Care in handling firearms should be taught every 

 boy as soon as he is old enough to raise a gun to 

 his shoulder. How to hold a gun, extract shells, 

 get over a fence, take a gun from a boat, and clean 

 a gun — all this, and much more, he should know. 



Hunting in the open is a more serious proposition. 

 The ease with which a man can make terrible mis- 

 takes in the field, is terrifying. In country near 

 civilization, even an experienced man must use the 

 greatest caution, lest he mistake a human being for 

 game. 



A true story, told me by the chief actor in what 

 nearly proved to be a tragedy, shows how liable we 

 all are to this mistake. Two experienced hunters 

 left camp early one morning to hunt deer. One 

 went to due south, the other to due north. The 

 one who went south, immediately found a fresh 

 buck's track, which led him in a large circle to the 

 north. When about four miles to the north of the 

 camp, he found he had lost his knife, and back- 

 tracked to the place where he thought he had 

 dropped it. The place was a small 

 thicket, and he got on his hands and 

 knees, and followed his trail, looking 

 for the knife in the soft snow. The 

 hunter who had gone north, orig- 

 inally, travelled very slowly. At 

 last he topped a small ridge and 



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