The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1895-11-02
SURE SHOOTING.


i
Hl6Asss ossess u skir1alDA oAoo<ane Dvsr
AtaahsA lGaAs bv Sergeant Henry
Ha4ef. a. tAs Uniesa osasss
Array.
There ID Z soldier in Troop g, Of the
Second cavalry, at Fort Wingate, who
bears the distinction Of being the best
shot in the United STATES army He is
Sergt Henry Henser. and not only II
he's thorough cavalryman in every
sense Of the word, . perfect carbine and
pistol shot, but he has had some ad-
ventures that few men would have
lived through. I saw the sergeant the
other day in his comfortable quarters,
and Obtained record Of his wonderful
shooting, a. wellas thestory Of desper-
ate battle he had for his life in Arizona
in 1890, near Fort Huachuca.
Sergt. Henser has served ~ soldier
for almost nineteen years. He il .
powerfully built, athletic man Of about
80 years of age. and q thoroughly good
fellow, % his comrades say. His record,
a. given in Wingate (Ariz.) letter. as a
marksman began in 1885 at Vancouver
barracks, where he shot on the depart
ment team. or, rather, in preliminary
shooting for position on the team, and
secured first place, in 1887, in the de-
partment Of the Columbia shoot, he
was No. is. with score Of 484 points.
In the following year he raised his score
to 51e points, scoring fifth, although
there were but seventeen points
between him and the winning
score at that shoot. All these compe-
titions were shot with the military
rife. After 1883 he shot entirely with
the cavalry carbine. In 1889 at Fort
Wingate in the competition of the de-
partment of Arizona and California, at
which the most skilled marksmen from
the various posts in that department
were shooting, he scored 543 points,
winning the department silver medal.
During the same competition he shot
on the pistol team, winning the bronze
department medal for revolver shoot
ing, scoring 73.5 per cent. This score,
with the former ones he had made.
qualified him AZ distinguished marks
man. and gave him the handsome gold
medal signifying that rank by the gov
ernment.
In . competition for place on the
army team of 1890, when marksmen
were to be selected for the great army
team shoot, he scored 557 points
against Capt. Kerr's s67. He was
therefore prevented from shooting on
the army team that year, and it was
mortifying to him later on to learn
that Capt. Kerr won the army medal
by 557 points, the very score he had
made in the preliminaries. 1t taught
him q lesson, however, and he grimly
declared that in future the man who
disqualified him would have to do
some shooting. He proved this year
later, for, notwithstanding the fact
that he had almost been torn to pieces
in December, 1890, by silver-tip bear,
he won third place on the army team.
and secured the first prize there,
winning handsome gold medal, moro
than seven ounces In weight. He
scored 456 points in the army team
shoot.
In the Distinguished Marksmen's
team shoot in 1892 he won the cele-
brated Buffalo" medal, q huge gold
adornment sought after more, perhaps,
than any other insignium of marks
manship to be found in the army. It
il larger than the governments
gold medal awarded to the win-
ner Of the army team shoot, and
p 4 a