The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1880-09-02
,NOI. NO. 20.
Wonderful Marksmanship.

NJ" loRh, August - \ remarkable
exhibition ui pistol AMI rifle shooting IA.
gwen yesterday al the old neerfoot DRIVING
l'aIk un the Erlokln Ocean ParAaa, M
pr John Ruth and wife. two persons hith.
erto uuk IuBu u the East The reuf,l.. A..
resi- leuts Of oakland. Cal Mrs. Ruth +,
about So Year, OF axe aud brunette. whose
graceful figure va, well set oti by tn, t.cou,-
lng costume she wore II Ruth Is typical
trontIer>man Ia personal appearance. with
long hair aud coatcc ot the orthodox But.
ialo Bill order. lie wore black selyet
Jacket trimmed with gold bottoms. and a
broad brimmcd with drab fc, hat. On h<
breast was a gold chaflplun badge
The shooters Practlscd for an hour before
the exhibition began. 1t was done IN the
open field the object, being glass balls filled
with feathers. 1t proved to b. a remaIka-
bic exhibition ot fine craftsmanship The
arms used were Winchester repeating gun
OF the . model aud an ordinary duelhny
pistol With all imaginable ease Dr. Ruth
shot Z Ass balls that were tossed into the AIR
10y at attendant rarely missing Que out of
the fifteen. which was the total number
OF cartridges placed IN the barrel Of the
gun before the shooting began. The shoot
ing was performed with marvellous rapdlty
shot that drew forth applause was when
aimed at the ground The first charge was
delivered on the ground in front OF a glass
ball The disturbance of the earth caused
the ball 10 fly upward, anG when the doctor
unloaded his spent cartridge and DISCHARGED
ms piece, shattcring the ball into a thousand
fragments before il could reach the ground
Tins wonderful feat was several time, re
peatcd.
Mrs. Ruth performed even more wonder
tul shooting Firsta wooden ball was placed
IN position eighteen feet away, aud this
she struck every time with uncrring pre-
clSlon Then she destroyed glass balls nj the
same distance holding her piece ,idcwlsc.
The next position She assumed was 10 hold
the gun upside down, with the butt resting
against her forehead. The aim was pcrtect
III each instance. Then She aimed at ,us-
pended glass ball. The gun was thrown
over her left shoulder and her back turned
to the object, the sh )otcr taking her sight
from small mirror placed on the end Of the
stock. This shot, which required wonder
ful strength and >tcadlncss, was made with
accurate precision. Then she demolished
balls hold the gun with one hand, the butt
resting against the bicep muscle, and aston
lshed all by the ease and rapidity which she
shattered others while they were suspcn-
ded and swinging Some OF the swinging
some oi the Swinging balls were struck while
the shooter held her by one hand. Subse-
qnently she made the same shots with
pistol. Then she took smaller boIc rifle
and fired at glass balls flung IN the air, st-ik
ing first ten out of fifteen, and afterwards
eight out Of twelve. With a Ballard
rifle OF twenty-five model she missed only
hive out Of thirteen balls tossed in the air
hile the lady was resting TO recover from
her fatigue DR.. Ruth placed a card over the
SIGHT OF hls pistol and repeatedly broke glass
balls suspended from a stick held at arm =
length by an attendant. After this he shat
tered glass balls as fast a. they were thrown
IN the air, first using pistol aud tnena
Winchester rife. Finally he held the butt
OF the rifle at the back Of hi- neck and shot
the balls as they decendcd Mrs Ruth I'm
lshed the remarkable exhibition. First she
fired at piece Of card held IN her hu,-
band : mouth, hitting 1t two inches from
bis nose: then she sheltered a small piece Of
glass held between his fingers and finally she
Int a small mark on a piece Of card held by
Dr. Ruth the lady delivering the shot while
holding the gun upside down The far
shooters was loudly applauded at the close
by a number Of persons who had been inyi
TED to witness the exhibition Of mark slnan
ship.