UNCLE SAM'S TARGETS.
NEW METHODS OP TEACHING SOL
OIERS TO SHOOT ACCURATELY.
Targets Are Unlit According to Sensible
IdaRolriler Will Be Taught to Hit
an KncmT Dlncmma ami Ileacrlpl Ions
of the Hw Objects For Marksmen.
When companies 0 and D, of the
Nineteenth Infantry, begin their range
practice at Mt. Clemen one day this
week, cays a recent issne of the De
troit Free Press, they will fire at new
targets called for by the revised re
gulations for small arms just issued by
the War Department. The keynote
of this new dispensation is to train the
United States soldier to Are at the
head and heart of his enemy. Target
practice under the new regulations
has for its objective point representa
tions of hnnian figures in the various
positions in which the soldier would
encounter his enemy in action. A
glance at the accompanying illustra
tions will convey, better than it is pos
sible for words to do, the full meaning
of this fact.
The targets range in their distance
from the soldier from 200 to 10110
yards. Careful calculation has shown
that It is within these points of dis
tance that the soldier mnst do his ef
fective firing. It would be nonsense
to talk of firing with accuracy with a
Government small arm at a greater
distance than 8000 feet. When the
conflict becomes very much closer than
COO feet the only things for the soldier
to remember are to keep cool and shoot
at the head and the heart.
The first of these targets is called a
short range. Sometimes it is used for
a hundred yards practice; that is, at a
distance of 100 yards from the marks
men. More' often it is used at 200
yards, and occasionally at 800 yards.
On this target, in silhouette, is the
figure of a soldier lying down, as he
does in action sometimes. In such a
case as this, the soldier is seen direct
ly in his face, his head being elevated
from the ground as he leans on one el
bow while taking aim. In other words,
fit is the exact position of the skir
misher, and the skirmisher is the man
at whom the soldier must ordinarily
first fire, as every advance of an army
is led by a skirmish line.
The centre of the target is rectangle
that is, a space of any desired size,
the four sides of whioh are right angles.
The reotangle may be in a form of a
square, oblong, or diamond shaped.
This oentre, as it is called, is twenty-
two inches high, just the height of a
soldier who is lying down, and four
feet wide, this latter being the width
of the target. This centre is one of
three divisions into whioh the target is
platted. The next division is known
as the inner, and the'third or outside
division is known as the outer. The
score a soldier makes is made up in
"lilgh or low degree by the portion of
the target whioh his bullets strike.
These three divisions are subdivided
in two sections each, these two por
tions being known as the right and left
centers, The same rule applies to the
inner and outer. To thoroughly un
derstand just what is meant, picture to
yourself something like this: Take a
target six feet high and four feet wide,
divide it into three sections after the
fashion of the measurements given, the
sections running from right to left.
Then draw a line directly through the
center of this target from top to bot
tom. First you have the centre,
twenty-two inohes high and four feet
wide. Then comes the inner which is
a reotangle also. This inner runs in
depth from a point forty-two inohes
above the bottom of the target to the
lower line of the centre. The entire
target forms a rectangle six feet high
and four feet wide.
00 AND MO YARDS TARGET, 8HOWIXO
. FANTRx AT
There is no bull's eye Creedmoor
fashion shooting in this sort of target
praotioe. The soldier is taught to aim
t the bead and heart of the figure.
The Bearer be comes to these marks,
: the higher is bis score. A little care
ful study of the facts given in the fore
going paragraph will show what tre
mendous weapon this eonoentrated'ao
curacy will be in the hands of United
Ctatea soldiers. It has long been
recognised fact that the great trouble
m Wowing masses of men into a con
flict with one another was that the
f -bting was sot conducted intelligent
ly by the private soldier; that he fired
irjislywita tharFMrt that
I '"'x " '
it did not make much difference in
what direction the bullet went so long
as the cartridge left his gun. Now
when the United States soldier goes
into battle there will be just two points
of his enemy that he will have in mind,
and those will be his head and heart.
The other targets used in practice
will be the . midrange target iutended
for practice at from four to six hun
dred yards; the eight hundred yards
i'7H
:- t 'J -
I f
V.
1 I
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1 Ha i
ONE THOUSAND
target, for distances of from seven
hundred yards; the eight hundred
yards target, for distances of from
seven hundred to eight huudred yards;
the thousand yards target for the range
the name would indicate. The same
principle described in the short range
target governs all others, but, of
course, there is a difference in the fig
ure and a corresponding change in the
size of the target. For iustauoe, the
midrange target in a square, six feet
on a side, which is still rectangular.
