The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-12-01
DEAD SHOTS WITH A PISTOL.
A Score OF New Workers Who Can
Knock the Spots Out of Cards.

A Score OF New Workers Who Can
Knock the Spots Out of Cards.
From the Neto York Sun.
A group of young club men, whose forms
were wreathed in fog of powder smoke,
had just ceased firing 44-calliber bullets at
an ace of spades set edgewise on the bulls
eye target in a range in an upper Broadway
shooting gallery the other night, when vet
eran Jim Conlin got them all interested at
once by suddenly exclaiming: That's fine.
boys. And, by the way, you've all no
doubt read the stories of the wonderful
dead shots that astonished their fellow men
in the old days when dueling was the gen.
tlemanly way Of settling serious disputes
between gentlemen"
Eyes" chimed the young bloods.in inter
ested chorus
well" continued the grizzled veteran
with enthusiasm, 'those dead shots couldn't
hold candle to the gentlemen marksmen
of this very day. Right in this very town
we have heap of men who could shoot
them full Of holes, so TO speak, in no time
at all. Why, can call you Off this minute
over twenty well-known men whose skill as
dead shots no marksmen who ever lived
could excel" a
Lets hear the Names" cried the club
ihSls OhOWuluB dIOunu JuB Olu U1dTKSInau.
Certainly" responded Mr.. Conlin. "To
begin with, there's Pierre Lorillard, Jr.
He can pick up dueling pistol, aud at the
word of command, standing at twelve
PAGES from the mark, can put dozen bull
lets in succession inside of four-inch cir
Gle. l take this as standard of deadly
craftsmanship, for If 1t were man who
was the mark he would fall dead instantly
every time Young MIR. Lorillard's equals
In this feat are the following gentlemen:
Frank II. Lord, New Yorker, who is at
present travelling in England; DR.. Howe, a
physician; Charles #. Jones, who was one
of the contestants in the first Racquet
club amateur tourney, and who is almost
as expert with his cue as with firearms /;
Maj w. r. Pryor, the star marksman of
the Twenty second regiment George Bird,
the revolver crack Of the Kildare shooting
club and st. Nicholas club; H. w. Wick
ham, a cousin of ex-Mayor Wickham; Eu-
gene Higgins, a son of the carpet manu-
facturer; William NJ. Chase, the artist :;
ID. A. Davis, the merchant of the dry
goods district; Senior A. Fernandez, a
Cuban importer, who, by the way, is ambi-
dextrous, and can shoot with equal ease
with either hand and make dead shot; J.
b. Miller OF 51S Fifth avenue, who is a rel
alive of Jay Gould; w. G. Southwick Of
Jue redA ooVduo lIhtoIulbJ DouoT DoualuJ,
who is Spanish poet, as we'll as diplomat
in the consulate; j. N. Winslow, breezy
lad of the New York Yacht club, and who
was on board the Dauntless in the famous
transatlantic race with the Coronet; G. f.
w. Dambmaun of the Union club, who Is a
regular honeycooler with firearms OF all
sorts; L. +. Haggin, who is dainty In his
choice of practice weapons; N. Brennan, an
other of the artist guild; Louis e. Living
ston, another Union club crack, whose forte
is to fire in the old-fashioned style Of Hamil-
ton Burr days, and who can knock the ace
spot completely out of the Joker card in six
shots at twelve PAGES; DR.. +. @. Moller,
who can also annihilate the spots on cards
with the greatest ease and certainty; Col.
j. J. Dunn who is now decimating the ALI
gator crop down in Florida; Broker Edward
Wassermann, who Is with the Seligmans in
Wall street, AMI Is one of the greatest shots
among the brokers; and lastly, Jim b. Col
Inns, the real estate lawyer, who can bold
up his end as well as any man with the re-
volver that know of.
"There are other men, too" continued
the veteran, but at the moment I do not
recall any but the leaders. There, | have
named you, let me see, twenty-three, If
mistake not; yes, twenty-three men, and l
tell you they are hummers. | do not be-
H6Ve, III LaCb huOW, yOu SAhhSb hhu bupi
superiors anywhere as group. II. o.
Young, the one-eyed and one-handed cham
pion OF the Pacific slope, and A. Johnson
of San Francisco, are two more famous
dead shots; but then they should be left
out, / suppose, as they are not New
Workers. All the Others are Gothamites.
II recall these names to indicate what
tremendous strides have been made In
craftsmanship with the pistol in the last
two years. It has suddenly sprung into
renewed favor as a gentleman's sport in
that time. Thirty years ago l remember
that it was popular, but then the shooting
was nothing to compare with the exquisite
work done by these twenty-three New York
cracks. In the ante-war days the revolver
experts used to shoot at a figure of a man,
with line drawn through the middle of
his body along the row of buttons, and
eve and heart well marked. Any shot
within the line was counted the fatal shot.
The war came along and knocked dueling
pistoing sky-high, and the air.gun took its
place. Then came the smooth bore muZZle-
loader and after that the 22-caliber car
fridge rife. / believe that ] introduced in
New York the first rifle Of this pattern ever
used in a rife gallery. Now therIfie Is falling
into disuse, and the dueIing pistol is all the
rage, and the only proper thing for gentle
men marksmen to handle in a gallery"
All about Mr.. Conlin were ranged on the
walls large frames containing pistol targets
made of cards and tinv bull's-eye targets.
A noticeable feature of the display was the
number of cards that were cut in half in a
Jagged line They had been split in two
with single bullet fired when the thin edge
of the card had been presented to the marks
mans eye at twenty PAGES. They bore the
names Of some Of the most famous revolver
shots Of the present generation.