St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1878-01-11
Our New York Letter.
ATHENIAN

| 4 NOVEL SHOOTING ZOO SHOTS
IN 500 MINUTEs-TROUBLE IN THE
"HOUsE OF LORDs"-THE NEW LITER
AIRY ALLIANCE-MRS.A STOR'S BALL
INSURANCE CoNVICTION-A RICH BANK.
New YORK, Jan. 4, 1873.
10 the Editor of the CdledOnian:
Anybody who takes an interest in
the gun must admit that he has at least
heard of Capt. Bogardus, the champion
wing shot, who has probably shot more
matches than any one else in that bust
ness in this country. Well, the Cap
tain, having come out victorious in all
the ordinary modes of competition, and
signing, like Alexander, for new worlds
to conquer, has invented, and on Thurs
clay last perpetrated, a novel exhibition
of his skill, by which he gained much
applause, a goOdly assortment of aches
and pains, and $4,000 in money. What
he did was of no particular use to any
one, and, in fact, seems to the uninter-
ested beholder like n rather foolish
waste of powder and strength but
don't suppose it is any worse than try
ing to walk a million miles in million
hours, or ''wrastling" Il bear, or throw
ing double somersaults over the backs
of half dozen elephants, or attempt
ing any other of the thousand and one
eccentric feats which so delight unre-
generate humanity, and so l don't know
us | have any reason to grumble.
The match which | now refer to was
against time" i'll sporting parlance,
and Capt. BIS successful effort, for the
wager above named, to break 5000
glass balls in 500 consecutive minutes.
1t took place in the Hippodrome, and
lasted from a little before in the
afternoon till almost II o'clock at
ut night, during which time the marks
man raised his ten pound gun to his
shoulder $500 times, and fired nearly
that number of shots at the 5000 little
blue glass globes that were sprung into
the air from traps so feet away. Bo-
gardus is q man of enormous frame and
power, but the task was almost too
much for human endurance, and when
the tinkling fragments of the 5,000th
ball had fallen to the ground, amid the
cheers of the audience, he had hardly
strength enough left to get out of the
building. $4,000 is wonderful healing
plaster to wounds and bruises, and
presume the muchlionized shootist will
soon be ready to do it all over again if
any one can be found to put up the
same money.
GAS happy as a lordn is not a good
figure of speech for New York just at
present. A large family of that name
is in state of mind quite the reverse
of happy, on account of the sudden
marriage and disappearance of the faith
er, Thomas Lord, who is gay young
spark of 83 summers, and whom they
now pray to have adjudged insane.
| Whether the mere fact of the old gen.
tleman's having committed an eccentric
folly would in itself have been sufficient
to cause so much excitement among the
second generation, is hardly profitable
inquiry. The governing fact in the
present case is, that the venerable
Thomas is worth something like mil
| lion and half of dollars which the
young Lords have doubtless been re-
garding with lively interest for some
years past, and which they now justly
imagine that they stand a splendid
chance of not getting, if time is given
the dashing young widow who has cap
tuIed their venerable sire to make suit
able arrangements for securing it to
herself. So all the children, simultane-
ously inspired with filial solicitude as
beautiful as it is touching, have rushed
into court to have their parent torn
from the arms of his fond bride and in
cased in strait-jacket. 1t is not yet
decided whether they will be able to
get the proper order of the court for
this purpose. If they do, the next thing
to do will be to ''catch their hare - for
Thomas has elected to pass his honey
moon in parts unknown, and so far can
not be heard from.
! The new year came.into this section
of country with one of the lOveliest davs
that could be desired for a general holi-
day. A few of the chronic old misan-
thropes whose pride it is to ignore all
festivities and work straight along
through everything, passed the bright
hours behind the shutters of their offices.