80 BREECH-LOADERS. 



dare not entrust his followers to perform, as there 

 are times when a miss-fire might be attended with 

 the most serious consequences. 



Happily for the sportsmen of the present day, 

 all these disagreeable contingencies may now be 

 avoided by making use of rifles on the breech- 

 loading system. Now, independent of gun- 

 bearers, he can roam through the forest alone, 

 careless as to what animal he may meet, for he 

 knows that, should his first shots not take deadly 

 effect, he can reload in the twinkling of an eye, 

 and keep up a running fire, against which no- 

 thing can stand, instead of having to bolt under 

 cover to reload (in case a spare gun is not at 

 hand), returning breathless, and often with un- 

 steady hand, from having to use sheer force in 

 jamming an obstinate ball down a foul barrel. 

 When mounted, a rifle on the breech-loading 

 system has immense advantages, as it can be 

 easily reloaded, without in any way interfering 

 with the management of the horse; whereas 

 with the old muzzle-loader the sportsman was 