The figure on this is the silhouette of
a soldier in kneeling position.
The eight hundred yards target as it
is called, that being the limit of dis
tance from the marksmen at which the
target can be placed, is six feet high
and twelve feet wide. On this target
is the silhouette of a soldier standing.
TARGET A BUORT RANGE.
On the target with the thousand yard
range is the figure of a mounted soldier,
but the legs of the horse are cut off at
a height of two feet from the ground.
Just why this has been done no one
seems to really know, and it is consid
ered that here, if any, is the only in
consistent point in the whole scheme,
There is still another target which
isjknown as target A; that is the short
range target. There is this difference,
that the figure thereon is that of a
soldier in the position of firing while
standing. A horizontal line is drawn
across the target at the middle point
of the figure. Every time a soldier's
bullet hits directly above this line
that is, the line across the middle
EFFECT OF 180 8HOT8 FIRED BY IN-
600 YARDS.
or if his bullet strike some point of
the target at an angle and is deflected
so that it strikes the target above the
line, be scores 5. All bullets that hit
the figure below the line entitle the
marksman to the score of 4. If the
soldier bits the target above the line
but not the figure, the score is three;
if below the line. 3.
Heretofore it has been the custom
in many oases to allow the soldier to
use in target praetioe various aids,
suoh as shades for the sight, spirit
levels to enable an accurate aim, ana
all that sort of thing. Under the new
regulations the men wbo wear the army
blue will have so aids beyond those
h -' V- V
7 ' x I T
I t j i
which nature has given them, except,
that they may be allowed to blacken
the sight of the gun, whioh always
happens in battle, anyway, because of
the powder smoke. There will be no
firing from sheds or shelter of any
kind. Everything must be done in
the open. From this it may be seen
that the new regulations, if they are
lived up to In the spirit as well as the'
letter, will accustom the men to acour
-- '.-- 2 'T 4
YARDS RANGE.
ate marksmanship under all condi
tions and without artificial aid.
It is more than doubtful if fifty per
cent, of the crack marksmen of the
United States army to-day could go
into action and fire with half the skill
or accuracy they can at a target which
they have been accustomed to pepper
under he old conditions. Under this
new method, however, with their sole
thought being to strike the head or
the heart of the humanity at which
they lire, they will not be looking for
a black ringed bull's-eye, but will aim
at exactly what men who seek to ac
complish the death of their enemies
should have as their target.
Another good feature of the new de
parture is that the troops in every
branch of the service will use in
small arm practice that is, praotioe
with anything less than artillery the
weapon with which they are armed,
instead of selecting the very best
weapon that can be found for the
teams picked out for praotice. Officers
and enlisted men of the stall corps will
use the rifle as will infantry men and
artillerymen. Cavalrymen will prac
tice with the carbine. During the target
season, the regular praotice will be
hold until the prescribed course is
completed, at least three times a week
by each troop, battery and company,
and at least once a week by each regi
mental non-commissioned staff and
members of regimental bauds.
Hereafter there will be no picked
teams of men who have shown special
ability as marksmen selected from the
ranks to demonstrate what they can
accomplish, but every enlisted man
who wears the uniform of Uncle Sam
will have to learn to shoot and shoot
well. Each will be taught that the
head and heart of the enemy are the
vulnerable points. They will shoot
kill and not to maim.
A Wonderful Work.
The new railroad bridge over the
Danube River, which has ' just been
completed, is the largest in the world,
and one of the most important, and
the Roumanian Government is enjoy
ing its possession with a well earned
sentiment of complacent pride. The
new bridge is 13,825 feet long without
approaches, which would make some
hundreds of feet additional. The
lnrgest vessels that sail the Dannbo
can pass under it at the highest tide,
as the lower rafters of the superstruc
ture are 105 feet above high water
mark. Some idea of the length of
this bridge may be gained by com
parison with the other great bridges
of the world. The Tay Bridge, Scot
land, is 10,725 feet; the Mississippi
Bridge at Memphis, 10,600 feet; the
Forth Bridge, Scotland, 7800 feet; the
Morody Bridge in Galaeis, 4800 feet.
and the bridge over the Volga near
Sysran, 4700 feet. The Danube Bridge
has one span of 620 feet and four of
450 feet eaoh.
Chicken With Four Less. .
The first prize for a freak in fowl
flesh for the season of 1897 belongs to
Daniel Lemmon, of Columbus, Ohio.
