New Ulm weekly review., 1886-12-01

learned, a nervous affection expert
enced by young hunters during their
first shot at a deer. and even old hunt
ers have suffered from it..
The beautiful creature, a two-year
old buck, stood quietly feeding, out
lined against the sky. | leveled my
rifle, never noticing that l had not
raised the hammer, and pulled with
all my strength. It did not Ego of. !"
At last discovering the reason, / righted
the hammer with q click. The deer
raised his lordly head. snuffed the air,
and was gone in q series of ofmagnifcent
leaps.
"How beautiful" l cried, forgtting
in the novelty of the sight my own
stupidity, of which, however, [ was
not long to remain unlnindful. The
look of contempt that greeted me as [
turned to Uncle John whithered me.
"You'll never kill deer! Never see
such a chance since / was born; not
ten yards off. Pooh!' And the irate
old hunter rode off, leaving me to fol-
low or go back, as chose.
have been mortified sev eral times
in my recollection; have been "spelled
down." as a child in school. have
missed the target in archery tourna-
ments, and have been snubbed by a
prospective mother-ln-law; but never
do | remember that my pride was so
lacerated as now. The sunshine sud-
denly lost its brightness, the fresh,
fragrant stiffness was no longer a de-
light, and desperate thoughts flashed
through my brain of putting an end
to my wretched existence.
At last determined that instead Of
returning home to brood over my sor-
row, | would strike off by myself into
the woods, and redeem my reputation
by taking home at night some trophy
of my skill
The soothing sunshine and delicious
air by degrees restored my equanimity,
and hope was high in my bosom. I
scanned all the ravines closely, and
looked wisely on the ground for tracks
OF beasts. [ rode long and far, and
when the sun was high threw myself
beside a little spring that bubbled
from the rocks: and ate my luncheon,
allowing my horse to Craze near me.
On my right was a small patch OF
green herbage, across which the tall
pines cast a sombre shadow. There
was not sound except that OF the
horse feeding. was too high for birds;
they were below in the valleys, though
now and then a vulture sailed maiesti-
cally around some distant peak. The
loneliness and silence of the place be-
gan to be oppressive.
Suddenly there was rustic in the
tall grass under the pines. Looking
up saw the head OF a deer. l seized
my rifle, and, leveling it, fired with a
steady hand. A deafening report
crashed through the stiffness, and
there escaped into the air a white
deer! / sprang to the place. In the
bloodstained grass lay the noble an
imal, struggling with death.
I felt q thrill ofseperstitious horror;
something as an old Egyptian must
have felt had he killed unwittingly the
sacred ibis, or the Ancient Mariner
when he slew the albatross. l tried
to staunch the blood, but the mur-
derous ball had done it's work too
well. Hardly knowing what did,
took the head OF the dying creature
into my lap. In the large soft eyes
were reflected the rocks and the sway
ingpines. AS the breath grew fainter the
head turned with a convulsive move
ment, and the fast glazing eyes looked
into mine with a gaze so human in it's in
telligencet that was almost crazed with
grief and terror. l hurried from the
spot, only TO find that my horse, prob
ably frightened by the rife-shot had
disappeared. | was alone and miles
from home.
! discovered, too, that lacked one
of the most necessary requisites of the
true hunter-ability to find my way
under all circumstances.
1t was already afternoon. I start
ell to go back on foot the way had
come as nearly as l could remember
it. When reached point high
enough to command view l did not
feel reassured, for the mountains look
ed all alike, and range after range
stretched away on every side, silent
and relentless as the tomb. There was
not living thing in sight but buz-
zard circling about a far-off peak.
At last I set off in direction where
I thought recognized familiar rocks.
The killing of the white hart weighed
heavily upon my spirits, and filled me
with vague fears. The stories of the
night before added to my uneasiness.
There was the danger that I might
meet bear. I had my rifle and three
dozen caytridges in my belt, but Uncle
John had said: "Give grizzlies wide
BERTH"
What could I do if / met one?
The way grew more and more in
tricate. Now I had to climb over
powders, and now force my way
through tangled underground, from
which l emerged into the shadow Of
pines so gloomy that twilight seemed
suddenly to have fallen.
There was crashing OF bushes, as
of some heavy body pushing itself
through. I tried to run, but the
roughness of the ground made me
stumble at every step.
The noise came nearer. Iknew that
it could be nothing but a bear, and
every other anxiety was swallowed m