Daily Kennebec journal., 1884-03-28

A BATTLE N fR FOREST.
BIZ w. A. FORD.

We were a party of four amateur hunt
err, on q vacation "trip in the depths of the
great forest that shrouds the base of Mt.
katahdin, the loftiest peak, in Maine. We
had no dog with Us. but. under the lead OF
old Rube. a veteran backwoOdsman and
guide. whose faculties had been trained to
almost the acuteness of . deerhouad, we
were following up promising trail which
he declared was made by at least three
deer.
Through the dark, dank forest. strewn
with fallen tree-trunks, through dense
thickets of scrubby spruces and tangled
iungles of alders and withewoods, we
patiently and laboriously followed our
leader for hours. His practised vision dis
cerned the track of the deer where our
untutored eyes could perceive nothing.
and at last, as the waning sun was sinking
behind the mountains crest, we caught.
through the trees, glimpse OF what ap-
peared to be clearing. When our guide
had nearly reached the boundary of the
opening he suddenly skunk behind clump
OF bushes. and, turning to US. made
warning gesture, at the same time saying
in hoarse whisper:
Here they are. buys; crawl up. keer-
fly. keerf'ly. Eff ye make ez much noise
ez mouse. yen scar 'em off,"
Then. turning his eyes in an opposite
direction, he paid no further attention to
us, except that when Jack ,ncautiously
snapped dry twig. he made an impatient
motion with his hand.
Cautiously, as though our lives depend
ed upon it, we crept up, sometimes stop
ping to clear away softly the dead
branches, then clamberiDg noiselessly over
the damp, moss-covered logs, creeping
through the thickets on hands and knees.
until at last we neared the spot where our
guide was crouching.
Looking in the direction he pointed, we
saw an open space. perhaps ten yards
square, carpeted with rank grass, and un-
der huge oak. whose branches over
shadowed at least half the little dell, we
beheld sight that quickened our pulses
and made our nerves tingle with excite
ment.
Quietly cropping the coarse grass, was
family party of three deer, buck. doe
and young, spotted fawn. The older ami
mails were feeding at little distance from
the fawn, which was close to the trunk of
the oak. For few moments we admired
the graceful creatures, as, unaware OF the
presence of enemies. they continued feed
ing in fanced security. Even Rube, used
as he must have been to such sights. made
no movement for some minutes; but at
length his hunter instincts prevailed. and,
beckoning US to creep nearer. he gave his
orders in low whisper:
''Ef ye're smart. We can git all three ter
once" he remarked. Jack an I'll fire
at the buck, an viii an Jim can try their
luck on the doe, an. of we git the two on
'em. the little feller'll stay round till he's
wanted. Git yer eyes down on ter the
sights, keep yer narves stiddy, while
count. an when say three. fire, all ter
gether."
Trembling with suppressed excitement.
we raised our rifles. Slowly, in the same
low whisper. Rube counted, zone, two."
each one was pressing the trigger of his
rifle, and another half-second would have
sealed the fate of the unsuspecting game,
when there came a sudden and startling
interruption. A fierce scIeech sounded
through the forest, and ere the frightened
creatures had time to move, dusky gray
creature sprang through the air from one
of the overhanging branches. and in a
moment had fastened on the flank of the
fawn.
wildcat" remarked Rube without
turning his head.
The panic-stricken fawn was at once
thrown on its side, where It was held,
despite it's frantic struggles to rise. In
the first moment of terror. the buck and
the doe had thrown up their heads and
started for the woods with desperate
bounds. But the piteous bleatings of the
lawn checked them just as they reached
the boundary of the opening. Turning.
they for one short moment gazed upon
the savage creature rending their young,
and then the buck, a great fellow, with
splendid, branching antlers, lowered his
head. gave a snort and charged full at the
enemy, striking her on the flank, knock
ing her off the fawn and some feet into the
bushes. The cat gave series of fierce
snarls, scrambled up into the tree, and at
the same time the fawn, which did not
appear mortally wounded. jumped up,
and the mother-deer rushing to its side,
evinced her sympathy by licking its
wounds, from which the blood was
streaming.
Meanwhile. the buck and the wildcat
were not idle. The former had seen
his antagonist dart into the tree, and
stood. alert and wary, stamping his feet,
shaking his head. and snorting with a
fury which surprised those of the party
who were unaware how vigorously these
usually timid animals will defend their
young.
The cat in the meantime, was creeping
out on the limb as far as she could. She
evidently reasoned that in order to secure
the coveted prey. she must first conquer
the buck. and the taste she had already
had of his horns warned her to select a
more vulnerable point for the next onset.
She was accordingly planning to leap
over and past his horns and alight on his
flanks. Then he would be at her mercy.
Gathering her feet well under her. she
launched her body into the air; but the
wary buck was watching every movement
and as she made the spring. moved back
a pace or two and received her full on his
many pointed horns, and ere she could
fasten herself even there, throwing her
high in the air be powerful toss Of his
head. Quick as were the movements of
the cat, before she could recover herself
the buck was upon her again, striking
her viciously with his fore feet.
Though the cat had been pretty roughly
handled. she was not vet disabled. She
was full of fight as ever. and was snarling
and splitting with the fury Of a demon.
Sinking from under the sharp hoofs of