The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1868-11-24
GheQntelt1qenrer
D E ~ r
A Dead LocR-Their se"se of Danger
Hunting by HiEht-.The Chase
in TexHB-BupRskIn Gloves,
Dc, 6e., &c.

EcS He.B &c.
It may not be known to many that
fbucks often clock horns, /" and it some
times becomes dead lock p literally.
have met, during my hunts more
than'one pair Of heads thus coupled to-
gether, and killed one pair of bucks
SO firmly united that they must have
died of hunger IL had not put them to
tdeath in a manner less lingering and
painful. These animals had evidently
come together with great violence; the
antlers had yielded to the shock, and
had closed again in such manner that
no ordinary exertion of strength WAS
sufficient to separate them, 1t Is not
very easy to explain their position; but
the beam of the left antler of one WAS
behind, and In close contact with the
bases OF the two antlers of the other,
while the tips OF the right antler of the
former were locked in the tips of those
of the latter. When, later, the skin on
the back of the head at the base Of the.
antlers dried and shrunk, room was
made for little movement, and they
could then be unlocked.
+ AT the close of the summer the does
the fawn-WhiIs the bucks are in prime
condition. Then begins the running
season, when the bucks grow careless
or fearless, or both, and fall an easy
prey to the hunter. The does, too, seem
less wary, or are more intent on feeding.
They improve rapidly in condition, es-
pecially If mast is plentiful. becoming
bsford mid winter fully fat. The bucks.
IN their turn, become lean and big
neoked, and the flesh acquires rank
taste, SO as to be quite unit for food ex
cept under the influence of extreme
hunger.
The deer's three senses-sight, hear.
ing and smell-are neither of them, by
itself, quite adequate to advise him OF
danger. A noise excites his attention
and calls in vision to discover the cause,
yet both together may not insure his
safety, II danger be near. The noise
may be made by the leaping of a SPUR
rel or the scratching of bird among
the leaves; or 1t may be any other oil
the thousand notes that a listener can
hear in the silent woods. II alarmed
by any one of these, he RECEIVERS conf.
dence when appraised of the cause.
The sense Of vision seems 10 be I'm.
perfect in this particular; 1t takes no
cogntZance OF form and little of color,
unless The form and color be those |
which come most naturally within the
sphere of its recognition-thoseo OF Its |
own species. 1t is motion that draws
its attention. When sitting quite still
u deer has approached within a few feet
of me, and walked quietly away again.
unaware, although was in plain view
all the time, that it was so close to Que |
who might have been its enemy. But
when a deer smells danger, 1t needs not
TO look nor to listen. Hence, the at |
tempt to approach him is useless when
the wind is blowing from Ihe hunter |
towards him. But this scenei is the leRsl
valuable when he is to ~indwurd. Act |
ing then, on bis knowledge OF these |
faculties of The animal to discern dan
ger, aud their Limitation, the hunter by |
advancing against the wind, or at least
not NTH IL, has nothing to lear from this |
sense, and has only TO deceive the other |
two. He learns TO walk in almost per- |
feet silence, and If he can avoid being |
seen, his point is gained. Upon
single deer theapproach is comparative |
ly easy. He is generally walking slowly |
aud now and then putting down his |
head TO crop something. In this latter
case he cannot see an approaching OBJ
iect but the moment he raises bis head
10 look about (Which he does AZ often
as every half minute or thereaoouts)r
the hunter stops and remains quite STILL
The deer, at every movement It makes,
putting down or raising it's head, shakes
its tail. Knowing this, the hunter
knows Just when to advance and when
10 stop, Thus observaut OF every mo
ton Of the animal, he makes an ap
prOach, of which it Is quite unaware
aud, should it at Length perceive the
final movement-the preparation 10 fire
1T does not Immediately run away,
bat waits little TO see. What Ia the mat
ter. When two deer are together, IL Is
more difficult to come near them, as
they may not both feed at the same mo-
ments unless by accident; snd the DIFF
a ff,Cf In TaEnnnFt1nn
as the number of the herd ID greaterj
and when there are several together, II
Is nearly useless to attempt TO come
within gunshot, but better 10 go away
and look for smaller herd. This Is
the mode of hunting where, as in the
prairies, there is no means of conceai-
ment, In woods the hunter advances
under cover of trees or bushes.
The best hour for huAting Is the nrst
clear daylight of the morning. j ustl
before night again, deer are generally
feeding. In the summer time they Will
get up at any hour OF the day If show
or comes on. When flies or mosquitoes
are very numerous, they keep within
the thickets by day and feed almost en-
tirely by night. At such times, FIRE
bunting may take the place of still
hunting. 1t is generally known that
when dogs, cattle, horses and many
other animals look at bright light by
night, the rRys are reflected, and to any
one in the line passing fron- their eyes
Through the light, they look like balls
of fire. Deer will, oflentimes, suffer the
hunter, with light, to come very near
them. An old frying pan, having its
dat bottom replaced BY some curved
iron hoop, serves TO hold the pieces OF
resinous pine. The handle is fastened
TO strip of plank which is borne on
| the shoulder. The deer gazes at the
light and sees nothing of the hunter
who is between 1t and fire. Generally,
closely by night than by day. The
aim is at the eyes, or straight
below thems SO as to break the
neck; or the body is often seen; SO that
the hunter can shoot where he pleases.
i a deer rarely falls, when shot, where
it was standing, but generally dashes
away fifty to a hundred PAGES or more
even If shot through the heart. IL he
raises his tail,-shows the white fsRth-
Il er,-it may be suspected he was not
4 hit. Ifstruck by the bullet, heruns on
at his utmost speed with the tail press
ed close down. In the day time, the
hunter goes where the deer was stand
Ing, which may be known by The deep
! tracks made at the fret spring, and
looks for hair cot of by The bullet. II
he finds IL he Is sure OF having hit his
game; and following GA the track, he
soon comes upon the blood, when. he
can track II more easily. This is where
there are bushes or grass. In more
open places, the deer may be seen TO
run It's race and fall dead. If any part
of the spinal column be touched, the
animal falls where 1t Is standing, but
II the bone be only slightly hurt II
may get up again. IhaVe had case or
/ II. Il N7a \