Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1880-09-10
Extraordinary shOOting..Carver Out

The visitors TO the Brooklyn Driving
Park yesterday afternoon, says the New
York World, had novel display set be-
fore them in the rifle and pistol shoot
ing of DIR. John Ruth and Mrs. Ruth
DIR. Ruth is Western man, wears his
hair long under PREDETERMINED white
hat, and has velvet shooting-jacket
after the style of Western riAemen. He
is tall and free in his motions, tossing his
repeating-rihe about as il it were n mere
wand. Mrs. Ruth is lady with a very
much tanned complexion and the car
riage of a backwoods woman. Yester-
day she wore sort of Gainsborough
hat. and when handling the pistol or
rifle did not even take the trouble to
remove her lace mitts. There was a
fair. sized crowd present, including o
number of ladies'. Capt. L. G. Bruce,
the celebrated rihe.shot; G. L. Wingate,
the Secretary and one of the cracks of
the Fountain Gun Club; L. G. Banks
and other expert shooters were present
and watched the performance narrowly.
Mrs. Ruth began the banging and the
hitting by aiming with pistol at glass
balls, and they were shattered in almost
every case. With the pistol held side
ways there was miss or two more, but
generally every shot told. When the
pistol was inverted and the aim taken
below instead of above the line of fire
there was no apparent loss in the per-
centage of hits. When the ball was
hung by string and set swinging Mrs.
Ruth stood eighteen yards off and made
a clean break on her first shot. The
rifle was then handled through the same
series of shots and the usual want of
grace with which all women handle guns
was apparent. When the balls we're
thrown up in the air Mrs. Ruth stood a
good distance off and shattered dozen
out of the fifteen, and this feature when
encored was equally as good.
While the lady shooter chatted with
the lady spectators DIR. Ruth began to
show his ability as a snap shot. The
sights of the rifle seemed to be of no
special assistance to him, for when they
were covered by a cord he used the
weapon on balls placed on a stand and
again at the glass spheres thrown into
the air with wonderful effect. Some
balls were thrown on the ground dozen
yards off, and the Doctor, aiming
at the ground below ball
would send it spinning up into
the air, and then rapidly unloading
and loading his piece, would hit the ball
on its descent. This double shooting
drew out plenty of applause. Again,
when the balls were thrown up the
rifle was given a turn about after the
manner of fail-handle and it fell into
position soon enough to enable break
ing shot to be made on the ball. Balls
thrown from side to side were hit,
whether coming from the right or left.
When tired of breaking glassware, DR..
Ruth picked up fragment of glass,
and, stepping off dozen PAGES, held it
off in his fingers, while Mrs. Ruth, pick
ing up small bore rifle, took careful
aim and the glass was shattered into
powder. With an ordinary visiting
card held in his mouth and turned so as
to see the side, DR.. Ruth permitted his
wife to put several bullets through it,
the pair joking meanwhile with each
other, the shooter telling the target to
draw back his nose little as it was too
shining a mark and distracted her sight.
DR.. Ruth wished to put glass ball on
his head and allow his wife to break it
with bullet, but she declared that she
was tired of standing in the sun and
this very ordinary William Tell trick
was omitted. A loaded cartridge was
laid on bit of plank some yards off,
and Mrs. Ruth fired bullet at it and
exploded it. Dozens of other and SINH
lar ways of testing the quickness of
sight and steadiness of nerve of the
shooters were improvised and general
ly it was found that anything fired at
was hit almost every time.