The new South. [volume] (Port Royal, S.C.) 1862-1867, 1863-05-30

lean r1nemea are, unuOuDfeuft, the Dest III Lle
world In al the woodland districts of this coun-
try there is an abundance Of game, large and
small, and, as the crafty backwsodsman must to
some extent rely upon his gun for his dinner, it
ia hardly wonderful how expert he becomes at
picking off squirrel from the topmost branch Of
tree, or sending his bulletinto deer as far away
as he can catch a glimpse of him through the un-
derbfush It Is common Hgstake to suppose
that deer in the forest must be on easy mark on
account of its sise The stems of the trees in our
American forests are very close together; they
are everywhere iaterpolated with trees of smaller
growth-with underbrush in fact, andit is through
openings in these, alone, that small portion of
the deer's body is visible. and is all the more
difficult to "draw bead" on, fSom the circum-
stances of its being nearly Che uniform gray color
of the stems. In most cases, ,sthen. shot at
deer is about as difficult as one at q small piece of
brown paper stuck against br6Sn wa lat seventy
FIVE or q hundred yards distant. The Swiss rifle
men, who are very famous shafpshooters, are cer-
tsinly accustomed to longer shea than our back
woodsmen The chamois, one of the principal
objects Of their pursuit, cans4st be approached
nearer than between two and three hundred yards;
bit then he ID seen elevated, terhaps, on some
pinnacle of rock, boldly relieved against the sky,
and is, on the whole, castor to t than four square
inches of buck or doe through ssyenty-fve yards
Of tawny stems and LEAKAGE. Those who have
tried their rifles upon milk-wAite goose, pegged
down against bank of saow.fa hundred yards
AVA. Hillresdily asSaowled1ethat monotony of
color is by no means conducive " sraighs shoosr
iag. Hunters aver that the black squirrel is aware
of this fact and will run up charred tree in pref
erence to any other, when he smells "vilainous
saltpeter' or get himself mixed up with the black
knots that crop out upon many trees. For ages
the Scotch have maintained reputation as rifle
men but, as in most European countries, The skill
in firearms among them is mostly confined to
the upper or privileged" classes. Prizes are still
shot for, however by tradesmen and mechanics.
Among such prizes the famous s'Siller Gun Of
Dumfrie' held foremost place. though, if Mayne,
the poet-historan of those who shot for it, is to be
believed their craft as marksmen was more dan
gerous to themselves than it could ever have been
to an advancing foe:
"wide O. the mark, as if to scar us,
The bullets ripped the sward like harrows;
And fright ming a. the crows and sparrows
About the place,
Ramrods fleeing thick as arrows
At Chevy Chase I"
The sharpshooters in the French service are.
for the most part, Swiss. They are very sensitive
on the subject of their SKILL any imputation upon
which is resented as an insult. Not many years
ago, one of these rifemen, having been unsuccess-
full in his shooting, was debarred, according to
regulation from again competing for the regimen
tai prizes until he should have brought himself by
practice to better standard of skill. BY disgus-
ing himself, however, and assuming another name,
he again obtained chance for Distinguishing him
self, again failed, was detected and ANONYMOUSLY
expelled. Burning for revenge, he watched his
opportunity, and fred at his commanding officer,
but missed him. The only good shot made by
this unfortunate Swiss was his last; for, the mo-
ment after discharging his rifle at the officer, he
drew pistol and shot himself through the head.
In the new Rebel Conscrip.ion Act, every
negro who has the least cross Of white blood in
his veins. is to be pressed into the rebel army.
There is impartial justice in this. 1t shows that
these rebel law makers are too magnanimous to
exempt even their own children.
The Clothing Committee of the Educational
Commission in the city of Boston have sent one
hundred boxes of clothing to the freedmen South
and West since January 1st, or about box day.
At their annual meeting month hence. 0 report