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RECREATION 



Another rule too often ig- 

 nored, forbids shooting with 

 bullets unless one can see 

 where the bullets will stop. If 

 you want to try your rifle at 

 a mark, be sure that there is 

 a backstop behind the target — 

 a hill or a good, thick tree. And 

 don't shoot into a lake or pond 

 on the theory that because a 

 bullet is lead it will sink as 

 soon as it touches the water. 

 It will skip like a flat stone, 

 and may go a mile after strik- 

 ing the water. If there are 

 waves or even ripples on the 

 water, the bullet will not travel 

 in a direct line. It may strike 

 the side of a little wave, and be 

 deflected many degrees from' 

 its original course. 



These shooting rules ap- 

 ply, of course, to hunting 

 grounds in settled countries. In an ab- 

 solutely uninhabited wilderness one need 

 not be so careful of the final destination of 

 a bullet, but the wilderness is far away and 

 soon will be only a memory. The Adiron- 

 dack and the Maine woods long ago ceased 

 to be trackless wilds. 



Coming down to the pistol and revolver, 

 there are so many dangerous ways of hand- 

 ling them that one is disposed to doubt if 

 there is any way of safety. A loaded revol- 

 ver is a rattlesnake always ready to strike. 



THREE OLD HANDS. 



One ironclad rule, never to be broken, never 

 forgotten for an instant, must suffice. Never 

 permit a revolver, loaded or unloaded, to 

 point toward yourself or anyone else — unless 

 you mean to kill. If a friend playfully points 

 an unloaded pistol at you. knock him down 

 and beat sense into him with your fists. 



A NARROW ESCAPE. 



If you handle firearms at all, never forget 

 for a moment that they are deadly weapons, 

 that they were made to destroy life, and are 

 fearfully efficient contrivances for that pur- 

 pose. A moment's forgetfulness may mean 

 sudden death or a lifetime of haunting hor- 

 ror and misery. 



ASKS INFORMATION. 

 Editor Recreation : 



Can you tell me about the Connecticut 

 river; how it is possible to canoe on it from 

 north to south ; what dams, etc., would the 

 canoe encounter? What kind of canoe would 

 be best adapted to this river? How much 

 time would be required for a trip down, not 

 stopping and camping more than one night 

 in a place? 



Could you also tell me some other good 

 canoe trips in New England outside of 

 Maine, also the best canoe for such all round 

 cruising? 



Wilfred Wheeler, Massachusetts. 



The Connecticut is a beautiful river and 

 makes an ideal canoe trip. Starting at 

 Claremont Junction, you have clear water to 

 Bellows Falls. From Bellows Falls to Holy- 

 oke there are several small dams, but some 

 beautiful stretches of water. From the 

 Holyoke dam all is clear to Springfield ; then" 

 you take the canal to Windsor, thence to 

 Long Island Sound without an obstruction. 



I trust some of Recreation's readers will 

 be able to reply at greater length to Mr. 

 Wheeler's inquiry, and it will add to the in- 

 terest of their stories if they mention the fish- 

 ing to be had at various points along the 

 river. — Editor. 





