The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1879-11-29
Toms phiz and a certain twinkle in his eye when
some poetical genius replied:

Toms phM and certain twlnkle III his eye VICE.
some poetcal genius replied;
"But oh, there is a smile that steals
Sometimes upon the brow OF care"
"Divil bit OF it," says Tom, "the Judge has
given us n lire elk-where's all the dogs" And
away lie went like an orderly in the heat Of bat
tie to make arrangements for letting out the elk.
BY this time all the hunters and hounds OF the
county had arrived;
/ "a thousand vassals mustered round
| With horse and hawk and HON and hound"
And perfect bedlam rcgncd in Tom McD's
! blacksmith shop, where 40 or 80 hounds were
kept.
Everybody was getting h.a ri.ous over the
idea of an elk hunt and slaughter of the unterri-
fed hounds by his ellship.
All kind of nags--thoroughb ponies and
Iiackasses were called into requisition; the halt
and the lame, ring -boncd spawned and curbed;
the ouc.c eyed and the blind, aged and decrcpid,
none were exempt. And they were attached to
all kind Of vehicles and vans and sadded with
all kinds of saddles-cyen barebacked. And drv-
en- by all kind of curious people-bankers, law
yers, grain merchants, doctors and druggists,
politicians and their hcuchmcn, and "the butch
or, the baker and candlcstick maker" long
legged and short.legged, slim, slender and fat,
from youth to old age, of all sizes, and from all
climcsof all nationalites and colors, from the
Egyptian mummy to the Anglo Saxon.
Sport drops his ball. toll throws his hammer by,
Thrift breaks bargain of, to please the eye"
1t was raining and they knew it not. They
were wet to the hide yet they believed they were
dry. They were covered with mud, yet they had
no knowledge Of it, SO greatly were they excited
over the anticipation of seeing genuine stag
hunt and hearing real cchoing of hills and val.
legs
"To hoof-clang, hound, and hunters cry,
And bugles ringing lightsomely.'
The crowd in the vicinity of Whites Hotel kept
the street and sidewalk bockaded all day. And
yet there was an equal crowd in the vicinity of
Cations Park, where, under the command Of Ar
thur Cation, select party of horsemen were en-
deavoring to get out the elk and drive it away
from the vicinity Of the park before turning loose
the hounds; but before driving it far it was dis
covered that it was greatly fatigued and unfit to
lead "St Inbert's breed" in II chase. So the elk
hunt was abandoned, and the crowd gaOped
through the drenching rain to Whites Hotel and
broke the "sad tidng." to the eager crowd
Their disappointment was so great perfect pan
demonia seemed to seize them, and know Of no
better description than two lines addressed to the
Dell by Bobby Burns:
"Whyles raging like IA roarin' lion,
For prey, a holes and corners tryin."
There had to be something done to give them
a chase some idea of one couple of deer
feet were procured and drag was started from
the east end of Fox river bridge, thence east
through East Ottawa and back to the starting
point, with the hounds in full cry. Whose dog
outran we dare not say, AS every hunter claimed
the leader
Thus endcd the big deer hunt and, with the
exception Of a few who went to Buffalo Rock to
run n fox, we sought our respective hsmes.