Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1853-06-16
Kentucky MarkSmen.

!
that even there, are con slider I'D Won
derful Iadepts( in the ma mage ment Of
tho rifle, Maving resided So me
years.in Kentucky, and havih hg more
than once been a witness of rifle
sport, l Shall present the RESULT of
MY observations, leaving the re; der
to Judge how far rifle shooting 6 is un
derstood in that State.
Several individuals, who donsider
! themselves adopts in the d pand ge-
ment of the rifle, are often seen to
meet for the purpose Of displaying
their skill, and, betting a tribe S pm,
put up target, in the Cd ntr9 Of
which, common siz ed nail is ha I'M
mered for about two thirds its Ileng gth.
The marksmen make choice Of Whit
they consider a proper distan ce, md
which may be forty paees. Ea ach
man cleans the interior Of his tube,
which is called wiping it, place S a ball
in the d aim Of his hand, pouring rs
much powder from his horn as will
cover it This quantity is supposed
to be sufficient for any distande Short
of a hubdred yards. A shot WHICH
comes u Fry close to the nail is con-
sidered- Hiatt Of an indifferent marks
man, thb bending of the nail is of
course S bmewhat better; but &otlfing
less thai hitting it right on the hea d
is salts factory. One out of the
three shots generally hits t4e nail;
AMI should the shooters amount to
half dozeh, two nails are frequent
ly needed before each can ha We a
shot. These who drive the ndll have
a further trial among then dives,
and the two best shots out Of these
generally settles the affhir, W hen all
the sportsmon adjYurn TO some HouS c
and spend an hout or two in fife ndIy
intercourse. app&ntng some day |
for aDother trial. Wis is teclI Inirally /
termed 'd,4rjqg IN nay |
Barking the sgurlr1 is delightful |
sport. and, in my opinion, requires a
greater degree Of accuracy thu n any
other. | first witnessed this man
ner of procuring squirr els while near
the town Of Frankfort The pdrfbrm-
er was the celebrated Daniel Boone.
We walked out together, and fdll9wed
tie rocky margins of the Ken Htdcky
river, until we reached d piece Pf flat
and, thickly covered with bladk wal |
nuts, oaks, and hicko les. As the
general mast was good one that
year, squirrels were Sc en- gam boiling +
on every tree around U IS My DOM
nauion, stout, hale, athletic man,
iressed in a homespqu ia Shirt, bare
egged and moccasined, carried b long
md heavy rifle, which as he WIS
oading it, he said had proved eff
ient in all his former undertak Kings,
md Which he hoped would not fail
IN this occasion, as he felt proud to
Show me his skill. The gun was
wiped. the powder was measured and
]Ml patched with six hundred thread
iuen, and charge sent home With
| hickory rod. We moved n0t a
5tep from the place, for the squirrels
we're SO thick that it VIA unneces skary
o go after them. B oone POI ipted
0 one of the animals, which had
Observed us, and was crouched on a
)arl about fifty PAGES distant, and
yade me mark well W here the ball
should hit. lie rails ed his TIiece
gradually until the beq "a or sigHt Of
he barrel was brought to line with
lie spot he intended to hit. The
yhipiike report resounded through
lie woods and along the hills iIl re-
,eated echoes. Judge Of my sur
lise, when perceived that the ball
lad bit tbe piece of bark imlnedl-
ltely under the squirrel and shiyfred
into splinters; the c6ncussion pro-
luced by which, had killed the- ami
Mi and sent it whirling through the
ii. as if ithad been blown up by the
.xpiesion of a powder magazine.
Boone kept up his firing, and before +
many hours had elapsed, we had
as many squirrels az we
Wished. Since that ilrst interview
nth the veteran Boone, L have feeh
nanyother individuals perform tIel
anne feat, FIJI
The 5a5.655ag IF a can d'5's with Palig
first Lad an opportu4 4aty Of Sc RinB
ear the banlsB of Gre9n river, nqt
ar from large pigeon roost, toi