The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1879-02-05

! They had been talking about The
remarkable performances Of DIR. Car
yer, the maFksman. who shoots, with
a rife. glass balls which are sent
into the air as fast as q man can
throw them. Presently Abner BY
ing who was sitting BY. said
That's nothing
tWhat Is nothing p
"Why, that shooting. Did you
ever know Tom Potter ~
"No.r
| "Well, Potter was the best hand
with rifle ever saw; beat this
man Carver all hollow. III tell you
what I've seen him 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 them?p
IL don't know. How %
why. he'd fIl his gun with bird
shot. and get boy TO drop half q
bushei Of cherries at one time from
the roof OF house. As they came
down he'd FIRE and take the stone
clean cut OF every cherry in the lot
It's positive fact Tie might oc-
easionally miss one, not often. But
be did bigger shooting THAI that
when be waited tor
What did be doyY
why, Jim MiIler-did you know
him? Nol Well, Tom made a bet
once with jim that be could shoot
the buttons of OF his own coat-tsil
by aiming in the opposite direction,
and Jim took him up.n
"Did be DO ity"
"Do Is. He Fixed himself ia posi-
tion, and simed ct tree in front Of
bim- The ball bit the tree, csromed.
bit the corner Of house, earomed.
struck a lamp post, caromed, and
hew behined Tom, and nipped the
button OF as slick as whistle. You
bet be did it,
THAT was fine shooting.
"Yes, but I've seen Tom Potter
beat it. seen him stand under a
fock Of wild pigeons, bilIioas Of them
coming like the wind, and kill 'em so
fast that the front Of the flock never
passed given line, but turned over
and fell down, 80 that it looked like q
kind Of brown and festbery Niaga-
ra,-Tom did it by having twenty
three breech-loading rifles and boy
to load 'em. He always shot with
that kind"
'Yoa say you saw him dc this sort
OF shooting.'
Yes, sir; and better than that, too.
Why, III tell you wba. I've seen
Tom Potter do / saw him once set
up an India rubber target st 800 feet.
and hit the balls eve tweaty-seveD
times a minute with the same ball
He would bit the target. the ball
would bounce back right into the RI
tie barrel just So Tom had ctapped 10
a fresh charge Of powder, and so he
kept her going backward and for
ward, until at last be happened to
move bis gun, and the bullet missed
the muzzie Of the barrel. 1t was the
biggest thing l ever saw, the very
biggest except one
What was tina. p
Why, one day | was out with
him when be was practising. and It
came on 20 rain. Tom didn't want
TO get wet, and we lad no umbrella.
and what do you think be did 2
'Wbatn
'Nov, what do you think shs. man
did to keep dry p
4 can't imagine.
We'll. sir, be got ne to load his
weapons for him, snd / pledge ycu
my word. although it began to rain
hard. 30 ait every drop that came
down. go that the ground for about
eight feet around us was dry as punk.
l. was beautiful. sir. beantifgl,' =
And thea the company rose up
slowly and passed out one by one,
each man eyeing Abner and looking
solemn as be went by; and when they
had gone, Abaer looked queer for 3
moment, and said 10 me
There's nothing l bate so much as
q liar Give me man who is the
friend Of the solid truth and III tie to
him