Sharp County record., 1879-09-25

couldn't show the ball that killed him.
If it were PIT in properly, it would be
inside, whele it couldn't be seen. NO,
sir; it is ever so much more honorable
and far more difficult, too, to hit an
eagle than b hit target"
"That is very true" l answered,
especially in these days, when there
are so few eagles and so many targets
But what is your other diademP" ,
"That," laid Pepton, is to see MISS
Rosa wear he badge" -
"Indeed ' said /, and from that mo
ment began to understand fePCoh
bopes in regard to the grandmother OF
those child,en who should point to the
eagle. od .1 sbould
be truly happy to see her win the oaage.
And she ought to win it. No one snootS
derstandihg 81 81 all the rules, than she
does, There must, truly, be something
the matter with her aiming. I've half
| a mind to COACH uel q hOotS'
turned aside to see who was coming
down the road. I would not have had
him know Ikmiled.
The most Objectionable person in our
club was O. j. Hollingsworth. He was
a good enough fellow in himself, but it
was as an archer that we objected to
him. There was, so far as l know,
scarcely aJhle of archery that he did
not habitually violate. Our president
and nearly AL of us demonstrated with
him, and P4 ton even went to see him
on the subjel,; but it was all to no pur-
pose. With. quiet disregard of other
peoples idd about bow-shooting and
other peoples opinions about himself,
he persevered in a style of shooting
which appeared absolutely absurd to
any one who knew any thing of the rules
and methods of archery.
| used to like to look at him when
his turn came around to shoot. He
was not such a pleasing object of
vision as Miss Rosa, but his style
was so entirely novel to me that it
was interesting. He held the bow hori-
zontally instead of perpendicularly, like
other archers; and he held it well down
about opposite his waiSt-band. He did
not draw his arrow back to his ear, but
he drew it back to the lower button Of
his vest. Instead of standing upright,
with his left side to the target, he faced
it full, and leaned forward over his ar
row, in an attitude which reminded me
of Roman soldier about to fall upon
his sword. When he had seized the
neck of his arrow between his finger
and thumb, he languidly glanced at the
target, raised his bow little, and let fly.
The provoking thing about it was that
he nearly always hit. If he had only
known how to stand, and hold his bow,
and draw back his arrow, he would have
been very good archer. But, as it was,
we could not hell laughing at him, al
though our president always discounte-
nanced any fling of the kind.
/ .I9af fa1i!S. =. "a iFfossss q tail man, very
cool and Steady, who went to work at
archery exactly as if he were paid sal
ary, and intended to earn his money
honestly. He did the best he could in
every way. He generally shot with one
of the bows owned by the club; but if
any one on the ground had better one,
he would borrow it. He used to shoot
sometimes with Pepton's bow, which he
declared to be a most capital one; but
as Pepton was always very nervous when
he saw his bow in the hands of another
than himself, the Champion soon ceased
to borrow it.
There were two badges, one of green
silk and gold for the ladies, and one OF
green and red, for the gentlemen; and
these were shot for at each weekly
meeting With the exception of a few
times, when the club was first formed,
the Champion had always worn the gen.
tleman's badge Many of us tried hard
to win it from him; but we never could
succeed-he shot too well.
On the morning of one of our meet
ing days, the Champion told me, as |
was going to the city with him, that he
would not be able to return at his usual
hour that afternoon. He would be very
busy, and would have to wait for the
6:15 train, which would bring him
home too late for the archery meeting,
So he gave me the badge, asking me to
hand it to the president, that he might
bestow it on the successful competitor
that afternoon.
We were all rather glad that
the Champion was obliged to be
absent. Here was chance for some
one of US to win the badge. II
was not, indeed, an opportunity for u
to win great deal of honor, for if the
Champion were to be there, we shoulc
have no chance at all but we were sat
isfed with this much, having no reason
in the present, at least-to expec
any thing more.
So we went to the targets with a new
zeal, and most of US shot better than We
had ever shot before. In this number