The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1883-06-02
AnIinnesota Deer Hunter.

A Western Editor writes while hunt
ing in the pineries of Minnesota once
met an old half-breed who taught me
more in few days than I ever learned
before or since. 1t was when I compar-
ed my scanty superficial knowledge with
his sound practical lore that T discover
ed the lamentable extent of my ignor-
ance and how much Iihad to learn.
This old veteran was about fifty years
of age, and he had hunted deer for moro
than thirty-tiye years, making it q spec
ialty.t 1t can be readily understood chat
his advice was worth taking, and I am
only sorry 1 did not prolong my hunt
with him, as every deefs brought out
new stratagems, and 9Yarg move was
checkmated by this unets,ng, steady old
Nimrod. He was a regular hound, and
could find more game stlIaIi' three ordi-
nary hunters; but, whataim anomaly he
could not shoot. Actually, if deer
moved, or even wagged lis ears, the old
fellow would quietly wait. till he was
stock still, and then blaze away. Some
times he would kill, but that was by no
means = yforegOne conclusion; and as he
would insist OH using a single barrel
muzzle-loading rifle, of course the deer
was off before he could edo it some
m0re," To miss with him seemed rath-
or a matter to be expected than one to
get mad about, so, nothing daunted he
would reload his rifle, sit on a log, light
his pipe, soliloquiZe and ascribe reasons
for his maladroitness, and make wise
resolutions for t',e future, and having
put i'll about hW.f an hour, go ahead,
take up the track of the doomed deer,
and eight times out of ten get another
shot, with varying results, inside of all
hour.
How he did it could never tell! all
that know is that have followed him
for days from morn till dusk, and have
seen him shoot three or four times at the
same deer III Il day, and generally bag
him in the long run. When we became
better acquainted, it was mutually
agreed and understood that ho would do
the finding and the shooting; and by
that means we generally had the pleas
ure of hanging up deer or two day
without his firing shot, At first I
ascribed his finding the deer merely to
good luck, but / soon got over that.
He would follow fresh track a short
distance, and without giving any reason,
and guided by an unerring Judgment
which was simply supernatural, would
leave it or strike out at right angles and
shortly come upon the same track or
else point out the deer, perhaps fifty or
one hundred yards away, shifting and
watching his back track, while his foot
were either OH his flank or rear. On
such an occasion it was merely matter
OF target shooting with me land not in
teresting, being ontiroly yt.lSincohanic.,i,
so that frequently purposely made a
noise to start the llnsuspecting stag es
give him chance.
ms conduct Oh my part was sure to
be followed by a blessing from the vet
eran, who recognized no rules or laws
governing such shots, and as I seldom
missed, it was difficult to make him per-
ceive the difference, as III any case the
deer was "Venison." One day missed
clear and clean, and as the doe kept out
of my sight l could not shoot again.
The old man, In a fit of rage at my
laundering i'll having made the deer run
before l fired at him, threw up his rifle
and, without taking any aim, let fly
Down came the doe, all III a heap, shot
through the neck, and dead as a nail.
The funny part is that to this day the
old fellow thinks did the killing;where-
as l only fired one shot and that was
away high.
This MANS antipathy to Il breech load
er amounted to actual hatred, and it
was only after repeatedly showing him
it's advantages that he 80 far condescend-
ed rs to allow me to hunt with him
while carrying my repeater. 1 shall
never forget the queer expression Oh his
tough, weather beaten countenance
when at last convinced him of the
superiority of the repeating rifle.