AT A RIFLEMAN'S FIRESIDE. 



109 



globe. The butt piece is the Schuetzen. The 

 palm rest is reversible. 



Mr. Rowland has recently received from 

 a gunsmith in Denver, a supplementary 

 barrel which he can put in place of the 

 .32 — 40. It weighs 8*4 pounds, is 30 inches 

 long, the same as the other, octagon, and 

 chambered for the 22 long rifle cartridge. 



I send you a number of targets, for 

 which I trust you may find space, believ- 

 ing they will serve a good purpose in show- 

 ing the student in this delightful field 

 what may be accomplished by an earnest 

 devotee, with a good weapon, properly 

 equipped.. The targets marked "Machine 

 Rest," were shot simply for groups with- 

 out regard to centers, but it seems to me 

 the offhand work is marvelous. 



Mr. Rowland has ako a rifle built by a 

 gunsmith in Scranton, Pa., which is a 

 beautiful weapon but very heavy. It is in- 

 tended only for rest work and only a Sam- 

 son could hold it up offhand through a 

 whole score. It is a muzzle loader, firing 

 with the standard percussion lock. Its 

 bullets are curiosities, however. They 

 must be at least .45 caliber, and each con- 

 sists of 2 parts, a hood of hardened lead 

 and a core of pure, soft lead. The latter 

 is inserted into the former, and driven 

 home. The explosion drives the core into 

 the hood, expanding it so as to fill the 

 grooves and confine the gas. 



Standing in the cabinet beside the rifles 

 is also a beautiful Winchester repeater. In 

 the various drawers and pigeon holes of 

 the cabinet are sights which the owner has 

 devised and tried, globes, apertures, cross 

 hairs, etc. One sight in particular interest- 

 ed me. It was an aperture in which the per- 

 foration was conical, with the small end 

 toward the eye, whereas the sides were 



dressed conically on reverse lines, the large 

 end toward the eye, the object being to cut 

 off all light except what passed directly 

 from the bull's eye. This idea has been 

 used by manufacturers. The near sight now 

 used on most hunting rifles as they come 

 from the factory, namely, the elevation 

 sight with a slide in it that may be ele- 

 vated to any point and set with a screw, is 

 Mr. Rowland's invention, but who ever 

 heard of his name with it? It was not 

 patented and the manufacturers used it, of 

 course. 



Jay Rowland, 10 years old, is almost as 

 good a shot as his father. He is a most 

 engaging boy, modest and reserved, com- 

 posed and cool. He is unusually large for 

 his age and when 10 more years shall have 

 ripened his strength and his experience Mr. 

 Rowland will have a rival worthy his steel. 



Anyone looking at Mr. Rowland will be 

 surprised to find him 5 feet 10, for he does 

 not seem so tall. Instead of weighing 145 

 or 155 pounds, which wo Id seem reason- 

 able for his appearance, he pulls down 170. 

 He is 43 years old, but hio muscles are steel 

 and his dark eyes have the gleam of the 

 eagle's. A most peculiar thing is his 

 sight. He can read ordinary newspaper 

 type, held so close that the paper touches 

 his nose, but if this be removed farther 

 and farther till it exceed arm's length, he 

 can read just the same without pain or 

 sense of strain. He has chewed tobacco 

 ever since he was 10, but does not feel 

 that it has affected his nerves. That, 

 however, is his only vice. His morals are 

 otherwise an example. Faithful to his 

 duties, busy, unassuming, genial, quiet, re- 

 served, he is the respected citizen, the 

 genial neighbor, the trusted friend, the 

 ideal sovereign of the hearthside. 



Gray — They are beginning to have type- 

 writers on the stage. 



Black — I know ; but it's an affectation. 

 No typewriter that ever was invented can 

 write as rapidly as the average actor with 

 the common, everyday pen. — Exchange. 



