162 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



been finer than the long-range match of tie champions for the 

 Leech Cup. It was a galaxy of the best long-range men in 

 the United States— may wo not say in the world? There was 

 an easy -way about it, a methodical manner of loading, a quiet 

 repose of position, and the result was bull's-eye after bull's- 

 eye. No fluster, no press, no anxieties— only great calm, 

 fixity of purpose, and the bang of the rifle. 



THE RIFLE IN COURT. 



The testimony given by Mr. Charles D. Leet, at Ballston 

 Spa, in the trial of Jessa Billings, Jr., for murder, was of a 

 most interesting character, and shows how thoroughly the 

 subject of arms and ammunition lias been studied. Mr. 

 Leet is an expert in the manufacture of cartridges, bay- 

 ing been employed at Bridgeport, Connecticut, and 

 having worked in the Ordnance Department in Vienna. It 

 became necessary for the jury to be made familiar with the 

 character of the projectile discharged from the arm as to its 

 being fired from a pistol or rifle, and whether a conical or 

 round ball had been used. One quite curious point was the 

 determination at what distance the arm was flred which 

 resulted in the death of a woman, and also if certain marks 

 on a window sill were due to imperfectly burned powder. 

 It might have been possible that some arm other than a car- 

 bine which had been found in a well had been used. The 

 carbine produced in evidence was declared by Mr. Leet to 

 be a Ballard .44, and after certain marks on the ball had been 

 examined, the expert declared the ball to be one fired from 

 a carbine, and not from a pistol. The weight of the lead 

 taken from the skull of the victim weighed 165 grains 

 —when whole the bullet weighed 220 grr.ins. The grooving 

 on the lead being wide, Mr. Leet was positive that it could 

 not have been flred from a pistol. As to the powder marks 

 on the windows the expert deposed as follows ; 



He thought that the residuum of powder might be found 

 at a distance of from forty to fifty feet. He never found 

 any powder that would burn at that distance. They v.-cie 

 only dark particles, or the ashes of powder, ana certainly 

 could not be fouud further than fifty feet from the muzzle, 

 according to the strength oi~ the "powder. Occasionally 

 cartridge? lose their strength. If the shells are left in the 

 __ hoi sun the tallow or wax msy melt, and if the rim of the 

 shell is loose it may run down into the powder and kill the 

 fulminate. The witness then described how shells were 

 filled, showing that one might contain more grains of 

 powder than another, owing to the carelessness of work- 

 men. All this would lessen the power of penetration. 



When the sash through which the ball was fired was ex- 

 amined, the witness said : 



The ball had keyholed the window. By keyholed be 

 meant that it struck the glass about a quarter sideways. A 

 bullet striking the glass point blank would make a perfectly 

 round hole. The hole in the window pane is elongated "a 

 sixteenth of an inch, and that shows that the ball struck it 

 sideways. Balls did not keyhole without a cause. He had 

 seen a hundred shots fired from a pistol through one smaller 

 than this. He had seen Dan Wesson, of Springfield, do it 

 a hundred times. The shape of the hole in the window was 

 not due to the angle from which the bullet was sent, but was 

 caused by the position of the ball when it struck the glass. 

 The glass did not break the force of the bullet. The likeli- 

 hood is that when it left the muzzle of tho rifle it canted a 

 little, as is frequently the case when a rifle is foul or dirty. 

 Sometimes bullets turn clear around before striking. If a 

 gun was not rifled the bullet would tip as soon as it left the 

 muzzle. 



This very interesting question of the wasting or dispersion 

 of the ball was also given by Mr. Leet : 



The questioning turning upon the percentage of waste re- 

 sulting from the peculiar fragmentary condition of a bullet 

 after it has reached its object, the witness said that he knew 

 bo way of gauging it. He judged that it was according to 

 the resistance offered. He had seen 220-grain bullets lose 

 more than half of their weight, The loss ranged from 1 to 

 187 grainB. That was his experience for twenty years. It 

 depends in a great measure upon the speed with which a 

 bullet is started and the resistance it meets. A bullet will 

 lose one grain without any resistance. A bullet ahot into 

 sand would gain weight, because the sand wohUI 

 adhere. He said that if a bullet should strike a glass 

 point blank another ball oust in the same mould would 

 not go through tho hole without scraping the lead from its 

 side. 



With the guilt or innocence of the accused in this case we 

 have nothing to do. We only bring tho evidence in regard 

 to rifles and ammunition as interesting to our readers, and 

 as likely to settle quite a numerous category of questions. 



For Forest and Stream and Hod and Gun. 

 SHOOTING RUNNING GAME WITH 

 THE RIFLE. 



