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CLOG
Nov 7th, 2017 at 1:18am
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There is a strange publication called CLOG published by some artsy types in NYC.  CLOG has put out 15 issues or volumes, one or two a year.  They explore different viewpoints around a single subject.  Volume 15 is about guns.  The volumes are called CLOG because the intent is to slow things down.

I was asked by one of the editors to submit 3 different articles, all about 500 words.  I wrote about my Farrow, and about my wife shooting woodchucks from her bedroom window with her .22, and about my late friend Martha Phillips Gilson (1896-1993) and Norwegian Krag M-1907 Boy's Rifle.  My article about Martha and her Krag was selected for publication.

On her 20th birthday, Martha married Ken Gilson, a mining engineer who specialized in arctic coal deposits.  They went to Svalbard in the summer of 1916, returning to Norway in the autumn of 1917.  Polar bears are a serious problem on Svalbard.  Everyone carried a rifle, mostly Norwegian Krags because this was a Norwegian mining operation.  The polar bears had already killed 2 men before Ken & Martha arrived in June 1916.

Martha was a small woman, only 5' 3" according to her passport.  Ken bought a M-1907 boy's carbine and arranged for Martha to have lots of practice.  Martha said she fired more than 100 shots during practice sessions.   She carried her Krag loaded with soft point bullets, one in the chamber and 5 in the magazine.  The safety was on except when she was alone.

Martha was a very accomplished photographer, specializing in arctic landscapes.  Ken insisted that she have 2 men with her in the field, helping with equipment, handling the dog teams, and keeping their eyes out for bears. 

Martha's first bear experience came when she was relieving herself, trousers around her ankles and one hand on her Krag, safety off.  She stood and shot the bear in the left shoulder.  Then she put 3 into the bear's chest.  Shot #5 hit the head.  For the last shot, she put the muzzle into the bear's mouth.
  
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Re: CLOG
Reply #1 - Nov 7th, 2017 at 1:26am
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Martha continued:

The bear died at her feet, just as her guards showed up.  Time elapsed was about 12 seconds.

The editors hashed up my story, but it is in CLOG Volume 15, on p. 78.

Martha lost her Krag when she was captured by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Revolution.  That was another one of her marvelous stories.
  
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