The Arkansaw traveler., 1888-10-20
THE OLD KICKER.
BY GEORGE PECK.

BY GEORGE PECK.
 The Old Kicker, who had been missed from his usual lunch counter for two weeks, showed mp on Monday noon, and after ordering . schooner of beer and 6 cheese sandwich, hes sat down at 6 round table where three of his friends were seated, took . bottle of arnica out of his pocket and rubbed some of it on the spots and pimples on his face and neck, and after drinking half of his beer at one swallow, said: |Hereafter, when I want venison, shall go to market and buy it. No more deer-hunting for your Uncle Ike"
 "You don't mean to tell me you have been up in the woods deer hunt ing, do your" said the board of trade man, as he got inside 8 pot of baked beans. "The boys have been trying to get me off hunting deer and fishing for mascalonge, for years, but they couldn't rope me in, not when can buy fish for ten cents pound"
 "Yes, sir" said the old kicker, as he felt of great blotch on the back of his hand, made evidently by mos- quito, "yes, boys, have been deer hunting. For four years have lis- tened to the boys telling about killing bucks that weighed four hundred pounds, and does, and lawns, and bears, and finally I got the fever. and went up into the woods with the gang. We had six in our party, and lett the rail- road about forty miles this side of Lake Superior, where we hired three half breed guides, with birch bark ca- noes, and started up river. Gentle men, you may talk about the suffer- ings of exiles to Siberia, but they are nothing to my sufferings. Our party was going to take 8 cook, but the ceok failed to show up, so we decided to take turns cooking. After paddling up the river one day, we camped, and one of the party, who had camped out before, did the cooking, and l never was so hungry in my life, and 1 ate enough to last week, and slept like log. But the next day the trouble commenced. We had to make 6 "port- age"-that is, carry all our luggage eight miles through the woods, to a lake. Do you know, they packed almost all the truck on me? At home it is all I Gan do to carry pail of wa ter, and it makes me puff for an hour to go up stairs, but l had to carry 8 ton of bacon, and ammunition, and blankets, and everything, through dense woods, fallen logs and brush. \ wanted to die right on the trail, but the boys said if I did they would throw my body into ravine, as they couldn't pack me back to the railroad. I wanted to hunt-deer on the river, or on the railroad track, but they wouldn't have 1t. It took us two days to get the stuff over to the lake, and another to make camp, and was too tired to eat and too scared to sleep, from the bowling of Indians and wild beasts, and screech owls. Then when we got all ready to hunt, it was my turn to cook, and for two days I tried to cook things that could be eaten, but aside from boiling potatoes, was not a success at anything. The boys kicked on every thing Icooked, and was glad when my tune was out, and could hunt. The boys had brought in three deer while I was cooking, and had been chased by bears, and while would have been glad to stay in camp, as I am afraid of bears, I had to go hunt, or the boys would gay me. One morning started out, and after walk ing about two miles, I saw buck and fired at it. The gun was one Of those repeaters, and instead of stopping shooting, when I stopped pulling the trigger, I hope to die if 1t did not keep right on firing till tho sixteen shots had been fired. The deer was not more than three rods from mo, and it got the whole sixteen bullets, and died, and rushed mp to cut its throat, but that was not nocessary, as all the blood had gone out through the bull let holes. When got to the deer I found that 1t was tied to tree by . rope, but did not think much about it, for the boys had told me that tho state game warden tied dcers up In the woods. to trees, and fed them baled hay, @ thsy wcrld be in good condi- tion. After you Hill deer, yCu have to drag it to camp. No true sports- man will ever accept aa1istance in get- ting his game to camp, and went to work. First, I took tho bowcls ont and draggud the carcaS about two miles, and then got lost. Ihen l thoueht there was no use in hanling the had of the animal, 70 cut o6 the he'd, and dragged 1t . fsw more milss Than I thought, e there i not much meat on tho fore quarters I would oat them Of, and leave them, and so ! rolled tho hams up in the skin and carrisd them . few miles. Igot ttred,