per- 

 mitted to form part of it. On one occasion., at 

 Seal Reef, near L' Islet, one of our party of five 

 had that failing, and as it had been commented 

 upon, every one gave him a wide berth, at which 

 he seemed offended. The sequel proved that we 

 were right, because in the first morning's shoot- 

 ing his gun went off accidentally four times. A 

 careful sportsman can avoid nearly all the above 

 dangers, because he can soon size up his compan- 

 ions and act accordingly. Once in a while the 

 careless or nervous sport will manage to kill him- 

 self, but as a rule it is his companions who suffer. 

 I was reading last year (1907) that the hunting 

 casualites in Michigan and Wisconsin amounted 



