Year: 1879

Camden IN. j. Democrat


They had been talking about the
remarkable performances of Dr. Car
yer, the marksman who shoots with a
rife glass balls which are sent into the
air as fast as man can throw them.
Presently Abner Byng, who was sitting
by, said:


" That's nothing.


" What is nothing?'


Why, that shooting. Did you
ever know Tom Potter?H


No"


Well, Potter was the best hand
with rife | ever saw; beat this man
Carver all hollow. I'll tell you what
I've seen this man Potter do. You
know, maybe, along there in the cherry
season Mrs. Potter would want to pre-
serve some cherries; so Tom would
pick EN- for her, and how do you think
he'd stone EN- y


" / don't know. How ?"


a." Why, he'd I'll his gun with bird
shot and get boy to drop half bush
ell of cherries at one time from the
roef of the house. AS they came
down he'd fire and take the stone
clean out of every cherry in the lot
It's a positive fact He might occa-
sionally miss one, but not often, But
he did bigger shooting than that when
he wanted TO-.


What did ha do -


Why, Jim Miller-did you know
him? No. Well, Tom made a bet
once with Jim that he could shoot the
button off his own coat tail by aiming
in the opposite direction and Jim took
him up,


(" Did he do it?"


/" Do it He fixed himself in posi-
tion and aimed at tree in front of
him, The ball hit the tree, caromed,
hit the corner Of a house, caromed,
struck lamp post, caromed and flew
behind Tom and nipped the button off
as slick as a whistle. You bet he did
itr


That was fine shooting"


" Yes, but I've seen Tom Potter
beat it. I've seen him stand under a
flock of wild pigeons, billions Of them
coming like the wind, and kill EN- SO
fast that the front of the flock never
passed given line but turned over
and fell down, so that it looked like
kind of a feathery Niagara. 'Tom did
it by having twenty-three breech-
loading rifles and a boy to load en-.
He always shot with that kind"


You say you saw him do this kind
Of shooting?'


"Yes, sir; and better than that, too
Why, I'll tell you what | have seen
Tom Potter do. | saw him once set
up an Indian-rubber target at 500 feet
and hit the bull eye twenty-seven
times a minute with the same ball /
He would hit the target. the ball
would bounce back right into the rife
barrel Just as Tom had clapped in a
fresh charge of powder, and so he kept
her going backward and forward un-
til at last he happened to move his gun
and the bullet missed the muzzle of
the barrol. 1t was the biggest thing |
ever saw the very biggest-except
one.


What was that?p


Why, one day was out with him
when he was practicing and it came
on to rain. Tom didn't want to get
wet and we had umbrella and what
do you think he did 2"


What


Now, what do you think the man
did to keep dry M arF W


cant t imagine a..


Well, sir, he got me to load his
weapon for him and | pledge you my
word, although it began to rain hard
he hit every drop that came down, so
that the ground for about eight feet
around us was as dry as punk. twas
beautiful, sir--beautiful.


And then the company rose up
slowly and passed out one by one,
each man eying Abner and looking
solemn as he went by; and when
they had gone Abner looked queerly
for moment and said TO me


There's nothing / hate so much as
a liar. Give me man who is the
friend Of the solid truth aud TIL tie
| IN hin,