Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-08-12
FEAR OR BUCK FEVER.
Two Frontier Experimentation Din
ner Tales Told in an Uptown Res
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there are few men who have not at some
time had sinking Of the heart and
trembling Of the limits that meant fear
and nothing else, It's easy enough to
have courage on the battlefield and in
shipwreck; anybody but natural born
coward would have; for whatever danger
there is comes in the natural order OF
things, and has been discounted. 10 Is
the sudden consciousness Of peril, pre-
scented to the mind at a moment OF APP
parent security. that tests the condition
OF mans nerves."
The speaker was one OF group OF four,
surrounding a table at an uptown festau-
rant. The dinner dishes had been re-
moved, and the elaboration WITH which
the men slipped their beer and pulled their
cigars gave evidence Of their determina-
tiOn not to impair digestion by undue eN-
sriion for some time to come.
alt was more than twenty years ago."
he continued, ''that l passed 4 winter in
Minnesota very different place then
rom what 1t is now. The business that
took me there occupied little OF my time
and spent most of my leisure In hunting
the various kinds OF game that abounded
In Mcleod county, where | made my
Headquarters. | was sometimes alone,
sometimes with friend whom found in
Glencoe, and not infrequently with band
of trappers who made me at AOme In their
camp or with tribe OF Sioux Indians VINO
then travelled all over that country in
search OF game.
"One day | was out with my Glencoe
friend after deer. There was light snow
Or the ground, ana after awhile we
tracked two deer into one of those thick
cts which We're found in the lower grounds
Of the rolling prairie These thickets eX-
tended often from lake TO lake, and varied
In width from few rods 10 perhaps
quarter of a mile. We were well ac-
auainted with the one that we were in FOR
a space OF a mile or two from the point at
which we entered it, and we knew that 1t
was nearly uniform IN width.
''We ascertained the direction which
The deer took. and followed, our plan be-
Ing TO keep, the one on the east side and
The other on the west, just 80 far in the
thicket as to be able to see the outer
edges We were 10 work our way
through the prickly pear and other low
growing shrubs at uniform rate of
speed, and believed that one OF the deer
would easily fall a victim 10 one or the
other OF US. We had hunted in this way
several times before with variable sue
cess. Waiting a sufficient time for my
friend to get into position, began to pick
my path through the thicket, with my ears
ready to catch the slightest sound,
and my eyes peering IN all dlrec-
tons. Progress was slow and
hour after hour passed without
any sign of the game | was after. Rabbits,
squirrels and partridges there were in
and occasionally a prairie
and at any other time | would
have had excellent sport; but ! had not
then shot many deer-in fact had very
got over the buck lever, so as
TO be able to shoot One-and the possibility
Of the nObler game was not 10 he sacri-
heed for medner certainty. So on |
pl0dded, when | heard Jwig snap at
my right and just anead. ! paused and
again heard sound that / at once re-
cognized as that OF deer walking slowly
along grazing on the twlgs as it went.
] could not be mistaken. | had heard the
same sound before. Cooking my rihe-a
stood still. The animal
seemed TO approach Seeing an ant
hill, some two feet in height,
near by, l stepped upon it, with
my rifle at my shoulder and my finger on
the trigger, and peered sharply into the
bushes. / saw-nOt deer, but the long
barrel OF rife not ten PAGES distant and
pointing so directly at my eye that /
seemed almost TO see the charge at the
bottom. Behind the rifle | recognized the
face of my lend. toward which my own
friend took in the situation with light
ming rapidity, and in the smallest frac-
ton Of second from the time | stepped
on to the ant blinded. l think before
my left toot had fairly followed my right
to the tOp-I fell to the earth with a shout
OF warning, my gun going of in the air as
j fell. ana the ball from nv friends gun
cutting through the bushes on q line
with where my head had been.
II " nuI lss
some other name, but | was so weak
couldn't rise for what seemed like an
hour, Dut was likely enough only 4 minute
or TWO, and when stood up trembled so
that | had to hold on TO a tree to keep
from falling. | called feeby TO my friend,
but got no answer. Then thought | had
shot MIN, ana came pretty near dropping
again. Finally ] managed TO yet over to
where | had seen him aud found him in "a
dead faint, from which ! had hard work
10 revive him. When he got so as to talk
he said that he had recognized me as soon
as my head appeared above the ant hill;
but he had been 80 sure was "A deer, and
had been IN such perfect state of readi-
ness to receive me as such, that his
trigger finger refused 10 obey his will, and
he had fred, knowing as he did so that he
wae aiming at me.
"Siroug, rough, Old frontiersman as he
was, never saw any man 50 overcome;
and we sat there on the snow ground a
long time before either OF US could re-
cover strength 10 go back to the village
] have know men changed less by lOng
sickness than that Afternoons experience
changed u.s. a.sl,
'YOu spoke Of buck feyer.'" asked one
Of the party; "what sort OF fever is
that 20
.If you have ever shot at deer, or
other large game, you have experienced
II. Ii is we'll known in regions where deer
abound that no man ever killed the VI rst
one he aimed at, no matter how accurate
mari sman he might have been when
shooting at "A mark or AT small game
There Is a sort Of tremOr that comes over
the limbs " nen one sees a deer within the
range Of his rifle for the first time that
makes II impossible to Kali It. The first
deer that shot at was noble buck. and
be WAS just about far enough on FOR "A
creditable shot at a partridge; but Ididn't
hit him."
swell" continued the other, "you were
talking about fear; but | don't see as
you've made a point. Perhaps it was
only another Kind ui buck fever that you
and your backw0Ods friend had when YOU
found yourselves popping at each other
with rifles. Can't YOU give US some other
example Of having been frightened by
something turning up suddenlyY
"NO," replied the other laughing. "If
WASN'T frightened that time, don't be-
lieye / ever was. But there VAS an Incl
dent Of my winter on the frontier that /