FANCY RIFLE SHOOTING.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1177, 13 May 1884, Page 3

FANCY RIFLE SHOOTING.

The following paragraph from an English paper will show that the police were not far wrong in stopping Payne's rifle shooting, and it will do no harm if, in future, they restrict professors of this art to wax heads and inanimate hands : "A painful sensation was caused at the Leicester Skating Kink on Januarys), by Captain Austin, a performer, shooting his wife in the head with a rifle in front of a Urge number of spectators. Captain Austin, who is a noted shot, fired at a potato on his. wife's forehead in the ordinary position with success. He next attempted to shoot a potato while lying on his back. As soon a? the rifle was fired, the woman uttered a acream and fell on the stage, the blood streaming from her forehead. The audience sprang to their feet, uttering a loud cry, while Captain Austin ran to his wife and carried her into the retiring room. A doctor who was present found that she was suffering from a wound in the head 3in. long, but he does not consider it of a dangerous character. The audience soon afterwards dispersed." It is only about a year ago I Frayne, a well-known rifle performer in the United States, shot the woman who acted as apple-bearer for him, and the accident was, of course put down to the fault of the rifle. Convenient excuses are always found for these sort of tragedies. Frayne, by»the-bye, made a great fuss over the occurrence, professed to be heart-broken, said he was engaged to be married to the girl, and vowed he would renounce the business for ever and all that sort of thing. The other day he was married, and he still continues shooting. —Oamaru Mail. ■j l u i ' mv..i