Weekly Trinity journal., 1879-02-15
MARVELLOUS SHOOTING.

They had been talking about the re-
markaLle performance Of Dr.. Carver,
the marksman who shoots with a rife
with glass balls which are sent into the
air as fast as man can throw them.-
Presently Abner Byng, who was sitting
by, said
That's nothing"
"What is nothing ?"
"Why, that shooting. Did you ever
know Tom Potter ?''
"N0."
"Well, Potter was the best hand with
rife I ever saw. Beat this man Carver
all hollow. I'll tell yeu what I've seen
this man Potter do. You know, maybe,
along there in the cherry season Mrs.
Potter would want TO preserve some
cherries SO Tom would pick 'em for
her, and how do you think he'd stone
'em."
II don't know. How"
"Why, he'd eli his gun vita bird shot
and get boy 10 drop half bushel Of
cherries at one time from the roof OF the
house. AS they came down he'd fire and
take the stone clear out of every cherry in
the lot It's positive fact He might
occasionally miss one, but not often. Bat
he did bigger shooting than that when he
wanted to-"
"What did he do?"
"Why, Jim Miller--di1 you know
him ? No? Well, Tom made a bet
once with Jim that be could shoot the
button off his own coat tail by aiming in
the opposite direction, and Jim took him
up
did he do it ?"
"Do it He fixed himself in position
and aimed at tree in front OF him. The
ball hit the tree, caromcd, hit the correr
Of the house, caromed, struck lamp
post, caromed and flew behind Tom and
nipped the button off as slick as a whistle.
You bet he did it ="
"That was fine shooting"
"Yes, but I've seen Tom Potter beat
it. I've seen him stand under flock of
wild pige ons-bllions Of them coming
like wiz land kill 'em so fast that the
front Of the flock never passed given
line, but turned over and fell down, so
that it locked like a kind Of brown and
feathery Niagara. Tom did it by having
twenty-three breech loading rifles and a
boy to load 'em. lie always shot with
that kind"
"You say you saw him do this SOFT Of
shooting ?"
"Yes, cir and better than that, too. -
Why, I'll tell you what I've seen Tom
Potter do. I saw him once SGT up an
India rubber target at 300 feet and hit the
bulls eye twenty seven time. minute
with the same ball {! He would hit the
target, the ball would bounce back right
into the rife barrel just as Tom had clap
ped in a fresh charge Of powder, and SO he
kept hor a-goirg backward and forward
until at last he happened to move his gun
and the bullet missed the muzzle Of the
barrel. 1t was the biggest thing I ever
saw the very biggest-except one"
"What was that :"
"Why, one day 1 was out with him,
when he was practicing and it came on to
rain. Tom didn't want to got wet and we
had no umbrella, and what do you think
he did ?"
"What ?"
"Now what do you think that man did
to keep dry ?"
81 can't imagine"
"Well, sir, he got me to load his
weapons for him and l pledge you my
word, although it began to rain hard, he
hit every drop that came down, so that
the ground for about eight feet around US
was as dry as punk. 1t was beautiful,
sir, beautiful"
And then the company rose up slowly
and passed out one by ono, each man
eyeing Abnel and looking solemn as he
went by and when they had gone Abner
looked queorly for momen. and said to
me:
'There's nothing hate SO much as n
liar. Give mo man who is the friend of
the solid truth and I'll tic to him -
Camden Post.