Adventure, August 3, 1919 — page 200: what you’re looking at

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

190 Take the empty gun in the privacy of your own objects, also swinging directly on the bull from the holster, without any extra motion. I never throw down but shoot oh the rise. To prove that I understood throwing down I havé-clipped both top and bottom of a 3-inch bull and centered it with the third shot, rapid fire, throwing down with a .44, but I like my own style better, I lose no motion. My experience with the 32-20 S. & W.: I once drilled a jack rabbit through the head at 93 yards, only to have him go on slowly hopping in a dazed fashion till I caught him. Never upset him. Yet it tears a thundering hole when the soft nose touches a bone in a bigger animal. But my good old Colts .45 is the burglar annihilator, ele- phant gun, whale-killer, The S. &* W. .44.40 will do the work, too and do it up brown. One I had not long ago used up a 600-pound grizzly in three shots, which isn’t so darned bad after all. The .32-.20 may be what old Vincent, up in our mountains here, calls “A pea-shooter,” but it is such a beauty and such a performer on the range and at small game that I love it. It will stay with me till I croak, and then my grandson gets it if he can shoot right. In the argument concerning which gun opened up the West, I say the rifle. The six-gun was the scrapper’s gun, the gun for brawls and murders and for most of the arrests by officers, but the rifle did the bulk of the real work in making buck Injuns absent and varmints scary. Let the ultra- modern hoot at the Winchester and praise his Ross or his Newton, but the .45-.70 or .45-.90 cleared a wide swath down which decent men could walk safely. In the Russo-Turkish war there were many Russians killed at over two miles range by dropping fire from .45-.90 Winchesters. A gun _ that will do that is no slouch of a cannon. Remember what the mine superintendent said in the Led Horse Claim—*‘A Winchester is a mighty com- prehensive weapon,” and many a pioneer thanked his gods that it was so when he was up against wed or white outlaws. Many such have found the rifle a better weapon, properly handled, than a six-gun.”—E, E. Harrman, Los Angeles, Calif. Answer, by Mr. Wiggins-—Mr. Hartiman’s experience with automatics seems to be similar to many others of which I know. I think the revolver at high speed lines up mort naturally and accurately than the automatic, The double action is beyond all doubt quicker than the single action. I con- sider either one preferable to an automatic for serious work. A good shot will draw a revolver and hit a can from three to six shots when the can is thrown in the air, the revolver being drawn after it was thrown. Also the revolver, caliber for caliber, seems to have more killing effect than the atitomatic, due to the soft lead bullet of the revolver expanding slightly. I have never known of an instance where the bullet from a .45 Colt failed to knock a man off ae feet. I do a think the .32-.20 is the equal of the .38 special for stopping power. There is ob donk that the rifle killed off most of the bad characters, but I think the credit should go to Col. Colt for origination of the multi-shot Adventure weapon, TI recollect an instance of a thief being killed with a 45 Colt at a distance of 26 yards. Short range weapon, eh? i: British Honduras APPARENTLY it’s up to some venture- some soul to penetrate the jungles and ranges of this little known land and find out what it’s like. The natives won't. They're too lazy. Anyhow, there is always a strange, compelling fascination about an unexplored country, Therefore we give you the following: - Question:—‘Can you give me some general information about British Honduras? I am es aae interested in the chances for placer mining ere, What is its topography, chief industry, and population? What sort of natives pace A one expect to find? _ Has the interior been explored? What are its imports?”’—L, S. D., Pensacola, Fla. Answer, by Mr. Young:—Area 19,585 kilometers. + Population 37,000. Capital, Beliz, or Belice, population 4,000: ee a little mahogany, rubber, fruits and _ Imports: small quantities of cotton fabrics, flour, implements, etc., principally from the U. S. A. phy: Low lying, for the most part, with a few hills known as the Cockscombs Mountains, forming the highest elevations. A view from the top of Victoria Mt. to the east shows at close hand a number of thickly wooded hills about three hundred feet high and dropping abruptly to a flat, swampy, tropical jungle, marked here and there with sluggish rivers and streams. Beyond and beyond would be the coast and a chain of islands paralleling it. No human being could ever see this far in British Honduras, for a clear day is a rare thing, due to the excessive rainfall at all seasons. The actual temperature is not high, ranging from 26 to 30 centigrade, but on account of the humidity it is very oppressive and quickly saps the vitality. It is ibly for this reason that the inhabitants of British Honduras are easily the laziest of all Central America. ‘ ‘ There are v few white people in British Honduras. The bulk of the population is negro and mulatto who speak a poor kind of English which puzzles a newcomer,,a few pure Carib Indians, mixed Carib-Negro breeds, and Spanish- Indian or Spanish-Negro mixtures. The entire colony is sparsely settled and is distributed as follows: District of Beliz, 5,000; Corozal, 1,804; Orange Walk, 3,700; Stann , 5,166; Toledo, 2,400; and Cayo, 2,000. 3 3 Very little is known of the interior of this country. As small as it is the people are too lazy to go back into it and see what it is like. They are content to roll around in filth and idleness and live prin- cipally on fish and the natural fruits and nuts of the near-by jungles. The British government keeps a few negro soldiers from Jamaica stationed at various points to preserve order. The colony is ruled by a governor, assisted by a congress of ten comicbooks.cor »