The morning news., 1888-08-03
KIT CARsoNs WONDERFUL SHOT.
Piercing the Neck of an Eagle When
1t Was Almost Invisible.
From the st. Paul Globe.

It Was Almost Invisible.
From, the ST. Paul Globe.
Kit Carson was the crack shot in the
Rocky mountains in his day, and many are
the stories told on the frontier of his quick
eye and unerring aim. There will never be
another Kit Carson, for there is no longer
great and unknown wilderness to develop
men of his peculiar type. Occasionally now
you will find in the west gray-heaGed,
sturdy old pioneers who knew Carson in his
prime, when the sim of his riffs meant
death, for he was often heard to say: Il
can kill as far as my rifle can carry"
Capt. l.. w. Cutler, one of the proprietors
of the Denver Field and Farm, was a
Fifty -pinern and knew Carson well, and
in recent conversation related an incident
in the life of the old hunter and scout which
showed his wonderful skill with the rife;
and the story as told me by Capt. Cutler
probably recalls as fine shot as Kit Carson
ever made, aud of which the captain was
an eye witness. 1t was in the spring of
1868, and Capt Cutler, then a deputy
United States marshal, was en- route to old
Fort Bent, below Pueblo, this state. The
country was sparsely settled, only here and
there finding small settlement along the
Arkansas river, which he was following.
He was travelling alone on horseback, and
the second morning of his journey broke
camp very early, starting out at dawn. He
had followed the course of the river some
distance, when, just at sunrise, the lonell-
ness of his journey was relieved by the
sight of cabin IN "a heavy growth of cot
ton woods on the bank of the Arkansas.
Just at this moment he saw a Rocky
mountain eagle dartiug down almost with
the rapidity of lightning. Near the cabin
was corral in which there were a large
number of sheep, and thither the great eagle
was bent for prey. Refining up his horse,
the captain awaited the result. There was
wild bleating and rapid flight of the
herd, but q moment later the eagle rose
from the corral bearing lamb with it. The
lamb did not seem to impede its flight in the
least, and the great strength of the eagle
can readily be discerned by its breaking
some branches near the top of the tree by
the fearful stroke 'of its wings. Upward
and upward it scared, the course of its
flight being not far from the perpendicu-
lar.
At this moment a woman came out of the
cabin. and seeing the eagle with the lamb
in its talons, uttered a shrek and hastened
to the house. A moment later Capt. Cut
Ter saw man come out of the cabin with
a long rifle in hand He was dressed in a
slouch hat, pantaloons and white shirt.
Just think of it, white shirt in Colorado
as early as 1868. By this time the eagle
was soaring high, with its course over the
river. To the captain it was becoming more
like a dark ,speck in the sky, and when he
saw the man raise his rife to shoot he said
to himself: II wonder what fool is going to
try to shoot that eagle" But hardly had he
muttered the exclamation till there was a
flash from the rifle Only a second had the
man looked toward the eagle, and the stock
of the rife had hardly reached his shoulder
before he fired.
I;dio,Ylf 70 falI fha
suit of the shot. as the eagle was SO far
away. The speck became larger. The eagle
had been hit. 1t was falling 1t came
down slowly, for it Auttered desperately,
swooping its great wings, trying to retain
its place in mid air 1t then circled round
and round, and losing control of its wings,
eagle and lamb fell in some thick brush on
the opposite side of the river. With a
look of amazement Capt. Cutler rode up to
the cabin to learn the name of the man who
had made such wonderful shot. The man
had been leaning on his rifle until the rider
came near, when he exclaimed:
Hello, Capt Cutler, is that vop!"
"Why, if it isn't Kit Carson" said Cut
lef, as he dismounted, and the two old
friends shook hands, and Cutler. continuing
said: Il saw you come out of the cabin
and was wondering what fool was trying to
kill that eagle. But had | known it was
you, Kit, would not have doubted it mo-
ment."
''Well," replied Kit, 81 was a little in
doubt myself, but know l would hit the
bird if my gun would carry. l can hit as
far as a gun will carry bullet. But as
luck would have it, my old rifle was loaded" I"
and the old hunter gave look of pride at
the now old-fashioned, long-barreled muz-
zle-loader.
Mounting his horse, Cutler said he would
ford the stream and find the eagle.
BE careful" advised Carson; 'the eagle
may be only wounded, and if so it will be
dangerous. | shot for its head"
Its headW exclaimed Cutler, in astonish-
ment.
Why, how could you see an eagles
head that far away~ and Kit Carson only
laughed for rely.
Capt. Gutter found both eagle and lamb
dead, the talons of one leg still buried in
the back of the lamb, which weighed about
twenty ponnds. Returning to the cabin,
the captain said: The eagle was shot
through the throat"
1.-The throat" said Carson. ''Well, the
eagle was so far away it was hard to judge
the distance. ] shot at its head by aiming
little above it. should have aimed half
an inch higher"
HE-You have considered, darling, the seri-
BUSINESS OF the step you have consented to take.
AI.- .s..llt 81 lr...s. Il, Azl1 NJ