The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1879-04-18
The Most Marvellous Shooting on Re-
cord.

They had been talking about the re-
markable performances of DIR. Carver,
| the marksman who shoots with a rifle
| glass balls which are sent into the air
as fast as q man can throw them.
Presently Abner Byng. who was sitting
by said:
"That's nothing"
"What Is nothingW
"Why, that shooting. Did you ever
know Tom Potter29
"No."
"Well, Potter was the best hand with
a rife ever saw, beat this man Car
yer all hollow. III tell you what I've
seen this man Potter do. You know,
may be, along there in the cherry sea-
son, Mrs. Potter would want to pre-
serve some cherries; SO Tom would
pick 'em for her, and how do you
think he'd stone emp ta
81 don't know. How?" -
"Why, he'd fill his gun with bird
shot and get boy to 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 clean out of
every cherry in the lott It's q positive
fsct He might occasionally miss one,
but not often. But he did bigger shoot
ing than that when he wanted TO-"
"What did ne do?" t.-
"Why, Jim Miller--did you know
him2 No2 Well, Tom made bet with
Jim that he could shoot the button of
his own coat tail by aiming in the op-
posite direction, and Jim took him up.u
"Did he do it9"
"Do it! He fixed himself in position
and aimed at tree in front of him.
The ball hit the tree, caromed, hit the
corner of house, caromed, struck a
lamp post, caromed, and few behind
Tom and nipped the button of a. alick
as a whistle. You bet he did It'll"
"rhat was fine shooting"
"Yes, but I've seen Tom Potter beat
it. I've seen him stand under @ flock
of wild pigeons, billions of them COM
ing like the wind, and kill 'em so fast
that the front Of the flock never passed
a given line but turned oyer and fell
down, so that it looked like q land of
feathery Niagara. Tom did 1t by hsv-
ing twenty-three breach-loading rifles
and a boy to load 'em. lie alwsys
shot with that kind"
"And you say you saw him do this
Kind of shootingr' ttaa
L cey blIt anu DctltI tuhu Lllhl 100.
Why, I'll tell you what 1 have seen
Tom Potter do. saw him once set up
an Indian rubber target at three hum
dred feet and hit the bulls eye twenty
seven times minute with the same
BALL He would hit the target, the
ball would bounce back right into the
rifle barrel just as Tom had clapped In
fresh charge of powder, and so he
kept her going 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
| ever saw; the very biggest-except
one"
"What was that?' iif7H "a
"Why, one day was out with him
when he was practising, and ID came on
to rain. Tom didn't want to get wet,
and we had no umbrella, and what do
you think he didw a'f@
"What7" tt isla i4g
.'Now, what do you think the man
did to keep dryr ...... .t.f..
81 can't imagine"
"Woll, sir, he got me to load his
weapon for him, and pledge you my
word, although it began to raiu hard,
he hit every drop that come down, 90
that the ground for about eight feet
around was as dry as punk. II was
beautiful, sir-beautiful.n ~ Al
And then the company rose up slow
ly and passed out one by one, each
man cycling Abner and looking solemn
as he went by; and when they had
gone Abner looked queerly for =
moment, and said 10 me: 81 "a
"There's nothing hate so much as
q liar. Give me q man who 10 3 friend
of the solid truth and I'll tie 10 hin.'--
| rCamden, N. j. Democrat.
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