TIGERLAND 



with a magazine or repeating rifle the sportsman need never 

 be placed in quite such a hopeless predicament, assuming, 

 of course, that he has taken the very ordinary precaution 

 of filling up his magazine beforehand, for with a weapon 

 capable of delivering ten or fourteen shots in as many 

 seconds, he should at least be in a position to make a fight 

 for his life and, if he keeps his head, with a very fair chance 

 of success ; whereas, with a double-barrel only, in the 

 event of the two shots failing to stop the animal, he would 

 in all probability be badly mauled if not killed outright, 

 as it is unlikely under the circumstances that he could 

 extract the old and insert fresh cartridges in sufficient time 

 to be of any use. Hence it is obvious that in an emergency 

 of this kind the magazine rifle possesses qualities too valu- 

 able to be lightly disregarded. Conservatism in sporting 

 weapons, and prejudice against innovations, are all very 

 well in their way, but it should be remembered in this 

 connection that new inventions are often the outcome of 

 sound practical experience, and that the one in question 

 probably owes its origin to some desperate encounter with 

 a grizzly or bull bison in the backwoods of America, which 

 suggested to the inventor the necessity for a hunter being 

 armed with a quicker-firing and more automatic weapon 

 than a double-barrel when in the pursuit of dangerous 

 game. 



254 



