Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1882-02-08

To tell buck from q barren doe in
early autumn at any but the shortest
distance requires long practice, and even
mistakes not infreGuently occur; for the
latter have also misleading propensity
to sneaking abou. alone, and at the sea-
son of the year of which speak resem.
bic the bucks in all but the position of
the horns, which very slight difference
can, of course be detected when the ami
NAL Is quite close. Oaly the day before
l had killed a barren doe, mistaking her
for buck, and though they are perfect
ly legitimate game. yet it is ambition of
the cognoscenti to kill only bucks. My
glass assures me, however, that not only
is the animal a buck, but the large
size of the horns ranks him unquestion-
ably among the very largest-the so call
ed ''capitals-bocke." 1 let him proceed
half way down the gully, bringing, mean-
while. my rifle very slowly ny to the
shoulder. Here he halts. apparently to
survey for the last time, the ground, be-
fore he makes his rush. This is the de-
sirable moment, and, though the buck
will get nasty tumble of some sixty or
seventy feet. for he has barely enough
footing. l prefer loi.g and steady stot
to much clssef running one. My Ex-
press, the same that III the Far West has
rolled over, IN not dissimilarly wild sur
roundings. many proud bighorn-gives
forth its loud report, and the solid bull
let Ia preferable missile to the usual ex-
pandIng bullet for such small game as
chamois. propelled by what Continental
sportsmen consider terribly large
charge, !. G., five and one-half drains,
pIerces, as L afterward discover, the
wary old fellow from end to end, send
ing him his legs turned upward, to the
bottom of the precipice, where he lands
with dull crash. Twice more do 1
shoot at chamois coming singly down
the gully, and from precisely the same
fatal spot does my quarry take its head
long plunge. The last head, however,
coming quicker than the preceding ones,
the beaters being by this time close be-
hind, makes an examination with my
glasses impossible; ard so, to my cha
gr1n, find when all is over that my last
victim is barren doe. By this time the
drive is drawing to close, and wherever
one looks one sees, generally IN the most
impossible places, beaters descending
from the heights above. As one watches
now one, then the other, edging bare
footed along fearfully narrow bands of
rock, terrible abysses yawning at their
side. one can not fail to see that these
men are not moved so much by the poor
pay (about half crown per diem) as
by the inherent love for sport, to follow
such an exceedingly dangerous vocation,
while they could earn as much, if not
more. in their ordinary calling. The re-
suits of the drive when, after the numer-
GUS reports of the keepers had been
heard, one could form correct estimate,
were the following: Abont ninety cha
mois were III the drive to start with.
About forty broke back through the line
of the beaters. or escaped at the sides,
while the rest came to the four guns, who
with thirty-one shots. killed eleven
head, namely seven bucks, all with the
exception of my first one, of moderate
size, three barren does, and, unfortun-
ately, also, one mother doe, who, hav-
ing lost her kid in the frantic rush, ap-
peared quite alone, and hence, being
mistaken for buck or barren do, paid
with her life for her unmatronly conduct