38 MUZZLE-LOADERS AND BREECH-LOADERS. 



can be loaded in an hour. As the case can be used 

 several times, and the cap, which is of a peculiar 

 size, has to be placed in its exact position to receive 

 the pin, a capper invented for the purpose is era- 

 ployed, by which the cap is inserted, and the pin 

 pressed into it without the least difficulty; a pair 

 of tweezers are used to withdraw the pin after a 

 discharge, in order to free the old cap and make 

 room for the new, and a large gimlet will be found 

 useful for extracting any discharged caps that may 

 happen to stick. 



A cleaning-apparatus is also occasionally used, 

 consisting of a brush at one end of a string and a 

 small weight at the other ; the weight is dropped 

 through the open barrel and the brush drawn after 

 it; but, as the gun may be fired ten times as often 

 as a muzzle-loader without fouling, a plain rag and 

 cleaning-rod will answer. Cartridge-cases, of 

 course, cannot be obtained like powder and shot 

 at every country store, and to obviate the danger 

 of finding oneself, after extraordinary good-luck 

 with a gun, -without the means of firing it, it is 

 well to carry a couple of brass cases, which can be 

 used with a common French cap, and reloaded in- 

 definitely almost as quickly as a muzzle-loader. 



The sportsman, by the aid of these implements 

 and a couple of scoops with handles for powder 

 and shot, recaps the cartridges which have been 

 discharged, loads them as he would a gun, only 

 much more rapidly, and lays them aside for future 

 use. In the field, he carries them in a leather case, 



