Sentinel of the valley. [volume] (Woodstock, Va) 1841-1848, 1846-01-01
. e...--
THIRD DAY.
FOR The SENTINEL.

TOh Af1C
To make all the necessary arrangements
eat breakfast. and trudge across high NOM
tain. walking at least three miles BY the time
it was ligh, enol. h to shout lis no small ma
ter. especially To these who like their beds il
The morning. But this feat we performed
the owl signal given; the line Of hun, taken "
just as
I"The east is now dappled with dawning oflight!
10 the weeds for the deer ere the sun is in sight!
The hoar-frp has spread its fresh siyer-iike
veil,
And if hoof rasses. it tells us the tale;.
The deer in swift gambols darts hither an yon,
Let us shoulder cur rifles and rapidly on;
Each limb how elastic, how bracing The air
Hnzzah boys, what know we If sorrow .,
care?''
Such was our conduct and such our feelings,
but most beautifully portrayed by tile poet. af-
Ter having crossed Paddy's Mountain and taken
s.lr respective Positions in the line Ct the
hunt. PERHAPS itlnay lie we'll to designate the
whereabouts Of each during The first drive
Shuresl,ois on the right. Silversights, next.
Doubeshois in the centre, Lef,sighis next
and Capt. Ralph on the left and near the foot
Of the ...Ncunling.'' e8i tg.
Ills haunis we approach; creep On cautious
and slow, 800
The snap ola twig. our dread presence may
show;
Ills hannis we approach, through those bushes
we look,
For his traces, and scan well the marge Of each
brook;
Here's da sh Of the moss from the rock; there
has sunk
His hoof in the brown brittle dust near that
trunk; bt si3r7
A scrape in yon ih;cket; these tracks all
around,
Proclaim That their haunts, at last we have
found'' 5l
The poet here again Paints to the letter the
manner Of our hunt; each thicket is closely
viewed, each hollow or little brook is minute
" scanned, and each top Of tree demands a
searching scrutiny. We had scarcely progress
ed half mile. when casting my eyes down
the mountain, observe Doubleshois creeping
cautiously to The brow Of the hill so as to over
look the hollow below; every part IS viewed !,
and instantly down drops his rifle. and holding
with apraren, ismness of ner.e upon some oh
ject in sight .tle trigger pulled. the cap bursls
o. course my gun was ready. my eyeballs
strained, hut nothing moves; it vas only The
end Of log. You may imagine the disap-
pointmcnt Of DonLleshots. Capt. Ralph soon
after moving on in the same cautious manner,
observes at the brow Of a ridge just across a
deep hollow. a fawn friskIng ;.boni, and in an
instant it disappears over Ike ridge. Every
nerve is now strained and Capt. Ralph rather
il, t1omnch Of a combustion. ,nounis;he .nmmit
Of that ridge, and such sight. and really such
a combustion, one would scarcely imagine; the
leaves Tnstrllng. the brush cracking, and such
jumping and laundering as was there. hut no
shoot; whether Capt. Ralph was in Paddy's
dilemma. they running hitler and gen Sd as
not 10 be successfn: in shooting, OF Some o,her
cause.I 81 all not attempt to decide; but certain
it is the ten yes, no less Than ten deer run away
no doubt much 10 his mortifea'ion,, and they
were. TO use his. own language, the finest set Of
deer he had ever seen together. Our place .t
meeting is gained. and the events If The hunt
soon disposed 81, The rest ii the party having
seen and heard nothing. We wheeled almost
to the right aboui lower dawn the mountain.
and in the brush and pusi,far the Paddy rad,
our next place Of meeting, the relative posi-
tons bui litle changed. and only between Sill
yersights and DouhIeshois Bang goes gun
40 the hollow. and all is still. triggers set
thumb on The cock. waiting with Tie utmost
anxiety; nothing further IS heard Presently
another report down the hollow and immediate
" anoiher. the same preparation. and still no
thing further Is heard, no call for help. We
almost reached the place Of meeting, and an.
other report is heard. We all meet. and what
did you shoot al was the successive questions
a. each one arrived. The first IRE was IT =
.sbbit. badly crippled, but crept into the rocks;