Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1888-05-10
Old Times.

Ed. Register-Do you wonder that
/, as I sit looking at this beautiful
bright moon, look back to early days
when 1 would take my rifle on my
shoulder and go way out in the noun
tains to some deer lick and to watch
for deer? What splendid times 1 used
to have sitting up in some branching
tree. all alone, with nature and with
NATURES God. How still and hushed
all nature seemed, and as you listened
to catch the footsteps Of some unsus-
the licks-how often when sitting thus
have thought of the Great Watcher,
as he sits up in the heavens and sees
all below-every moving object, every
act, every thought, nothing hid from
his notice, and how all unware of my
presence some deer or other animal
that prowls around at night comes
within the range of my rifle, when all
at once out rings the clear keen crack
of my rifle and there lays stretched on
the ground my victim. All, how many
nights have spent at those deer licks.
l do not know how it was or why it
was, but can we'll remember of hear
ing clear bell-like voice break the
stiffness of the night with one single
note, repeated three times in rapid
successlon-therill! therill! therill! 1t
al yuo macmillan fon1inn Qnd
in most every instance the thought
would come to me, now watch, a deer
will soon come, and in most every in
stance one would come. How many
unconcernedly to the lick, and after
satisfying themselves go away, not
having suspected any person was up
in the tree above them watching every
motion, every movement.
I shall never forget one night at the
lick. The summer we built our first
brick house we had some brick masons
and their hands building the house we
afterwards lived in (the homestead).
One of the bosses said to me and my
old pard, "Let's go to the suck lick to-
night and kill deer" This suck, as
it was always called, was on the side
of mountain, among the rocks, where
some kind of mineral water seaped out.
The deer and cattle were very fond of
it and would come great distances to
sip the water. Near the suck was a
large tree. Standing up among the
large limbs some hunters had built a
scaffold to sit and watch for deer. A
person could lie down on it and go to
sleep if he was sleepy. On the other
side of the suck stood a very large To-
Gust tree. About twenty feet above
the ground it forked. When ready to
start, the old boss took my rifle and
SAIL, "Now, boys. I will show you fell
lers how to kill deer tonight" /
said, "Look here, just want you to
hand back my gun" He said, "No,
we are company. You must always
be polite to company" said, "It
was you that invited us to go with
YOU" "Well, you must respect old
age; boys should always give way to
older people," "All right, I will beat
you killing deer tonight, if you have
got my gun, for it won't kill anything
for you. Ifyou do shoot at deer you
can't hit it with my gun" Now, you
see we had three guns. One had got
q habit of swapping and there was no
certainty about it, so took the snap
ping gun, but did not feel in very
good humor about it; in fact, I was
mad. When we reached the suck the
DID boss and my pard made for the
tree that Lad the scaffold and an In
iian ladder set up against the body of
the tree to climb up in. "Yes, you