THE AMERICAN RIFLE. Upon various occasions in the pro- ceedings of the Lancaster County His- torical Society, attention has been called to the importance of the rifle in the early history of the country, and to the fact that the city of Lan- caster, and its suburban water powers, furnished a centre

THE LANCASTER RIFLES. Guh-making was, no doubt, one of the earliest of the mechanical indus- tries pursued at Lancaster, but I think the writer of "The Life of General Jackson," quoted in the preceding sketch, has fallen into error in ascrib- ing as early a date as 1721 to it in this place; at any

rifles were being made to any extent. Some of these gunsmiths were skilled riflemakers. Further evidence will show that Martin Meylin was one of these. Lancaster County, Birthplace of the Pennsylvania Rifle Rifles had been made in America, in a small way, even prior to 1700, but they were only