The Shasta courier., 1860-11-17
NUMBER 81
Shooting Round Corner.

Captain Travis keeps his Memphis admirers in
a.state Of Continual excitement in reference to
MS wonderful achievements with the pistol His
iast proposition is more remarkable than any,
thlng we have yet from him. He saws he
VIII wager $3.50 that he can hit n mark without
seeing 1t, and that the mark shall be placed be-
hind the tree from him, He further saws the
judges shall select tree not less than six feet
IN circumference. board target six by five
inches in size, shall be placed behind the tree.
at distance of thirty yards from his position
lie shall not see the target, but with his pistol
VIII shoot around the tree aud out of twenty
shots VIII hit the target twenty times at least.
making the ball go around the tree before strik
ing the target The match to come off within
twenty days from the 25th Of September. in Ar
kansas, within three miles of the city Of Mem
phis-the place to be selected by the judges.
Captain Travis is by no means the first to
attempt this novel feat, nor is it quite so aston
Ishlng as many might at first suppose it to be.
The moaQs operandi of the " boomerang" shoot
ing will be found fully illustrated in the follow
ing legend, which we clip from the Newcastle
Chronicle:
Directly after the purchase of Louisiana from
the French Government Col. Andrew Elicott.
OF Lancaster, Pa, with one hundred United
States troops, and about fifty typographical en-
glneers axmen, &c, went down the Ohio and
Mississippi rivers from Pittsbure, and, after
safe and speedy pa sage on fiat boats, arrived
at the point where their labors were to COM
mence IN running the boundary between Mexi-
CO and our newly acquired territory. After
spending some time at their labors, and after
having penetrated into the interior, they wero
surrounded by n large body of Blackfeet Ia
diaus, who had fully determined to massacre
the whole party.
MT Ellicott, fortunately, had shrewd half
breed Interpreter, who, learning the intention o.
the party made big talk" to the chiefs, and
assured them that his master great ''med-
icine man. capable of raising the Evil Spirit at
his will. He said that if man was to stand
| behind a tree one hundred and fifty yards, he
could kill him, without taking aim or shooting
through the tree. After some consideration the
| Indians concluded to try their prisoners power
on turkey. The next day ore was secured,
and the distance was measured off. The Colo
mel took an axe and split a Stake, which he
drove firmly in the ground, few feet beyond
the trunk of the tree
After driving the stake into the ground, and
having tied the turkey to the stake, so that it
| could be calculated upon where il would be
| found when shot at, he passed to the 81 of the
! tree in an oblique direction and chalked small
spot on the blade of his axe, after having struck
it, apparently without care, into the ground
Taking the position assigned to him, he fred at
the chalk mark on the axe, and 80 mathemati-
cally correct had the angles been calculated,
| that he, with glanced ball absolutely accom-
plished the feat of killing the turkey without
| having seen it when taking aim. So great was
the delight of the principal chief that he at once
unbuckled the belt around his body and placed
it around Col. Ellicott's waist, where it served
to render him honored and respected during the
remainder Of the survey