For the past two months he has been
carefully raising a ohioken whioh is a
curiosity, to say the least. It has
four regularly formed and perfectly
developed legs. One pair of legs is in
the proper place that is, where all
chickens with perfect anatomies have
them. The other two legs are just
back of these. For about a month
after it was hatched Mr. Lemmon's
queer fowl had complete control of all
four of its legs and moved about like a
quadruped. Gradually, however, the
two hiud legs began to stop growing
and for some time have not grown at
all. They now hang useless from the
body. This ' freak is also the pos
sessor of a double baokbone and two
craws or orops. The ohioken stands
four inohes high and measures five
inohes from beak to tail. It does not
appear to suffer any iuoonvenienoe oa
acoount of its marvelous formation.
1 1 i
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rOUB-LEOQBD CHICKS.
GOWNS IN GRAY SHADES.
SOME NEW FEATURES IN THE
REALM OF FASHION.
Description of a Handsome Waist In Iar
Ore, With Bolero of Cashmere and
Hot , of Braided . StrawA Most Be
coming Linen Blaier for a Tonna Girl,
Golf, tennis, wheeling and all out
door sports call for the easiest possible
BLAZER FOB A T01TN3 GIRL.
costumes to be worn during the op
pressive summer days. May Manton
writes that the model shown in the il-
LADIES' WAIST WITH FANCY BOLERO.
luAration combines linen canvas in the
natural color with light-hued plaid in
the shirt waist, and is emineutly
youthful at the same time that itis
serviceable. Both the belt and tie are
black, while the hat of rough red straw
shows a trimming of black and red,
with quills of the former color.
The blazer ahows dartless fronts,
straight baoks, whioh terminate in un
derlying'plei.s at the waist line, side
forms and nnder-arm gores. It is
wholly unlined, the seams being neatly
bound. The straight fronts turn back
to form curves and meet the rollover
collar in uneven notches. The sleeves
are one-seamed, and show the fulness
at the shoulder, which is still held cor
rect for all outer garments. The ma
terial being washable, no interlining or
stiffening is required. Collar, revere
and sleeves -are self -faced and finished
with a single bow of stitching.
To make the blazer for a miss of
fourteen years will require two and
three-fourths yards of the same width
goods.
Waist and Fancy Bolero.
Many of the newest and most
charming gowns are shown in various
shades of gray. The waist portrayed
in the large illustration is oarried out
in pearl-gray taffeta figured iu red
whioh forms the waist proper with a bo
lero of cashmere in the same tint. The
decorations consist of black velvet rib
bon and narrow gilt braid arranged
in trefoil effect. The hat is of braided
straw adorned with wild flowers, rib
bon bow and rhinestone buokle. The
waist has a foundation lining having
the usual number of seams, double
bust darts and closing in the canter
front. The material of the back lies
smoothly across the shoulders with I
slight fullness at the waist collected in
gathers that are drawn well to the
center-back. Smooth nnder-arm gores
join the back to the front whioh is
smooth-fitting across the shoulders
aud bust, falling at the waist in slight
blouse effect over a crush girdle that
is deepest at the center-back. The
fanoifnl bolero is included in the right
shoulder and under-arm seam and
closes invisibly on the left shoulder
and nnder-arm with the full waist
whioh also closes at this; point.
At the neck is a close standing band,
the outstanding frill of lace at the up
per edge forming an effective finish.
The sleeves have under and upper
portions and show a modern amount
of fulness above the elbow. The
wrists are pointed in Venetian sty Is
and a full cap-frill stands out stylishly
from the shoulders. The design,
which is eminently useful, admits of
various combinations and is sufficient
ly dressy for a church, visiting or high
class social function.
To make this waist for lady in the
medium sise will require three yards
of forty-four Inoh material.
White the Prevailing- Color."
White is very much worn this sea
son, andwhite gowns of almost any ma
terial, if properly made, are sure to be
a sucoess. White grenadines appear
among the dressy costumes at the
fashionable summer hotels. One un
usual model has three graduated
flounces of white silk on the skirt.
The bottom one, gathered over an
other of white silk, is the widest, and
each one is finished with a narrow frill
of white glace silk, which is in turn
edged with a tiny ruffle of white chif
fon.' Another pretty gown is of white
gauze over rose glace silk. Around
the hips a few inches below the waist
is one row of cream lace insertion, a
little distance apart, run to the bot
tom of the skirt, both front and back.
