178 WILD SCENES AND WILD HUNTERS. 



any distance within a hundred yards. A shot which comes 

 very close to the nail is considered as that of an indifferent 

 marksman ; the bending of the nail is, of course, somewhat 

 better ; but nothing less than hitting it right on the head is 

 satisfactory. Well, kind reader, one out of three shots gene- 

 rally hits the nail, and should the shooters amount to half a 

 dozen, two nails are frequently needed before each can have 

 a shot. Those who drive the nail have a further trial amongst 

 themselves, and the two best shots out of these generally settle 

 the affair, when all the sportsmen adjourn to some house, and 

 spend an hour or two in friendly intercourse, appointing, 

 before they part, a day for another trial. This is techni- 

 cally termed Driving the Nail. 



Barking off squirrels is delightful sport, and in my opinion 

 requires a greater degree of accuracy than any other. I first 

 witnessed this manner of procuring squirrels, whilst near the 

 town of Frankfort. The performer was the celebrated Daniel 

 Boone. We walked out together, and followed the rocky 

 margins of the Kentucky River, until we reached a piece of 

 flat land thickly covered with black walnuts, oaks and hicko- 

 ries. As the general mast was a good one that year, squirrels 

 were seen gambolling on every tree around us. My com- 

 panion, a stout, hale and athletic man, dressed in a homespun 

 hunting-shirt, bare-legged and moccasined, carried a long and 

 heavy rifle, which, as he was loading it, he said had proved 

 eflBcient in all his former undertakings, and which he hoped 

 would not fail on this occasion, as he felt proud to show me 

 his skill. The gun was wiped, the powder measured, the ball 

 patched with six-hundred-thread linen, and the charge sent 

 home with a hickory rod. We moved not a step from the 

 place, for the squirrels were so numerous that it was unneces- 

 sary to go after them. Boon pointed to one of these animals 

 which had observed us, and was crouched on a branch about 

 fifty paces distant, and bade me mark well the spot where 

 the ball should hit. He raised his piece gradually, until the 



