The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1879-02-20
TON POTTER'S FEATS.
40 Related BY n FersSa who Was
Frteaa 30 the sold Truth
n Dnn


a.Sea y. ~ Democrat.
They had been talking about the re.
markSble performances of DR.. Carver, the
Markham, who shoots with Re glss.
balls which are sent into tn. sir as fast
as man can throw them. Presently
Abner Byning, who was sitting by, said :
That's nothing"
"What is nothing2"
Why, that shooting. Did ysu ever
know Tom Potter?"
mol"
Well, Potter was the best hand with
the rife ever saw beat this man Carver
all hollow. I'll tell you what I've seen
this msn Potter do. You know, maybe,
along there in the cherry season Mrs.
Potter would want to preserve some
cherries, so Tom would PICK 'em Tor her,
and how do you think he'd stone 'em ?"
don't know. Howl"
Why, he'd fill his gun with bird shot
and get boy t. drop half bushel of
cherries ut Que time from the roof of s
house. As they came down he'd fire and
take the stone clean out of every cherry
10 the lot! It's positive fsctl He
might occasionally miss one, but not
often. But he did bigger shooting than
that when he wanted to-"
"Whst did he do?"
"Why, Jim Miller-did you know
him ? No? Well, Tom made bet once
with jim that he could shoot the button
off his avn coat>tail by aiming in the
opposite direction, and Jim took him
up"
:" Did he do il? ~
"Do it! He fixed himself in q posi-
ton and aimed at tree in front OF him.
The ball hit the tree, caromed, hit the
corner of q house, osromed, struck a
lsmp-post, esromed and few behind Tom
and nipped the button of as slick as a
whistle. You bet he did itw
That WAS fine shooting"
Eyes, and I've seen Tom Potter beat
it. I've seen him stand under q flock
of Wild pigeons, billions ofthem coming
like the wind, and kill 'em 50 fast that
the front of the flock never passed q
given line, but turned over and tell down,
80 that it looked like kind OF brown
and frsthery Niagara. Tom did il by
having tweuty-three breech loading rifles
and boy to load 'em. he always shot
with that kind"
You say you saw him do this sort
of shOoting?'
Yes, sir and better than that, too.
Why, I'll tell Won what ! have seen
Tom Potter do. | saw him once sat up
an India rubber target st 300 feet and
hit the bulls eye tWenty>seven times s
minute with the same ball. He would
hit the target. the ball would bound right
back into the rife barrel just Al Tom had
clapped in a fresh charge OF powder, and
SO he kept her going backward and for
ward until 1t last ne happened to move
his gun and the bullet missed the muz
zle of the gun. II was the biggest thing
| ever saw; the very Biggest except
one."
what wxs that"
Why, one day uas out with him
when ne was practicing, and it came on
to rain. Tom didn't want to get wet,
and we had no umbrella, snd what do
you think he did?
What
Now what do you think that man
done to keep dry ?"
81 can't imagine
Well, sir, ne got NE to load his |
weapons for him, and | pledge you my
word, although 1t began TO ram hard, he |
nit every drop that came down, 90 that /
the ground FOR about eight feet around |
u. was as dry as punk. 1t was bssuti-
ful, sir beautiful,
And then the company r0se up slowly /
and passed out one by one, each man
lying Abner and looking solemn as he
went by and when they had goEs, Alb
ner looked queerly Tor 4 mOnent aad |
said TO ne:
There's nothing ! hate 80 much a.
liar. Give me a man who il irissd OF !
the solid truth, and I'll tie to him. "