The Monmouth inquirer., 1925-10-22
SHOOTING FOR BEEF
FRONTIER PASTIME
Remarkable Workmanship
OF B0ckUoodsnnen

misunderstanding driving the nail"
and Shooting for beef were among
the most popular shooting pastimes
among the early frontiersmen living
on the border line of civilization in old
"Kaintuckps and Ohio, Arthur Wood
ward, writing in Adventure Magazine,
tells us.
In squirrel-barking the marksman Sc
lected the bit Of bark underneath the
animal, as it rested On trunk or branch
of a tree, and endeavored to hit the
bark at such an angle that it would
kill the squirrel by the shivering of the
bark and conclusion, rather than a d.
rect hit.
Driving the nail was the usual means
of testing the craftsmanship of . man
on the border. To do this All ordinary
nail was hammered into a tree for
about two-thirds its length. The dis
lance was generally set at forty PAGES
or 120 feet. Powder for the charge
was poured into the hand, al much as
would cover a ball being considered
about the right amount for any dis
lance under n hundred yards. The
barrel Of the weapon was well cleaned
and the ball, placed In a creased linen
patch. sent home with vigorous strokes
of a stout hickory "wiping stick" Pro
vident %borderers generally carried two
Wiping sticks in cas- of emergency.
A fair shot was one that struck
alongside the nail, a good shot n
that bent 1t, but the man who hit the
nail plumb center was considered an
excellent marksman. Not infreQuently
two or three nails would be needed be
fore half a dozen men each had n
shot apiece. The winners, after the
Indifferent shooters had been ellmin-
ated, then tried out for high place.
In the early thirties, shooting for
beef was a popular pastime. These
particular shooting bees were held In
late summer when the cattle were fat
and the marksmen would get the most
for their money.
The usual procedure was for some
man who owned cattle and wished to
dispose Of a beef at a fair price to adj
vertise that on s~uch-and-such a day a
beef would be shot for.
When the appointed day came
around all of the marksmen In the
%neighborhood gathered at the designat-
ed spot and a subscription paper vas
passed around stating that "Mr. So
and So offers a beef worth twenty
dollars to be shot for, at twenty-five
cents a shot" Then each person pres
ent who desired to compete would put
down the amount of shots he desired.
Each man had his own target marked
with a cross in the center as a bulls
eye.
The winning shot won the hide and
tallow which was considered the first
choice. The next highest got his
choice Of the two hind quarters. The
third took the remaining hind quarter.
The fourth took first choice Of the
front quarters, the fifth the remaining
quarter. The sixth man, not having
any beef to- choose from, was allowed
ali Of the lead In the tree against
which the targets had been placed.
Occasionally some good shot would
win nearly the entire beef.
In speaking Of these beef-shooting
matches 1t might be of interest to
state that there was q story current
on the Ohio in the early days regard
ing the famous-or infamous-boat-
man, Mike Fink, who, because Of his
remarkable ability with a squirrel
rife was generally barred from such
affairs, being credited the best shot or
''bang-al1" in the country.
However, Mike didn't let the matter
rest with his exclusion. His price for
keeping u of beef shooting was the
fifth quarter" as the hide and tallow
was called, In other words the first
prize, which in turn he generally dis
posed Of to the nearest tavern keeper
for a gallon of fiery "Monongahela"
whisky. his ~favorite.
LwSw H.