Adventure, August 3, 1919 — page 199: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

,* P a ‘ : el we : at . ere ; and small; adventure, too, if you are made that - way and are lucky. ~~ ‘There are quite a number of dangerous reptiles, __erocodiles and many kinds of snakes. The Black Mamba is the most deadly. And of animals, lion Se Plenty, rhinoceros, buffalo, elephant and White men there do only boss jobs; all other _ work is done by natives, Indians or Goanese (a ; eed from the island of Goa, India), So, for the answer to the last question, I am sorry that a profession or trade—and then such profession or trade would be limited to a few, such as rubber planting, fiber, or as agent for some commercial firm; and then you would have little opportunity for adventure or shooting. Native trading is no food now as the Indians compete against the white man. - The Sunken Lands of Arkansas y= you know the Mississippi once ran up-stream? Or that the famous, re- cently reclaimed farming land in the _ sunken country of Northeastern Arkansas was the result of a great earthquake, still remembered by oldest inhabitants? You ‘May want to take a fishing or hunting trip _ there; or even to buy a farm in this super- fertile section: Ps Question:—‘Please give me some information regarding Big os hae Is it a Govt, ume preserve? one fish there? ‘ Also, what and where are the sunken lands of Missouri and Arkansas? Is there good farming land there? Has the land been reclaimed?”’— F. R. Sprecretzer, Charles City, Iowa. # Answer, by Mr. Thompson:—There are sunken _ lands in both Southeast Missouri and Northern Arkansas. The greatest Missouri tract is in the overflow formed by Cane Creek and Little Black River. Those best known to the writer are in _ Mississippi County, Arkansas. Big Lake, Arkansas, is a Government preserve. You can fish there, but commercial fishing is under control of the Government. It is formed by the widening of Little River and was for many years the source of much rivalry between clubs and _ market hunters, and was the largest shipping section for wild ducks in the U. S. %. The sunken lands commence a little below Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and extend into most of north- eastern Arkansas. The present conditions were created by the earthquake of 1813 when the land sunk and earthquakes were felt at intervals for almost a year. Audubon, the naturalist, made _ considerable note of it. For a short time the _ Mississippi River ran up-stream. Until drainage - ensued, creating the most fertile farming area on e globe, it was a wilderness of swamp and of table fish and game paradise. Similar con- vailed in southern Tennessee, and Reel- result of the earthquake. = it supported a population of market 1 and trappers. These were to other pursuits when inundated ig Ppl ate, & eee ara Adventure I can not encourage you to go there until you have | stinctively. ae att =a of ty s 4 % ; wu’ t-? 4 * “at in the * 189 ‘ Rifles and Six-Guns FERHAPS the rifle won the West, per- haps the six-gun. Then again, both may have lent a hand. Anyhow, here is a lot of interesting comment by two men who know what they’re talking about: Question: —‘Just to get in on this gun chatter, let me say that I learned to use a gun at the tender age of 8, in the big timber of Mmnesota. The first time that I ever fired a gun was away prior to that time, however. My mother, sister and three brothers had allowed me to visit the sugar camp with them. On the way to camp my oldest brother shot a ruffled grouse—partridge, we called He reloaded the single-barreled Harper’s F smoothbore, set it against the log cabin, and aon to gather sap. All the rest movéd off. I tackled the gun, got it over a small log, braced my belly against the butt, locked both middle fingers over the trigger and—gosh, how quick I sat down! I had to set the butt on the ground and cock the gun by pushing down with both hands, but I had one it. I scared the women folks crazy, got a shaking from Frank, my senior, had a sore spot on my front elevation, but, Lordy, how big I felt! I have} hunted with Mississippi Yaegers, Ken- tucky squirrel rifles, the old Harper’s Ferry gun (for years), with paper cartridge Sharps that carried an ounce round ball, with Belgian muskets, with Ballards, Colts, Wessons, Henry, Spencer, L. C. Smith shotgun, with Winchesters. As I write three Winchesters hang above me on the wall, -22 special, .32-.40, and a .45-.70 meat-getter, as eet Knibbs calls = : : aving had a half century o rience I claim to be there to a certain eine wath etek edge of weapons and I smiled with a sincere pleasure when I read what Chas. Beadle said in the February 3rd issue. A .45 automatic will kick itself up if fired rapidly till it shoots far above the target, I have tried them out on the Beverly Hill Gun Club range and have had numerous others try them while I watched. There are few men who» can hold one down to its work and rattle off the shots at the same speed that a fair gunman with a good old six-gun S. A. when spotting his bull every crack. : : I have seen a man who had used an automatic for a year try both on a 25-yard target and his score, rapid fre, was 50 per cent. better with the old gun. Then one of the boys who had an auto- matic and boasted of its excellence, tried six shots at speed and his last shot went out at about 15 degrees above the target, each shot kicking it higher. He simply could not hold it down. I own two D. A. six-guns, but I always use them as S. A. weapons. In case some guy bats me over the head and climbs my frame, I may use the self-cocking device to save his feelings, but not otherwise. I agree with Chester, but here is a point for the novice who wants to learn. Get to know the feel and hang of your gun just as a me- chanic learns a tool. A good carpenter can drive a Li straight while Re away eran it. If you know your gun right it flips on bull as it comes from the holster, at any short peal in- 4, t