Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1908-11-27
CRACK SHOT KILLS
FLY 20 YARDS AWAY
Some Clever Feats With Revolt
vers-One Played Piano
Selection With Bullets.

Mr. Walter Winans. the well known
millionaire sportsman. who is making
arrangements for the deadiiest shots
i'm the world to exhibit their skill In
London. is himself perhaps the most
phenomena marksman living today.
! Indeed, his feats with revolver and rifle
are so amazing that they border on
the miraculous.
Some years ago at a fete at Bagshot
he gave some very astonishing exhibit
tons of his craftsmanship for the en-
tertainment OF the visitors. AInong
other equally wonderful feats We're the
following: He sent bullet after bullet
clean through the center Of the ace or
hearts held at a distance OF a dozen
yards, never once missing his tiny
bulls eye during the whole afternoon.
He repeatedly shattered "A glass ball
placed on the glass Of his watch as II
lay face upward on q table: and out OF
six visiting cards placed edgewise be-
fore him he cut five in halves With six
consecutive shots.
But perhaps his most remarkable
performance was that at the Brighton
rifle gallery a few years ago. when.
firing SO consecutive shots with a re-
volver at a target 10 yards distant. hs
placed a bullet on a bulls eye only
three inches in diameter. scarcely as
large as the palm OF a mans hand!
Killed 1903 Stays.
Mr.. Walter Winans' rifle shooting. BY
the way, Is quite as amazing as his
workmanship with the revolver, and
the stag which can escape. at any pos
sible range, from his death dealing bull
let is exceedingly lucky. He has killed
as many as 1903 stays in a single sea-
son. %udi the record Of IL In one
stalk. while some years ago he had ac-
counted for 1000 stays. The record
feat of killing a dozen stays In a single
stalk was performed by crawling up
TO a herd OF Is, and killing IL before
they could escape out or range! On
one occasion, too, Mr.. Louis Winans,
who is little less clever tina his IA
nous brother, laid 20 stays low with az
many consecutive bullets.
Mr.. Walter Winans, who is as mod
est as he is clever, always tells that
the late Chevaller ira Paine was a
much deadlier shot than himself, and
he tells how, on one occasion, the cheE-
alier killed a b~luebottle fly which had
settled on the white part Of a target
20 yards away. This performance ranks
as quite the most wonderful in the
annals OF s~hooting-and no wonder.
But there nave been many famous
shots before Paine and Winans handled
a revolver, and one Of the greatest OF
them all was Captain Horatio Ross.
who. was in his prime o 80 years
dsO, ollu III AZ '''A
stories are told.
Played the Piano.
On one occasion the captain wagered
500 with Mr.. George FoJambe that
with a pistol firing a single ball. he
would Kill 10 brace OF swallows on the
wing in one day. The feat seemed hu-
manly impossible. but Captain Ross
actually polished off his 20 swallows
before an early breakfast.
IroA. ap,,al1u roma rkahba UaS
contest between Captain Ross and a
famous Spanish marksman for $50 a
side. The match was held at the ia
nous Red House Enclosure, the distance
was u yards, the number OF shots so,
and the target an ordinarw playing
card with a bulls eye. the exact size
OF a s%iXpence. marked on It's back. The
captain. who proved an easy winner.
actually hit the diminutive bulls eye
% times out of the last rs shots.
Mr.. John Tharp, OF Newmarket, was
another adept of these long-gone days.
One OF his fayorite feats was to shoot at
coins flung high in the air; and on one
occasion, for a wager OF G100. he ac-
tually struck 81 pennies out Of 100.
A few years ago a Frenchman, NJ.
CASTOR Bordeyerry. gave an extraOr-
binary demonstration Of shooting skill
in Paris. A piece of sugar was placed
on his assistants head at a distance OF
a dozen yards. and NJ. Bordeverry shot
IL off with a revolver bullet Without
touching a hair Of the mans head.
When a 50-centime piece about the
size of a sixpenCe) was submitted for
the lump of sugar 1t was removed just
as cleverly, and at a greater distance a
visiting card was cut clearly in two.
These featS are wonderful enough,
but nothing compared with what fol-
lowed. Standing 10 yards from a piano
monster played with his rain OF bullets.
in brilliant style. a difficult selection
from "Cavalleria R~usticana," the ac-
companying words being sung by a
quartet of vocalists. During the entire
piece not a single bullet missed It's
proper note on the piano