Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-01-21
The Walking Cranks.

The winner of the last walking match. though
he made the astonishing score of 5S2 miles in six
days, received but 81 500 for his trouble. This
is in startling contrast with his first great walk
ing match in Gimore's garden in 1873. when
Rowell took away more than $40 600 of win
nings for ptiful performance of 404 miles. a
score which the merest novice now can beat
The record is regularly beaten every match, and
there is no doubt the next six days walk will
bring it up to 600 miles while if the leaders are
pushed to their utmost $50 miles may he made
There seems to be no limit to human endurance.
and five years hence 700 miles may be the goal
of the professional walking crank.
SHOOTING ON THE WING is a mechanical art
like billiard playing, boxing or fencing. There
will. of course. be degrees of excellence. but
any one with the full use of his faculties and the
ambition necessary to success in anything can
acquire it. The secret lies in the hand becoming
subservient to the eye. The two must be con-
nected by electricity. The eyeis never at fault;
if it were there would be little hope of improve
ment. but any one may improve the quickness
of the muscles of the arm. Look at the expert
ness of professional card players and copjurers
in the art of manipulation. The same practice
applied to the gun will make the brilliant shot.
One often hears it said ''to be a good shot re-
quires quick eye" 1t matters not how quick
the eye Is unless the muscles are educated to
act in unison with it. Every one can see
quick enough. Let one bird out of a trap be-
fore 500 people and they wlall see it at the same
time, but only the practiced shot can throw up
the gun to his shoulder with accurate aim and
simultaneously pull trigger before the bird has
flown 10 feet. Take the adroit fencer or boxer
he sees an opening aud his practiced muscles obey
the eye and send the thrust or blow home
quicker than the Impractical eye can follow.
Of what use then is the sight on a gun? Very
little, as is seen by the successful way gunners
Kill ducks when it is too dark to see the sight
or scarcely to seeth barrels A sportsman should
shoot game the same rs an Indian shoots his
arrow, by looking at the object with both eyes
open. 1t may be done by closing one eve bat
there is nothing gained by this. There are two
ways of shooting on the wing. One to throw up
the gun to the shoulder and pull the trigger at
the same time. This is termed" snap shooting"
The other equally good andbetter to begin with,
and laOfe certain, uponti whole, particularly In
open shooting. Is to follow the bird and when Gov
eredfre while the gun is in motion When YOU pull
the trigger the other hand has tendency to
STOP That misses the bird, but education
will teach it not to stop. the same as we teach
both hands a different action while playing on
the pisno.--Soc'amento Bee.
A MISSOURI paper tells of a farmer who owed
Walt Perkins twenty five dollars, and had owed
him for years. One day he met Walt and said:
Don't be uneasy, Walt. / have the thing all
fixed by which can pay you" Walt asked him
how he had got il fixed. and the old granger
said: "Well, Walt, if nothing happens, next
year hope to raise good crop Of corn, and
intend to trade son.c of the corn for o yoke of
oxen. and know an old man in st. Charles
county that owns an old Etarc. and he wants to
trade her for a yoke of oxen. Now. Walt, when