The bodice cf gauze is tucked cross
wise; insertion outlines a square at
the neck, from which vertical bands of
insertion extend to the waist.
Drees Sleeve With Epanlette.
Blue and white foulard is the mate
rial selected for this stylish sleeve,
which is coat-shped, with the slight
fulness at the elbow which is always
aosirsoie in suoh as follow the arm
closely. The fitting is accomplished
bv inside and outside
wrists have a soft frill of lace falling
aeepiy over tne hand, with band of in
sertion above. Double epaulettes that
are lace-edsad 'and inaartinn.Mmma.1
stand out prettily at the top, affording
I T i A. .1 mm
L IIHfUlinin 17 rlTslBjlLfl Kit V n A allAnMATsa
The style is among the newest of sleeves
andiaadaritedtaonrandv.1e.vn Ka.ia.a
summer silks, cotton or light-weight
wooiieu laDncs.
To make these alaavaa tnr m.
of medium size will require one and
DRESS SLEEVE WITH SPATJLBTTB.
one-half yards of forty-four-inoh mate-
rial.
With Xailln Dreuee. .
Many of the newest plain India mus
lin or flowered organdie muslin dresses
have tuckered bodice and flounoed
skirts, with the very fashionable rib'
bon sash, with long loops and ends at
tna waist.
BICYCLIST WITHOUT LEGS.
fee Leflfxt oa of a Kansas Klnlsto
Rides s Wheel.
Bicyclists with but one leg are be
coming quite common, but a no-legged
bicyclist is indeed a novelty. Such a
one is James Jump, the son 'of the
Rev. Albert Jump, of Independence,
Kan. Twelve years ago the boy tost
both of his legs in a railway accident.
One of his lege was cut off close to the
thigh and the other only a little lower
down. On the stump of the latter he
was able to fasten an artificial leg. Re
cently Mr. Jump beeame seized with a
desire to ride a bicycle. He had wit
nessed venturesome feats of one-legged
eyctists, but he was in doubt about the
ability of a boy with no legs at all to
spesk of to sit half astride a wheel and
make it go. He bought a wheel, how
ever, and set about learning to ride.'
Leading his rubber-tired steed to the
onrbstone, be balanced himself on his
crutches and, with a side motion made
R1DXS WITHOUT LEGS.
sasy by the absence of his leg, slipped
into the saddle. Fastening his crutch
in a spring catch on the side where his
legs ought to be and putting his arti
ficial foot on the pedal, he was off.'
Be soon mastered the art of balancing
and ran now ride at almost any com
mon speed he desires and can ascend
snd desoend any ordinary-sized hill.
SMALLEST HUMAN ATOM.
Welshed Bat Twenty Onnees' and Was
Only a Toot Blah.
The smallest human being that ever
existed is believed to have been lit
tle girl named Catherine Elliott. The
Coroner of Liverpool, England, was
oalled upon to hold an inquest on her
diminutive body. This human atom
was born in Glasgow, Scotland, about
three weeks ago. Her parents were .
poor, and were easily induced by man-
SMALLEST BABY I THE WORLD,
agers to place their daughter on exhi
bition as a freak. She was being ex
hibited in Liverpool, the parents re
ceiving 3 10s. for showing and at
tending her. The child weighed only
twenty ounces at the time of her death
and was just a foot high. The palm of
her hand was not as large as a silver
twenty-five-oent piece. Her feet were
no larger than an ordinary man's
thumb. The parents disclaimed any
desire to limit the growth of the mid
get. The little one had been guarded
from cold, was well-nurtured and had
never bad a day's illness until the day
it died. The jury returned a verdict
that the child died from natural causes.
trans Sit. for at Temple.
One of the most strangely situated
buildings in the world is a Hindoo
temple. It is built upon a huge rock
TEE TEMPLE Otf THE BOCK.
that is balanced very nicely upon a
seemingly insecure base. The great
mechanical difficulty of getting the
building materials to the top of this
rock must have been vastly increased
by the peril of overbalancing the bug
mass and bringing it crashing down
upon the plain like an avalanche.
There is anotheretemple in Burmah
similarly situated.
The Vain of Electrical Plant.
Few persons realize the enormous
amount of money whioh is invested in,
electrical plants of various sorts. Over
100.000.0U0 of dollars are invested in
eleotrioal machinery used in raining.
Elootrie elevators employ about fifteen
millions more. Electric railways rep
resent about one billion dollars. This
does not include the money now being
need in the manufacture of electrical
machinery.
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