The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1892-07-06
WONDERFUL SHOOTING.
How the Texas Ranger Handles . Rins
a Revolver.

The rangers were the largest men
saw in Texas, the state of big men.
And some of them were remarkably
handsome, in a. sunburned, broad
shouldered, easy, manly way. They
were also somewhat shy with the
strangers, listening very intently, but
speaking little, and then in a slow,
gentle voice, and, as they spoke so sell
dom, they seemed to think what they
had to say was too valuable to spoil by
profanity.
When Gen. Mabry found they would
not tell their adventures he asked
them to show how they could shoot.
and as this was something they could
do, and not something already done,
they went about it as gleefully as
schoolboys at recess doing stunts"
They placed a board, one foot wide
and two feet high, some sixty feet of
in the prairie, and Sheriff Scheeley
opened the hostilities by whipping out
his revolver, turning it in the air. and
shooting, with the sights upside down.
into the bull's-eye of the impromptu
target. He did this without discon-
tinuing what he was saying to me, but
rather as though he were punctuating
his remarks with audible commas.
Then he said: 81 didn't think a.
you rangers would let a little one
penny sheriff get in the first shot on
you.' He could afford to say this, be-
cause he had been a ranger himself,
and his brother Joe was one of the best
captains the rangers ever had, and he
and all of his six brothers are over 6
feet high. But the taunt produced an
instantaneous volley from every man
in the company; they did not take the
| trouble to rise, but shot from wherever
they happened to be sitting or lying
and talking together, and the air rang
with the reports, and hundred quick.
vibrating little gasps like the singing
of wire string when it is tightened
on a banjo.
They exhibited some most wonder
full shooting. They shot with both
hands at the same time, with the ham,
mer underneath, holding the rifle in
one hand, and never, when it was
revolver they were using, with glance
at the sights. They would sometimes
fire four shots from Winchester be-
tween the time they had picked it up
from the ground and before it had
nestled comfortably against their
1t seems that to shoot Winchester
you have to pull trigger one way and
work a lever backward and forward;
this would naturally suggest that there
are three movements-one to throw
out the empty shell, one to replace 1T
with cartridge, and the third to ex-
plode this cartridge. Capt. Brooks, as
| far as / could make out from the
sound, used only one movement for
his entire eight shots. AS guessed,
the trial was more to show Capt.
Brooks quickness rather than his
craftsmanship. l paid no attention
to the target, but devoted myself as
siduously to manipulating the lever
and the trigger, and aimed blankly at
| the prairie. When I had fired two
shots into space the captain had put
his eight into the board. They sound
ed as they went off like firecrackers
well started in barrel and mine, in
comparison, like minute guns at sea.
The rangers, found after l saw more
of them, could shoot as readily with q
revolver as with a rifle, and had be-
come so expert with the smaller
weapon that instead of pressing the
trigger for each shot they would pull
steadily on it and snap the hammer
until the six shots were exhausted
Harper's Weekly.