Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1883-10-04
A Crack Shot.

In West Virginia, among the spurs
of the Blue Ridge Mountains lie the Ca
pom Springs. At one time these springs
were owned and run by Mr.. j. Nj. .Wad-
die, the father of Julius S. Waddle, of
whom | write. Waddle was brought
up TO use the old time sporting rifle,
Identical, except for its percussion lock
with those used by the Culpepper Min
ute men in the Revolution, and by all
the characters in Cooper's Leather
stocking tales. Joining party one
day in the fall of 1875, long ride was
made. For the benefit of transporting
readers it may be explained that drive
for deer is about the same rs u beat for
tigers. A mountain or 4 scope of coun-
try is selected and large party of men
start in the same direction for a given
point, keeping quite distance apart
and bv noise, etc., drive away every
animal before them, the ground being
always selected so that all game, to
keep under cover, will have to pass
through y narrow body of woods, or
some such natural road. Here the best
shots are invariably stationed to do the
execution of the day. 1t was at one of
these crossings that Mr.. Waddle was
standing on one occasion mentioned
when the drivers heard him shoot five
times with wonderful rapidity. When
they came up to The place where this
fusilade had taken place it was found
that Mr.. Wadd,e had had four deer to
take his crossing, three does and buck
and being on the side of q ravine, the
season late in the fall, he had an unin-
terrupted view except for the tree
trunks and limbs. As soon as the herd
came in sight, and at long range, he
opened fire and one dropped in its
tracks, another-the buck-as they pas
sed him, and third was shot 100 yards
further on, and the fourth, stopping to
smell the wounded one and in confusion
was shot in the head and fell dead
while the one it was smelling got up
and attempted to run but was stopped
by the fifth shot from Mr.. Waddle's un-
erring rifle. Thus he completed his
work of killing four deer without mov-
inc out of his tracks. The time con-
sumed could not have been but little
over half minute This, believe to
have been one of the great-if not the
greatest-pieces of shooting ever done
in the actual field of sport.
| have also known this gentleman to
kill doe that was standing behind a
tree with only her head in sight at a
distance of 200 yards. On another oc-
casion l knew him to strike buck in
the head four times in as many shots.
1t was swimming the South Branch Riv-
er, near Romney, at distance of about
150 yards from where Mr.. Waddle was
standing when he sank, but was gotten
with boat. Mr.. Waddle is also prod
ICY with the pistol, having to my GER
tain knowledge killed buzzard that
was sitting in tree 400 yards off, with
Smith & Weston navy, and also two
crows on the wing, one falling dead $50
yards from him. While hunting on
Chesapeake Bay, knew him to kill two
wild geese that were out of range of
shot guns and swan shot probably, 200
yards. One was shot from the blind
and the other from the shore, with this
same remarkable pistol. There may
have been and was, in all probability,
some luck in these last few shots, but
I have seen him strike large nail on
the head repeatedly in a friendly pistol
practice, at measured distance of 100
feet.-Cor. Philadelphia Times.