The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1879-03-13
The Champion Marksman.

They had been talking about the re-
markable performances Of DR.. Carver,
the marksman who shoots with rifle
glass balls which are sent into the air as
fast as Il man con throw them. Pres
emily Abner Byng, who was sitting by,
said
"That's nothing"
whats nothing
"Why, that shooting. Did you ever
know Tom Potter"
"No."
"Well, Potter was the best hand with
rife ever saw; beat this man Carver
all hollow. I'll tell you 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 EN- for her,
and how do you think he'd stone 'em ?"
CT don't know. HOWE"
"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 lot It's positive fact
He might occasionally miss one, but not
often. But he did bigger shooting than
that when he wanted to-"
"What did he dor
"Why. Jim Miller-did you know
him? No? Well, Tom once made a
bet with Jim that he 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, caromed, hit the
corner of house, caromed, struck
lamp post, caromed, and flew behind
Tom and Tipped the button off as slick
as whistle You bet he did it."
THAT was fine shooting"
eyes, but I've seen Tom Potter beat
it. I've seen him stand under flock of
wild pigeons, billions of them coming
like the wind, and kill 'em SO fast that
the front Of the flock never passed a
given line, but turned over an fel |
down, so that it looked like kind Of
brown and feathery Niagara. Tom did
it by having twenty-three breech-loading
rifles and a boy to load EN-. He always
shot with that kind.
"You say you saw him do this sort of
shooting
eyes, sir; and better than that, too.
Why, III tell you what l have seen Tom
Potter do. l saw him once set up an
India rubber larger at 800 feet and hit
the bull's-eye twenty seven times Il min
ute with the same ball He would hit
the target, the ball would bounce ba, k
right into the riAe-barrel Just as Tom
had clapped in fresh charge of powder,
and he kept her going backward and
forward until at last he happened to
move the gun and the bullet missed the
muzzle of the gun. 1t was the biggest
thing ever saw; the very biggest
cept one"
"What was that L
"Why, one day l was out with him
when he was practicing, and it came on
to rain Tom didn't want to get wet,
and we had no umbrella, and what do
you think he didy
WHAT
''Now, what do you think that man
did to keep dryF
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, 40 that
the ground for about eight feet around
us was as dry as punk. 1t was beauti-
full, sir, beautiful
And then the company rose up slowly
and passed out one by one, each man
cycling Abner and looking solemn as he
went by; and when they had gone, Alb
ner looked queerly for a moment and
said to me:
There's nothing ! hate so much as a
liar. Give ME a man who is friend OF
the solid truth. and III tie to him.
('orcJa, IN Wy nauocvat