AUDUBON AND BOONE. 179 
f 
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 
tohim. 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, whilst he merely took off his hunting 
shirt, and arranged a few folds of blankets on the floor, 
choosing rather to lie there, as he observed, than on the 