THE best of shotgun shooting is tame compared with rifle 

 shooting on large game ; and even of this the best 

 standing shooting is tame compared with shooting it on the 

 run. Not only is this the very acme of the pleasures of the 

 field, but it is also a great necessity, and, on some kinds of 

 ground, almost indispensable to success. But, in the whole 

 line o£ shooting, there is nothing which at first is so pro- 

 vokingly puzzling. The number of deer which will bound 

 away unharmed from the best of standing shots is amazing. 

 Nor will skill \>lth the shotgun be of any avail at first, but 

 rather a hindrance. Col. Gildersleeve last spring, at the 

 Creedmoor running deer target, made only two hits out of 

 thirteen shots, and this although all thirteen shots were on 

 open, level ground, all under precisely simdar conditions and 

 at a known distance, speed and jump of the deer. 



Nearly all of the trouble comes, first, from a disregard of 

 two simple principles ; and, second, from ignorance of the 

 extent of their influence, even when thought of. And this 

 information nearly every one has to work out for himself 

 through a long series of mortifying failures. Though nothing 



can supply the place of practice, directions can still go along 

 way toward keeping one out of errors, into which 



win certainly fall— which will BuMy be fatal to 

 success, and which he will not learn from his own expi enci 

 except at a price that will make him mad every time he 

 thinks of it. These principles are. very simple in the abstract, 

 but it is astonishing how one will overlook them in practice. 

 The flrst is, that an aim that is close enough for the best of 

 shotgun shooting is not close enough to hit one deer out of 

 ten at any considerable distance. Nearly every deer hunter 

 has found out to his disgust tho wonderful ease with which a 

 deer, standing broadside at only fifty yards, may be missed 

 with a rifle. The least little carelessness in aim is apt to be 

 fatal to success. Therefore, the very first thing to do when a 

 deer starts is to recollect that you have a rifle, and not a shot- 

 gun, in your hands. Then throw the rifle ahead of the deer, 

 and get your eye on the sights the very first thing; and be sure 

 and keep it there, making the sights the most prominent object 

 of attention. You will have bo trouble in seeing your game 

 plainly enough, but a great deal in keeping vour eye properly 

 upon the sights. It is best to throw the rifle ahead at first 

 (unless in a straightaway run), because, if the sights come on 

 him, you will find the temptation to pull almost irresistible. 



The next principle is, that if the deer be at any distance, or 

 going at any speed, if you shoot directly at him you will not 

 touch hirn, unless he is running very low and nearly, or quite, 

 straight away. Therefore, you must hold on the spot where 

 he will be when the ball gets to him. This distance neces- 

 sary to hold ahead is surprisingly great, even to one perfectly 

 fa m il i ar with the distance necessary to hold ahead of crossing 

 ducks with a shotgun. I have seen the ball strike behind a 

 deer at about seventy-five yards when I held fully five feet 

 ahead of him. But as a deer usually runs, from two to four 

 feet will be enough to reach him back of the shoulder at 

 seventy-five yards ; and this holding ahead must positively 

 not be neglected, even when the game is running slowly or 

 quartering, if it is at any distance over thirty or forty yards. 

 Lven on a deer walking at sixty or seventy yards you will be 

 apt to make a "paunch shot" unless you see a little strip of 

 daylight between your sights and his breast. On hares run- 

 ning—even quartering— at only twenty yards, I have invari- 

 ably struck behind them when holding on the body instead 

 of a few inches ahead. The amount of margin necessary to 

 to allow at different distances can be learned only by practice ; 

 but with a small wheel rolled where you can see the balls 

 strike, yos cr.r, learn a great deal about it, and if you can make 

 the wheel bounce by obstructions on a hillside it will be much 

 better. 



Strict attention to sights and simply holding the right dis- 

 tance ahead will reach nearly all large game, except deer, 

 which is the hardest of all to hit. So far, we have supposed 

 him to be running low. But generally a running deer is a 

 bounding deer and often a bouncing deer. The black-tailed 

 deer especially often runs as if bouncing on India rubber, 

 rising, apparently without effort, from one to two feet at 

 every jump. When running over ground that is rough, 

 rocky, covered with logs or low brush, a deer is nearly al- 

 ways jumping with high aud often irregular springs. Now 

 (unless very close), just as surely as you shoot at where he is, 

 just so surely will the ball strike where he is not. The best 

 way is to catch him as he strikes the ground, and for this pur- 

 pose, where you have time, you must keep the rifle ahead of 

 him for several bounds, until you catch the length and height 

 of his jump. Then, when he is at the highest point, shoot 

 at the spot where he will be when he strikes the ground, and, 

 above all, be sure and pull when he is in the air. To get the 

 right distance ahead, and at the same time the right elevation, 

 and pull just at the right time, is a very nice operation, and a 

 miss is never discreditable ; but, with care and coolness, you 

 will in this way make shots over which you will chuckle for 

 a month. If a deer be running low you may disregard this 

 up and down morion, and if running very fast you must dis- 

 regard it; but when bounding high you cannot overlook it 

 with safely, and in straightaway shots you must hold about 

 for his knees when he is up. 



