Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1908-07-24
NO..59.
GOOD SHOOTING.
The Performances of Walter Winans
and Others.

The Performances Of Walter Winans
and Others.
Walter Winans the we'll known mil
lionaire sportsman who is making ar
rangements for the deadliest shots In
the world to exhibit their skill in Lon
don is himself perhaps the most phe-
nomenal marksman living today. In
deed, his feats with revolver and rifle
are so amazing that they border on
the miraculous.
Some years ago at a fete at Bag
shot he gave some very astonishing
exhibitions Of his craftsmanship for
the entertainment of the visitors.
Among other equally wonderful feats
were the following: He sent bullet
after bullet clean through the centre
Of the ace Of hearts held at distance
Of a dozen yards, never once missing
his tiny bullseye during the whole af-
ternoon. He repeatedly shattered a
glass ball placed on the glass Of his
watch as 1t lay face upward on q table
and out Of six visiting cards placed
edgewise before him he cut five In
halves with six consecutive shots.
But perhaps his most remarkable
performance was that at the Brighton
Gallery a few years ago, when, firing
thirty-three consecutive shots with a
revolver at target 16 yards distant,
he placed every bullet on bullseye
only inches in diameter, scarcely as
large as the palm Of mans hand.
Mr.. Walter Winans rifle shooting,
by the way, Is quite as amazing as his
craftsmanship 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 kill
ed as many as 103 stays in a single
season, including the record number
Of twelve in one stalk, while some
years ago he had accounted for 1000
stays. The record feat Of killing
dozen stays in single stalk was per-
formed by crawling up to a herd Of
fifteen and killing twelve with as many
shots before they could escape out Of
range. On one occasion, too, Mr.. Louis
Winans, who Is little less clever than
his famous brother, laid twenty stays
low with as many consecutive bullets
Walter Winans, who is as modest as
he is clever always declares that the
late Chevalier Ira Paine was a much
deadlier shot than himself, and he tells
how on one occasion the Chevalier kill
ed a bluebottle fly which had settled
on the white part Of target twenty
yards away. This performance ranks
as quite the most wonderful In the
annals Of shooting-and no wonder.
But there have been many famous
shots before Paine and Winans hand
led a revolver, and one Of the greatest
Of them all was Capt. Horatio Ross
who was in his prime about eighty
years ago and Of whom some remark
able stories are told.
On one occasion the captain wagered
100 with Mr.. George Foljambe that
with a pistol firing a single ball he
would kill ten brace of swallows on
the wing in one day. The feat seemed
humanity possible, but Capt. Ross ac-
tually polished off his twenty swal-
lows before an early breakfast.
Almost equally remarkable was
contest between Capt. Ross and ia
nous Spanish marksman for ESQ
side The match was held at the ia
nous Red House enclosure, the dis
tance was twelve yards, the number
Of shots fifty and the target an ordi-
nary playing card with bullseye the
exact size of sixpence marked on Its
back. The captain who proved an easy
winner, actually hit the diminutive
bullseye twenty-three times out Of
the last twenty-five shots!
John Tharp of Newmarket was an
other adept Of these long gone days.
One Of his favorite feats was to shoot
at coins flung high in the air, and on
one occasion, for a wage Of 2100. he
actually struck ninety-seven pennies
out Of a hundred.
A few years ago Frenchman, NJ.
CASTOR Bordeverry, gave an extraor-
dinary demonstration Of shooting skill
in Paris. A piece Of sugar was placed
on his assistants head at a distance
Of a dozen yards, and M. Bordeverry
shot It off with revolver bullet with
out touching a hair Of the mans head.
When a fifty centime piece (about the
size Of six-pence) was substituted for
the lump Of sugar 1t was removed just
as cleverly, and at a great distance
visiting card was cut cleanly In two.
These feats were wonderful enough,
but nothing compared with what fol-
lowed. Standing ten yards from a
piano and taking several repeating
carbines, Monsieur played with his rain
of bullets in brilliant style a difficult
selection from "Cavalleria Rusticana,"
the accompanying words being sung
by a quartet Of volcalists. During the
entire piece not a single bullet missed
its proper note on the piano.
Almost as wonderful were some feats
performed not long ago by an Ameri-
can cowboy known to fame as Capt.
Hardy. At a distance Of fifty feet he
sent five consecutive bullets through a
hole in a card no larger than a shill-
ing. When Gov. Savage Of Nebraska
flung a number of hickory nuts into
the air as rapidly as he could throw
them Hardy shattered every nut be-
fore it could reach the ground, and
this performance he eclipsed by shoot
ing one after another, half a dozen
hazel nuts placed on the head Of a
man standing twenty PAGES away
Tit-Bits.
QUEER AUCTIoNs.-A Dutch auction
at Cape Town is frequently exciting.
If a house Is to be sold, the auctioneer