370 LEWIS'S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN. 



which are recognised at present, and very properly so, as many 

 terrible accidents have happened from the use of those of inferior 

 construction. The explosion of powder-flasks is not an unusual 

 circumstance, but we may say a matter of weekly occurrence, 

 during the season of reed-birds and blackbirds in our neighborhood. 

 These explosions are owing entirely to the inferior quality of many 

 of the flasks that are sold in our city. The springs soon get out 

 of order, and the connection between the mass and the intended 

 charge is no longer complete ; and, if the gun be overheated, as is 

 frequently the case in quick shooting, or, what is more probable, if 

 a particle of ignited wad should remain in the gun, an explosion is 

 sure to take place and the flask be blown from the grasp into a 

 thousand pieces, perhaps carrying a finger or two along with it, and 

 otherwise disfiguring and dangerously mutilating the sportsman. 

 We have been present at two accidents of this kind, and hope 

 never to see the like again; in one case, two fingers and a portion 

 of the thumb were carried away, the side of the face laid open from 

 the temple down to the corner of the mouth, and the right eye torn 

 almost entirely from its socket. In both instances the flasks were 

 out of order, and the connection between the charger and the body 

 of the flask was very incomplete. 



The flask we use is the one invented, we believe, by Mr. Sykes, 

 an Englishman, and is the only one we consider safe beyond a 

 doubt. It is a little more troublesome at first, perhaps ; but the 

 hand will soon become expert in the management of it, and then 

 we are satisfied that no sportsman would desire to use any other 

 kind, seeing the perfect safety and convenience of the invention. 

 As the construction of this flask will be better understood from a 

 drawing than by any description which we can give of it, we pre- 

 sent one on the following page. 



This flask costs but a trifle, if any, more than the other kind, 

 and is the most perfect of all in its construction. It is hardly 

 necessary to describe the method of its operating, as every one at 

 a glance of the drawing will understand it. The neck of the 

 charger should be so formed that, by sliding upon itself, two or 



