The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1879-02-13
The Most Marvellous Shooting ON Rec
ord

They had been talking about the re-
markable performances Of DR.. Carve, the
man who shoots with q rife glass balls
which are sent into the air as fast as . man
can throw them. Presently Abner BYng
who was BY, said:
That's nothing"
whats no,hing?"
"Why, tha, shooting Did you ever
konw Tenn Potter!"
"No."
"Well Potter was the best hand with
rifle 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 seaIon Mrs. Potter
would want to preserve some cherries; so
Tom would pick 'em for her and how do
you think he'd stone 'em?"
~ don't know. How"
"Why, he'd fill his gun with bird ahot
and get boy to drop half bushel of cher
sies at one time from the roof of the house.
As they came down he'd fire and take th.
stone clean out Of every cherry in the lot!
Its positive fact! He might occasional.
ly miss one, but not often. But he did
bigger shooting than that when he wanted
to-"
"What did he dor"
"Why, Jim Mille.-did you know hini
No! Well, Tom made q bet once with Jim
that he could shoot the button off his own
coat tail BY aiming in the opposite direct
ion, and jim took him up"
ibid he do it?"
a "Do it! He fixed himself in position and
aimed at tree 10 front OF him The bal
q hit the tree, caromsd, hit the corner of
house, caromed, struck q lamp post, carom
ed and few behind Tom and nipped the
:. button off as slick as whistle. You be
he did i'll"
"That was fine shooting"
"Yes but I've seen Tom Potter beat il
> I've seen him stand under flock Of wilt
:. pigeons, billions of them coming like wind
:, and kill 'em so fast that the front of th'
) fock never passed given lin
, but turned over and fell dowd, SO that j
, looked like brown and feathery Niagara
l, Tom did il by having twenty three breech
q loading rifles and boy to hold 'em. H.
?! always shot with that kind"
e "You say you saw him do this sort Q
a shooting.
% ayes cir; and better than that too. Why
i I'll tell you what have seen Tom Pot.e
e do. saw him ouce set up an India-rubbe
target at 100 feet and hit the bull's.ey
D twenty -seved times a minute with the sam
1T ball! He would hit the target, the bal
"a would bounce back right into the rifle bar
i rel just as Tom had clapped in 9 fres
y charge Of powder. aud SO he kept il goin
"a packard and forward until at last he haI
pened to move his gun and the bullet miss
ed the muzlle Of the barrell. II WAS III
biggest thing ever saw; the very biggest
except one."
~ "What was that?"
"Why one day was out with him whe
=. he was pr4cticing, and Il came on to rail
Is, Tom didn't want to get wet and we had I
I - umbrella, and what do you think he did
:. "What?"
d "Now what do you think that man d
le to keep dry?"
NC ~ can't imagine"
"Well sir he got me to load his weapo
for him and I pledge you my word, 9
though il began to rain hard, he hit eve
lal drop that came down, so that the srouI
We for about eight feet around was dry
ste punk. II was beautiful, sir-beautiful." !"
he And then the company rose up slow
and passed out one BY one, each man e!
he ing Abner and lookidg solemn as he we
} a by; and when they had gone Abner look
queerly at me for moment and said to q
1 "Thsr's nothing hate SO much IS Ii
'p- Give me q man who is friend of the 70
trouth and I'll tie to him"
in Camden IN. J.) Democrat.