Show I 1 I 1 III al I 1 I 1 I 1 I 1 1 71 11 0 4 1 0 I 1 I 1 I 1 1 11 t 4 1 11 I i 0 I 1 fy 0 furta scott baust 1 released by western newspaper union A famous coon story ONE of uio the classics of early american humor la Is the story of navy davy crocketts Crock eUa interview with a coon according to tho the usual ver vcr slon this famous tennessee fron ron ti orsman was out hunting ono one day when ho he spied opted a raccoon high up in a tree instantly ho he leveled his deadly rifle at tho the animal whereupon tho coon cried out Is that you crockett then dont shoot ill come dowall A although this la fit readily Tea dlly recognized is as a tall tale and a bit of frontier folklore it lifts has been repeat ed cd innumerable times as a tribute to crocketts unerring marksmanship but like so many other yarns associated with his name it Is also a borrowed story and another man was tho hero of it when it was first told visit the historical museum in bennington vt and thoro there you will seo sea a long diflo which according to tho the card beside it its is tho the 11 50 caliber gun used by col martin scott nativo native of bennington and sharpshooter it was waa made at harpers ferry in 1014 and first used in 1818 in the fifth rifle hino regiment of tho the I 1 1 I 1 W 1134 11 I 1 I 1 11 11 1 1 1 I 1 1 1 1 I 1 I 1 IK 1 1 I 1 I 1 e I 1 1 p at ae I 1 1 I 1 11 tak AR I 1 I 1 1 I I 1 A it I 1 i I 1 N N ZA 1 I 11 M 1 F I 1 v V i I 1 11 ga I 1 I 1 I 1 M 1 ekl KIN 1 1 aksa k C K T I 1 11 I 1 z r 1 I 1 11 I 1 I 1 Z 1 I 1 1 11 I 1 K 4 i g y at I 1 I 1 I 1 q I 1 1 I 1 e I 1 9 I 1 11 I 1 I 1 1 I 1 DAVY CROCKETT regular army this gun was often used tided by colonel scott while at fort howard at green bay wis where ho he and captain merrill were commandants mand ants beginning in 1834 1 this is the rifle used by the mito ma who was the original hero of the famous coon story scotts reputation as a mighty hunter was established while he was still a boy at tho age of 12 ho he killed a notorious bear that had been preying upon the livestock live stock of 0 the farmers around bennington and young scott was brought into town in triumph astride the carcass of the bear during his hunting expeditions ions lie he roamed westward into new york and it was near luke lalie bonaparte Bon aparto in tho the foothills of the adirondacks that a coon in a tree seeing him approaching said la Is that you martin scott then dont shoot ill come down I 1 at least such a yarn was printed in a utica N Y newspaper in 1837 and when tho now york sun and other papers reprinted it it was given wide circulation davy crockett had been killed during the texan wi war ar for independence the previous year and as one of tho the heroes 0 t the alamo his farm fam be bc came even greater than it had been while lie he was ws an indian fighter bear h unter hunter and congressman from ten bessee so it Is easy to see how some of his admirers knowing the widely reprinted story of martin scotts interview with the coon appropriated it tor for their hero and at tributes tri buted the incident to crockett commissioned a captain in the fifth rifle regiment of the united states army scotts fame as a ran marksman aksman spread rapidly once he demonstrated his coulty allty by tacking yn fin ace of clubs on a treed tree and firing three shots at it with his muzzle loading rifle no doubt the one in tho bennington mu seum in a minute and 20 seconds col R D B marcy commander of tho the regiment examined the target and announced one hit and two thereupon scott called tor for an ax chopped into tho the tree and showed three bullets in the single hole I 1 scotts career ended in 1847 when he was killed while leading his company in the battle of del rey in mexico in 1817 before marching away to the war in mexico scott visited his boyhood home in bennington ile he had left it as a poor and obscure lad he came back rich and famous according to a contemporary account he ha returned turn ed in laa a one fine now gig drawn by a superb white horse hoise following him us as an outrider was a negro slave jack dressed in livery and mounted on a thoroughbred and 20 or 30 full blooded dogs of various breeds scott Is said to have paid 3 a P pound aund for jack and later treed freed him I 1 I 1 J 1 I I 1 I 1 1 4 4 all I 1 I 1 I 1 |