The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1878-12-10
NUMBER 43.
Tom potter's shooting.
Max. .Aderer in New York Weekly

Tom Potter's Shooting. !.
MAX. .Adeler in New York WeekiyJ =
They had been talking ahoutthe re-
markable performance of Dr2 Carver,
the rbarksman who shoots, with a rifle3
glass balls which are sent into the sif
as fast as a man can throw them Pres
emily Abner Byng, who was sitting by.
said:
That's nothing 2 .s.sss
whats nothing 7
why, that shooting Did you know
Tom Potter p
"No.,s ~ - r,.sr
swell. Potter was the best hand With
-rifs i ever saw, Beat. this man Car
yer oil hollow. I'll tell you what I've
seen Potter do. Y on, know, sInaybe;
along there in a cherry season, Mrs.
Potter would want to preserve some
cherries, so Tom would pick them for
her. And how do you think he'd ssJne
them ?"
81 don't know.qaH Howl" ass7 ~ zs1
"Why, he'd fill his gun with birdsshot
and get a boy to drop half q bushelof
cherries at one time from the roof Of the
house. AS they came down he'd fire,
and take the stone clean out of every
cherry in heietL-Itis-a- -positive-faet.-.
He might occasionally miss one cherryj
maybs,I but not oflefi. 4 But he did big,
ger shooting than that when be tried. 4,
/ "What did he do p =, !.
"why, Jim MilierAdid you know
|him2 Mop Well, Tom made "a bet =
once with Jim that he could shoot the
buttons off his owl Coat tail by shining
1inethe opposite direction, and Jim Miller q
took him up.''se stsls }sn0m b7Ea SIT
"Did he do itY'.eb .Lns .aoaa.aas sra
!. "Do it! He fixed himself in position
and aimed at 4 tree in front Of him. The
ball bit the tree, oaromed, struck lamp
post, caromed, and flew behind Tom.and
nipped the buttons off as slick as q whisy :
tie. You bet he did it!'is2i esa 'saidE)
!, "That was fine shootiug."rlq I'd tonaso
; "Yes, but I've seen him stand under 9, o
flock of wild pigeons, billions Of theI !,
, coming like the wind, and kill them so
: ; fast the front of the flock never passed
!, a given line, bat turned over and fell
= down so that it looked like q kind OF
! brown and feathery Niagara Tom did ?
! lit by having twenty three breechioadiuga >
! rifles and boy to load them. he alwayss
shot with that kind" snat nolsahrp,,
"You say you saw him do this thii kind Of
: shooting ?" ~ = :
,.Yes, sir, and better than that, too.
Why, / will tell you what I've seen Tom
Potter do. saw bin once set up ah :
. India-rubber target at three shuhdredi
feet, and hit the bull s eye twentyseyehI
!. times minute with the same ball. He 3
would hit the target,the ball would bound, |,
= right back into the rife-barr just as
|. . Tom had clapped in a fresh charge OF
!, powder; and SO be kept hef going back
7 ward and forward, backward and for,.
= ward, until at last he happened to move
: his gun, and the bullet missed the fnuz-
: zle Of his gun. It was the biggest thing,
h / ever saw, the very biggest-excspt
i lone.'
"Whst was that f'' sssf n'eis
"Why, one day / was out With hind
J, when he was practcingy and 1t began to
= rain. Tom did not want to get wet, and
: . we had no umbrella, and what do you
/ think he did?
"What2" TO-
y SHOW. what do you think that man
4 did to keep dry I"
= II cannot imagine" H 1 ~
I swell, sir, he got me to load his weap;'
!. ons for him, and / pledge you my words
although it began to rain hard; be, hitI
- every. drop that came down, 90 that the
= ground for about eight feet around us
% was as dry as punk. II was beautifully
sir: beautiful" . ssggg ,a ele.3Fo. eu6S
= ! And then tie company rose UP slowly
! end passed ouS, one BY one, each man
]. cycling Abner, and icoking solemn as be
Il went by; and when they had gone Abnef
;s ;s looked queerly al me for morhent, and
70 then remarked:
- "There is nothing / hate 30 much az
9 liar. Give me man who is thefriend
: Of the solid truth, and willtie to him.