The Brookhaven ledger. (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1875-1883, 1879-03-20
Misrfllangy.
Tom Potter's Feats.

We copy, by special requst, the fol-
lowing from the Camden On. J.) Dem
ocrat, for the benefit of one of our city
marksmen.
They had been talking about the re-
markable .poriormauces of Dr.. Carver.
the marksman, who shoots with a rifle
glass balls which are sent into the air as
man can throw them. Presently
Abner Bying, who was sitting by, said:
"That's nothing"
What is nothing?"
"Why. that shooting. Did You ev-
er know Tom Potter?
NO.
"WeI's Potter was the best hand with
the rifle ever saw, beat this man Car
yer all hollow. I'll 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 preserve
some cherries, so Tom would pick 'em
for her, and how do you think he'd
stone emp
"I don't know. HoW?'
"Why, he'd fill his gun with bird
shot and get boy to drop half bush
ell of cherries at one time from the roof
Of house. As they came down he d
fire and take the stones clean ont of
every cherry in the lot! It's positive
fact! He might occasionally miss one,
but not often. Bnt he did bigger
shooting than that when he wanted to.
"What did he do?'
"Why, Jim Miler-did you know
him? No. Well. Tom made bet once
with Jim that he could shoot the but1
ton off his own coat tail by aiming in
the opposite direction, and Jim took
him mp"
"Did he do it?"
"Do it! He fixed himself in posi-
ton and aimed at tree in front of him.
The hall hit the tree, caromed, hit the
corner Of house. caromed, struck a
lamp post, caromed, and flew behind
Tom and nippad the button off as slick
as whistle. You bet he did it!'
"That was fine shooting
eyes, and I've seen Tom Potter beat
it. I've seen him stand under a 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 over and fell
down, 80 that it looked like kind of
brown and feathery NiaRary. Tom did
it by having tweuty-three of those
breech loading rifles and boy to load
EN-. He always shot with that kind. "
'Tou sry yoa saw him do this sort of
shootng?'
"Yes. sir; and better than that. too.
Why, I'll tell you what | have seeh Tom
Potter do. [ saw him once set up an
India rubber target at three hundred
feet and hit the hnll's eye twenty seven
times miuute with the same ball. He
wo'd hit the target, the ball would
bonnl right hack into the rihe-barr
| Just as Tom had clspped in fresh
charge Of powder, aud so he kept her
gong back ward and forward until at
last he happened to move his gun aud
the bullet missed the muzzle of the
gun. 1t WAS the biggest thing ever
saw; the very biggest-except one. g."
"What was that?'
"Why, one day I was out with him
when he was practic:ng. and it came on
to rain and Tom didn't want to get 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?''
I can't imagine
"Well, sir, he got me to load his wea"
pons for him, and l pledge you my
word, although it began to rain hard, he
hit every drop that came down, 80 that
the ground for about eight feet around
us was as dry as punk. 1t was beanti>
full, sir-beantiful."
And then the company rose up slowly
and passed out one by one, each mand
cycling Abner and looking solemn as he
passed by; and when they all had gone
Abner looked queerly for moment and
said to me:
There's nothing hate so much as
liar. Give mo man who is friend
of the solid truth, and I'll tie to him."