Nothing is so essential as care and coolness. Don't try any 

 Bnap. shots, unless it's your only chance. I have twice wiped 

 the eye of a much better shot, whose anxiety to get first shot 

 made him a little careless and made him miss each time a 

 good chance within fifty yards. Let quickness come with 

 time, aud make it your main object to send the ball to the 

 right spot, even if your game gets a few yards further off. 

 In timber you may be edified by the "chug " of the ball into 

 a tree when you thought you had a sure thing on tho deer. 

 Always look out for an open place to shoot through. 



The sights should be moderately coarse, and the front one 

 of ivory, except for hunting on snow, where brass or gold is 

 the best. File off the "buck-horn" sides of the back sight, 

 so that you can get a clear view of your game when holding 

 ahead of it. The " buck-horns " are really of no use but to 

 prevent reflection of light from the corners of the notch, and 

 this you can do as well by rusting them with iodine or acid. 

 I go so far as to cut down the sides until the notch stands in 

 a little cupola in the middle, affording a perfect view all 

 around it. I find such a one worth a cartload of buck-horn 

 sights, though it takes a little practice to get used to it, when 

 it is caught just as quickly by the eye as any other. The pull 

 of trigger should be about one-half to two pounds. A set 

 trigger is an abomination for running shooting; equally so is 

 the Creedmoor three-pound pull. 



Try these directions and report progress. If they don't 

 work it will be because you are deceived in distance, have a 

 poor rifle or have not got over the nervousness that wUl bother 

 any one until he has killed several deer. 



Miner's Ihuich, Ban Diego Co., Cat. T. S. Van Dtkb. 



utioml §Hstim^. 



ARCHEdY BOWS. 

 Nkw 5 

 Editob Forest and Stkbam : 



I see, in your article on archery last "■ Wi 



Bpondent has broken a number of bows of High " ' ' 

 1 presume some bows will break, the same as some guns will 

 burst, even when made by crack makers. The trouble is. 

 bows are made loo cheap— that is, people are no 

 pay for a good article, and therefore the makers must slight 

 their work to get it cheap enough. I have yet to hear Of any 

 of Aldred's bows breaking (excepting one lady's bow out of 

 alrjut one hundred sold), but every one complains nf the price 

 of his bows, while admitting that thty wear spleni 

 have used a lancewood bow made by Alan 1 over five months, 



almost daily, and it is as perfect as the day it was 



"Archer" should remember that in the tie nv 

 his letter the greatest number of hits wins. 1 do not agree 

 with lum that forty yards is the best distance to • 111 

 shooting, but it is far enough for the first sea&i 

 hear of one club using a four-loot target at tweii 

 Ono might as well shoot at the side of a barn. II 

 is that three-fourths of the bows said arc not capable of 

 sending an arrow with any accuracy afty yards. 



The American bows are most always stamped with a weight 

 beyond the true one. Probably they may pull up to weight 

 when tested, but they soon lose their strength. 



I believe Dr. Carver only uses a bow at short range. Any 

 wood will do for that style of bow. Mr. Maurice Thompson, 

 I believe, has never used a yew bow, and he wrote nil) he 

 never heard of Aldred's make. The bows (lemon-wood and 

 maplcwood) he praises are among the poorest woods. Jlun- 

 dredsof years of experience have given the English » big start 

 in these matters, and we must not expect to beat tin 

 season. 



1 do not doubt but split bamboo and cedar, or a combination 

 of the two with hickory, may make a splendid bow. If the 

 demand continues, some one will probably find the material 

 among our native woods, but 1 doubt if a perfect bo i 

 furnished for §3. W. II. 



12 



W) 



« 



411 



b'i 





I! 



til 



6 



18 



Obitani Archers.— 24-inch target ; distance, 30 yards ; 



Ends. Hits. Valne. 



Capt. W. Holborton 11 



J. MoD. Gardener 11 



Miss H. Von Boskorck 11 



Mibb K. E. Poor 11 



Miss N. Ilopper S 



MiesE. Hopper S 4 BO 



Miss A Sherman 8 4 It 



Total 19* 



Ends. Bits, Value. 



