His passage with the rifleman
referred to shows the difference between the practical off-hand skill
of the hunter in the woods and the science of the long-range target
hitter. Mr. Bull's Eye had heard that his guide was a capital shot and
had seen some proof of it, and hence could not rest till he had had a
trial of skill with him. Uncle Nathan, being the challenged party, had
the right to name the distance and the conditions. A piece of white
paper the size of a silver dollar was put upon a tree twelve rods off,
the contestants to fire three shots each off-hand. Uncle Nathan's
first bullet barely missed the mark, but the other two were planted
well into it. Then the great rifleman took his turn, and missed every
time.
"By hemp!" said Uncle Nathan," I was sorry I shot so well, Mr.-----
took it so to heart; and I had used his own rifle, too. He did not get
over it for a week."
But far more ignominious was the failure of Mr. Bull's Eye when he saw
his first bear. They were paddling slowly and silently down Dead
River, when the guide heard a slight noise in the bushes just behind a
little bend.
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