Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 168, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 July 1913 — GUN POCKET FOR BELT. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

GUN POCKET FOR BELT.

Holds Butt of Musket end Leaves Soldier's Arms Free. Soldiers why have tramped mil—on a hot day, In parade or on a “hlka" with their muj&sts growing heavier •very hour, will hall with joy the Invention of a Chicago man. This Is a gun-carrier which fastens to the belt and makes the firearm so easy to “tote” that it is scarcely noticed. The carrier consists of a leather pocket shaped to hold the butt of a musket and a strap which runs over the right shoulder. The strap has a shoulder pad and a hook, which engages the gun barrel. The musket is rested in the pocket, which fastens to the belt and hangs over the hip, and the hook keeps It always In position parallel to the body line. The soldier need not worry about the position the gun Is In and he has both hands free for other uses. In a longtramp across country roads the freedom of both anas and the ability to

awing them Is a great assistance li keeping up a rapid and steady gait— Washington Star. How the Captain Caught a Thief. A dingy steamer was plodding down the Mississippi. A boy sat in the stern, vainly trolling for catfish la the muddy water. It was so hot thal all the other passengers were belov asleep. The steamer suddenly whistled, a town of gray frame houses hove in sight, and a hot young man with a big telescope valise hurried up the companion way. ‘Til get oft here, captain,” he said. “Your ticket ain’t for here,” the, captain growled. % “I know, but I’ve changed my mind,” said the youth. A few minutes later he and his “telescope valise” were landed on the wormeaten old wharf of the town of Cicero, and the dingy steamer was plodding down the river again. She had gone about a mile when another young man rushed from below wild-eyed. “My telescope!” he cried. “Some one has stolen my telescope. There was $1,700 In It.” The captain started. He looked back at Cicero, which now lay hidden behind a bend of the river. He called" the mate, and told him to cover the bow with some black tarpaulin, to move certain pieces of cargo aft, and to tie Borne white canvas around the smoke stack. Then he turned foe steamer around, and she began to move upstream toward Cicero again. She looked like a different boat i At Cicero she stopped. On the deserted wharf there was one person—the young man with the telescope who had been landing there. He leaped aboard now, the boat warped out into the stream, and then the captain appeared. “Hello,” said the captain. .“Why, this Is the same boat I—" The young man trembled. “It certainly is,” said the captain, “and this, I reckon, Is the valise we came back for.” He -opened the telescope, and within, in a wallet, lay the stolen money. The owner readily Identified his belongings. The thief was put in irons in the engine-room.—Chicago Chronicle.

Useful on Long “Hikes.”