St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1889-06-01

hand2 In running and taking IL
great leaps the deer always strikes tho
ground with its right fore foot first.
and then. II the left fore leg is injured.
It can be SO favored by the right one
that the speed Of the deer may be
maintained for many miles; but the left
fore leg can not favor disabled right
leg, and when the latter is broken the
deer Is gone.
Veil. this wounded buck that had
put on its mettle by an act OF mistaken
kindness gave me most lively chase
round and round that stump for five
minutes. l had no weapon. not even .
pocket-knife, but there was an Ak in
my sleigh. How to reach that. how
ever. was the puzzle. The sleigh was
fifty yards away. but between it and
where l was lodging that wounded
buck around the stump were q number
OF trees. standing at irregular dis
tances from each other. and no
two OF them closer together than
ten feet. They were all small trees,
too. the big timber having been cut
along there. Itwas plain to me that
couldn't spend much more time cir
cling aroundthat stump. for broken.
legged and eMaciatsd as he was. the
buck gave evidence of more bottom
and endurance than l could. I was
fast getting winded- My only chance
was to make a break from the stump
to the nearest tree. and SO on from tree
to tree until l could reach the sleigh
and get my axe With that in my
hands had no doubt OF q speedy end
OF the battle in my favor.
II made the break. but when !
jumped behind the first tree. which
was not more than fifteen feet away.
the bucks antlers grazed my back. l
had expected tight work. but that it
would be as close for the eyes as that
was more than l had calculated on.
But l succeeded in dashing from one
tree to another. with the buck at my
heels all the time. until l had only to
get to the one where my horse was
tied. and that was only the width Of
the road away. my sleigh being on the
side Of the road ] had first seen the
buck on.
Il had felt that my uncomfortable
and perilOus experience would soon be
at an end. but had not taken the
feelings and disposition Of my horse
into account I made the dash across
the road and reached the tree safe.
but rs the deer sprang into the road
the horse gave a snort and jump.
the halter strap snapped like a whip
cord. and away went horse. sleigh,
axe and all towards Jobs Bridge as
fast as . good horse running away
could 60.
II had no time to think of that.
though. for l was in full sight Of the
deer. and he was coming like loco
motive. turned to jump behind the
tree. but / never got there. The buck
struck me just below my hind sus-
pender buttons. and lifted me so l
cleared a snow-drift that extended
along that side OF the road, and landed
me 1t least ten feet on the other side
Of It That blow knocked the breath
out Of me. and 1t hurt me consid-
erably. but 1t saved my life. The
buck. in his eagerness to get
at me. mounted the drift The
crust broke beneath his sharp
hoofs. and all three OF his sound
legs became as useless to him as his
broken one. He sank into the snow
bank to his belly. and although he
showed his fury by thrashing his great
autlers on the snow, and by loud, fierce
snorts. he was more helpless than q
newborn fawn. / did not wait any
Longer than could help to witness his
futile fury. but imped home As fast a.
I could. met my son on the way. the
horse reaching home without me hav.
ing naturally alarmed my family. My
son went back with me and got his
gun. and returning to where l had SO
luckily escaped from the buck. put the
poor beast out of his misery. From
the appearance of the broken leg tho
fracture must have been at least two
weeks old. but how the leg had been
broken. nobody could tell. l."-Chicago