Capt. J. Hopper 10 17 67 



T. A. Poor... U 7 86 



Mrs. Uolberton 11 6 18 



Miaa S. Quackenbuah 11 4 11 



MibbL. Qeiackonbush 11 3 9 



MiBB Gardiner 9 2 2 



MiesE. Bogert a 4 12 



Total W5 



Aboiierv.— Match at Cniwfordsvilln, Indiana, July 4, 

 1878, between four members of the Kokomo Archers and 



an equal number of the Wabash Merry Bowman, 

 target; 30 shots each at each distance : 

 KOKoaio au«l a 



20 Sards. 30 Yards. 40 Yards. ' « 



WillG&UBe -. . 170 



Chas. Leach 803 



W. A. Enasell 212 



a A. Jay 214 



Total 798 



WABASH MEBBY linWMKX. 



WUl H. Thompson 250 



H II. Talbot 102 



WillBrawer 184 



John A. Booe 208 



120 



78 



,, 



154 



13i 



103 





115 





169 



120 



512 









074 



464 



1886 



217 



171 



688 



191 



iSs 



500 



128 



no 



122 



138 



115 



461 



Total 834 



07-1 



Apolliuams Watbk Company.— Some very untrustworthy 

 and malicious articles having been written and circulated in 

 regard to the Apollinaris Company, tho agents desire us to 

 convince the public of the falsity of all such assertions, ad- 

 vanced by rivals who are water manufacturers. Something 

 has been printed, headed "U. S, Assay Office," derogatory to 

 apolbnaris Water. The best proof that such statements pass 

 unnoticed is that at present in all the U. S. hospitals Apolli- 

 naris Water is used and highly recommended by the 

 The popularity of this water, in spite of jealousies and futile 

 attempts to check its progress, is over increasing. While in 

 1S74 Great Britain used some 300,000 bottles, last year the 

 amazing amount of 400,000,000 bottles were taken. The de- 

 mand in the United States quite equals, if it does not surpass, 

 the European figure.s Apollinaris Water is indorsed by the 

 leading professors in the hospitals of London aud Paris. That 

 it is a pure natural water, unadulterated, untouched, and that 

 it is bottled as it flows from the spring, is attested by the 

 United States Consul at Cologne. Messrs. Frederick de 

 Barry & Co., of New York, are the sole agents in the United 

 States and Canada. 



Wabash Merry Bowmen won by 201. 



Lacrosse— At Prospect Park, Brooklyn, 

 game of lacrosse was played by players chosen from the 

 Brooklyn Lacrosse Club, the Ravenswood i. 

 t he New York University Club. One side was led by Cap- 

 tain Cluff and the other by Captain Caldcr. The result . if the 

 struggle w T as five goals won by Captain duff's side aud three 

 goals by Captain Calder's side. The members of the Broo 

 Lacrosse Club, the Kavenawood Lacrosse Club, the New Tork 

 University Club, the Brooklyn Atletic Club, the M6tl 

 Athletic Club and other associations that exercise in 

 air, including base ball clubs, will unite in 

 crosse entertainment next Saturday afternoon at the OapltOl- 

 ino Grounds— in all twenty-seven different games— for the 

 benefit of the yellow fever sufferers. 



A championship match at Toronto, Sept. 21, between the 

 Torontosand Caughnawuga Indians, was won by the latter, 

 who took the first, fourth and fifth games. 



New York vs. Australia.— The eighteen cricketers of the 

 St. George, Staten Island aud Manhattan Club?, ■ 

 play in the grand match at Hoboken on Monday and Tuesday 

 next, were selected on Tuesday, and they ate v 

 S. T. Soutter, of the St. George Club, bowler j B 

 of tho St. George Club, wicket keeper; A. Marsh, 

 George Club, captain and field; E. W. U 

 George Club, bowler and slip; C. W. Bauce, of the St, 

 George Club, point; J. B. Sleigh, of the St. George Club, 

 cover point; J. B. Cashman, of the St. George Club, bowler 

 aud slip ; J. Prazer, of the St. George Club, tnid-v ii 

 Allen, of the St. George Club, mid-wicket ; P. J, Couover, of 

 St. George Club, long leg ; G. Giles, of the St. George Club, 

 bowler and short leg ; A. flarvey, ot the Staten 1: 

 bowler and slip; J. H. Moure, of the Staten Island Club, 

 long stop; J. A. Sprague, of the Staien Island Club, bowler ; 



E. "W.Stevei . ,,l » Island Club, square leg; W. 

 Brewster, of the Manhattan Club, bowler and third man ; B. 

 Greig, of the Manhattan Club, bow. 



F. Rogan, of the Manhattan Club, long fleli 

 Messrs. Maynard, Eyre and P. Bonaldsdn, 



The Eleven of PirxLADELi j iiiA.— The fiili 

 been selected to represent Philadelphia in 

 match against the Australians, viz.: Francis E. Brew&ter, 



