AUDUBON AND BOONS. 179 



bead (that being the name given by the Kentuckians to the 

 sight) of the barrel was brought to a line with the spot which 

 he intended to hit. The whip-like report resounded through 

 the woods and along the hills, in repeated echoes. Judge of 

 my surprise, when I perceived that the ball had hit the piece 

 of the bark immediately beneath the squirrel, and shivered it 

 into splinters, the concussion produced by which had killed 

 the animal, and* sent it whirling through the air, as if it had 

 been blown up by the explosion of a powder magazine. Boon 

 kept up his firing, and, before many hours had elapsed, we 

 had procured as many squirrels as we wished ; for you must 

 know, kind reader, that to load a rifle requires only a mo- 

 ment, and that if it is wiped once after each shot, it will do 

 duty for hours. Since that first interview with our veteran 

 Boone, I have seen many other individuals perform the same 

 feat. 



On another occasion he says 



Colonel Boone happened to spend a night with me under 

 the same roof, more than twenty years ago. We had returned 

 from a shooting excursion, in the course of which his extra- 

 ordinary skill in the management of the rifle had been fully 

 displayed. On retiring to the room appropriated to that 

 remarkable individual and myself for the night, I felt anxious 

 to know more of his exploits and adventures than I did, and 

 accordingly took the liberty of proposing numerous questions 

 to him. The stature and general appearance of this wanderer 

 of the western forests approached the gigantic. His chest 

 was broad and prominent; his muscular powers displayed 

 themselves in every limb ; his countenance gave indication of 

 his great courage, enterprise, and perseverance ; and when 

 he spoke, the very motion of his lips brought the impression 

 that whatever he uttered could not be otherwise than strictly 

 true. I undressed, whilsf he merely took off his hunting 

 shirt, and arranged a few folds of blankets on the floor, 

 choosing rather to lie there, as lie observed, than on the 



