When the American settler had got as far West as the Plains he needed
arms of greater range, and then he made them; but the first two
generations of the West-bound had the buckskin bandoleer, with its
little bullets, its little molds for making them, its little worm which
served to clean the interior of the barrel with a wisp of flax, its
tiny flask of precious powder, its extra flint or so. The American
rifle and the American ax--what a history might be written of these
alone! They were the sole warrant for the departure of the outbound man
from all those associations which had held him to his home. He took
some sweet girl from her own family, some mother or grandmother of you
or me, and he took his good ax and rifle, and he put his little store
on raft or pack-horse, and so he started out; and God prospered him.
In his time he was a stanch, industrious man, a good hunter, a sturdy
chopper, a faithful lover of his friends, and a stern hater of his foes.