The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1879-02-27
TON POTTER'S FEATS.
.NS Ece!utetI by IA PerEon Wh" vgsas "a
FTEeEt.4 20 the Sold Truth
amien ~. j , namnrraf.

.amden N. J.) Democrat.
/ They had been talking about the re,
markabie performances OF DR.. Carver, the
marksman, who shoots with = q fe gjas+
| balls which are sent into the Eir as last
/ as a man can throw them. Presen nJiy
/ Abner Byning, who was sitting by, said
/ That's nothing"
I What is nothing?"
Why, that shooting. Did you ever
| know Tom Potter 20
/ mol"
" Well, Potter was the best hand with
/ the life l ever saw beat this man Carver
| ali hollow. Pll tell you what I've seer
/ this man Potter 60. You know, maybe,
/ along there in the cherry season Mrs
| Potter would want TO preserve some
cherries, 20 Tom would pick 'em foT her,
AMI how do you think he'd stone 'em ?
l don't know. How p
Why, he'd fiji bis gun with bird shot
al get boy to drop hslf DushsI Ui
cherries st one time from the rOct OF q
house. As they came down he'd fire and
/ l.,ke the stone clean cut of every cherry
mi.a5 occasionally miss one, but not
often. But he did bigger shooting than
that when he wanted TO-"
" What did be do p
Why, jim MiIler-did you know
him No? Well, Tom made a bet once
with Jim that he could shoot the button
Of his own coat~tsil by aiming in the
opposite direction, and Jim took him
up"
Did he 90 it?'
Do it! He fixed himself ia posi-
tion and aimed at s tree in front Of him
The bail hit the tree, Caromed, hig the
corner OF 4 house, carOmed, struck "a
lam mp-pCst, caromed and few behind Tom
and uipped the button OF as SLICK IS a
whistle. 1ou bet he did iC!'
90 Thai was fine shooting
Yes, and we seen Tom Potter beat
il. l e seen him stand under a flock
of wild pigeons, billions OF them coming
ike the wind, and kill 'rm 50 fast thaJ
The front OF the fack never passed "a
given hue, but turned over and ieH down,
SD that II looked like q kind OF brown
and f athery Niagara. Tom did l. by
GaViuE twerGy~thTee bTeech loading si-s
and Doy to load EN-. He always sno,
with thst kind"
You say you saw him do this sort
cf shoOting?'
Yes, SIR; and better than that, too.
Why, In tell you what 1 have seen
Tom Potter do. | saw him once set as
sn India rubber target At 800 feet and
mt The bulls eve Lwenty~seyen times q
minute With the same ball He would
liU the target the ball would bound righg
back into The rife barrel Just as Tom had
c.apped IL s. fresh charge ui powder, and
50 ne kept her going backward and Tor
ward until AT last he happened 70 move
his gun and the bullet missed the muz-
zle Of the gun. l. was the biggest thing
l ever saw; the very biggest except
Cne"
Whist was that.
Why, one day I wa5 out with him
when ne was PIacricing, and It came on
10 rain. GDm didn't want II get wet,
and We had 10 umbrella, and what do
you think he did?
What? "
% Now what do you think that man
done to keep dry "
u can't imaglus. "
" Wen, sir, be got ME to load his
weapons for him, and l pledge you MY
word, although it began 10 rain hard, he
hit every drop that came down, SO that
the ground Tor about eight feet around
lis was as dry as punk. 1t was beauli~
tuI, sir-besutirul,
And then the company rose up slowly
aud passed out one By one, each man
eying Abner and looking solemn a. he
went by and when they had gone, Alb
uer looked queerly for 3 moment and
said to me:
There's nothing I hate so much IS
t:ar. Give ne man vino Is a friend Oi
the solid truth, and Ill tie to him. "