XXV111 



RECREATION. 



THE ARMY RIFLE. 



The article by E. E. Stokes quoting ex- 

 tracts for the report of Lieut. T. B. Mott, 

 printed in November Recreation, shows a 

 lack of practical knowledge of the U. S. 

 magazine rifle on the part of both the 

 writer and his authority. I have no means 

 of ascertaining the reasons for the remark- 

 ably poor shooting of the troops stationed 

 in the Department of the East, but it was 

 not the fault of the weapon used. Recent 

 records made with the Government maga- 

 zine rifle and suitable ammunition therefor, 

 prove conclusively that when properly 

 handled it is a weapon of great accuracy. 



No doubt if all models of the Krag rifle 

 and carbine were fitted with wind gauge 

 rear sights, a great improvement would be 

 noticed in scores on the target range; but 

 the value of the arm for battle purposes 

 would be materially enhanced; in fact, 

 the reverse, unless the troops using them 

 were especially selected men. In the ex- 

 citement of battle there is only a small 

 percentage of men who can be depended on 

 to properly adjust their sights. Such men 

 should ihave telescopic or special sights for 

 fine work ; for the others the present service 

 sights are admirably suited. 



The Inspector of Small Arms above re- 

 ferred to, before condemning the army rifle, 

 should have offered practical evidence in 

 proof of his assertion that "the poor shoot- 

 ing is undoubtedly due to the use of the 

 small bore." The 30 calibre ammunition 

 issued from Frankfort arsenal in the past 

 may not have been always uniformly re- 

 liable, or adapted to fine target work ; but, 

 if the soldier knew how to handle his piece, 

 it would shoot into the silhouette target 

 figures at the several ranges with great 

 regularity. 



Interest in target practice in the U. S. 

 army has flagged for a number of years. 

 Strenuous endeavor should be made by the 

 War Department to revive the old-time en- 

 thusiasm and encourage the soldier to be- 

 come a good marksman. There was a time, 

 not many years ago, when proficiency in 

 rifle practice was considered one of the 

 first requirements in the training of the 

 soldier ; but since the craze for calisthen- 

 ics, musical rifle drill and acrobatic cavalry 

 performances struck the army, rifle shoot- 

 ing has been relegated to an unimportant 

 place. Of course the annual target practice 

 is still continued, but in a more or less per- 

 functory manner, and the shooting season 

 is looked forward to as a time of drudgery, 

 which it is well to hurry through. I ask all 

 readers to watch the work of the U. S. 

 magazine rifle in the hands of experts on 

 the various ranges in the States. Careful 

 observation will, I am sure, set aside all 

 doubts as to its accuracy, and at the same 

 time create a feeling of profound respect 

 for the shooting qualities of the national 

 arm. Y. D. Wake, Manila, P. I. 



A VOICE FROM ONE CRYING IN 

 THE WILDERNESS. 



The great salt meadow of Newark was 

 in time gone by one of the best places in 

 New Jersey for wild fowl shooting. It 

 contains many square miles of marsh 

 land, over which the tide rises, once in the 

 spring and once in the fall. Its surface is 

 cut by winding creeks and indented by 

 rush-bordered ponds. Here and there a 

 rise of ground is shown by the growth 

 of a few trees ; or a hollow, by the rank 

 green of the salt hay. Along its borders 

 cattails and calamus entwined with iron- 

 weed and jewel-weed make an almost im- 

 penetrable mass. 



Let an old hunter ramble over those spots 

 he once knew so well. He traverses the 

 winding creeks. No sound breaks the still- 

 ness, unless a stray duck jumps far ahead 

 and with rapid flight disappears, or a 

 frightened muskrat, maybe the last sur- 

 vivor, dives deep at the sound of an oar, 

 and hides in his darkest hole. What 

 thoughts come back to the old man? He 

 thinks of a morning long ago, when he 

 sculled his boat down this same creek. 

 From out each nook a flock of ducks took 

 wing, and now and then he was startled 

 by the sudden splash of a muskrat. 



When he reaches the higher, brush-cov- 

 ered ground, what is it he misses? The whir 

 of wings as a bevy of quails spring up; 

 the dismal croak of the heron ; the call 

 notes of a rail ; the bobbing of white breasts 

 on the flats as the snipe and plover drill the 

 soft mud with their bills : all these are gone 

 from the picture forever. The tangle of 

 rushes and vines is the same as he saw 

 it long ago. But where are the reedbirds 

 that once thronged the place? Where the 

 jacksnipe, with their zig-zag flight and 

 startling "scaip, scaip"? The place no 

 longer teems with birdlife, and the old 

 man longs for the old days. 



Why is it that wherever animal life ex- 

 ists it must be sought out and destroyed? 

 And, after all, does the real pleasure de- 

 rived from hunting lie in the killing of the 

 game? Do you not feel better after a 

 flock of birds rises before you or swings 

 past your blind if you miss them with both 

 barrels? You have had the excite- 

 ment, and the birds still have their lives. 

 If we must shoot at those flying wedges, 

 then blessed be he who is a bad shot. 



Let all who have learned the gospel of 

 game protection, as preached through Rec- 

 reation, become missionaries in this great 

 cause of protecting not only game but all 

 animal life. Already we hear the cry, 

 "Too late, too late !" But "It is never too 

 late to mend." C. A. U., Elizabeth, N. J. 



The Bishop : Wouldn't you like to be 

 born again, little girl ? 



The Child: No, ther; I wath born in 

 Bothton the very firth time ! — Puck. 



