Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1890-09-18

| = h,
| with head erect, his head cIowned
with stately horns, a doe standing near,
with young fawn lying at the moth
er's teet, | have thought how little
! that artist knew Of nature, Who ever
! saw in the wilds an Old buck with a
head of horns at that time of the year.
| Who ever saw bucks with the does
with their faWns. How many times in
| tie last few years | have been asked
about the habits of the deer and other
wild animals: When and how the
deer shed their horns? About the first
of October the old bucks begin 10 leave
their solitudes, and travel on a circuit
| during the months Of October and No
vember. This is what hunters call
running time, time of mating. Each
buck has what is called scrapes. AL
ways at the foot of small ,scrubby tree
you will see where he has paved the
dirt away, called a scrape. At GER
| tain times of the day and night he will
visit that place and scrape the dirt with
his fore feet. He will have dozen
places or scrapes in circuit of mile
or two. Sometimes another buck will
encroach on another's territory; then
when they meet there will be a terrible
battle. | have sat and look Ell on to see
some awful fights between two Old six
or eight-pointers. [ tell you they fight
awfuly. Sometimes they get their
horns locked hard and fast and can
never part them. If no one fiuds them
Or no wOlfor panther comes across theal
they struggle and worry each other un
til they both die. About the last of
January or first of February the horns
begin to crack. [ have killed them
when you could see red streak around
the bur of the horn. Il looked as if it
was sore. Each day the crack enlarges
until at last the horn falls off. Now
you will see that deer has changed his
whole character. He is no longer the
noble lord of the wood he was few
days ago, but is a meek coward, shun-
ing all other deer or animals, a seeker
Of the solitude of the mountains. II
you find him in his bed you will find
him at certain hours each day, unless
frig htened away. Then he will seek
new bed or hiding place. During the
winter the does and fawns go together
in tiocks, sometimes as high as hun
dred CHATS in the early days of my
huntiug), and from that number down
to three. After the first year a doe
brings pair of fawns, male and fe-
male. at fawnng time, which is in the
month of May.
The does like the densest thickets
and jungles, or if near plantations will
enter wheat fields. / found a wheat
field a favorite place with them. We
used to catch more or less fawns every
heat harvest in the wheat while cut.
ting it. If had time | could tell or
write many chapters on the habits of
deer, and what good times we boys had
at harvest time chasing fawns. [ re-
member one harvest we were cutting
wheat. We found great many deer
tracks and deer beds in the standing
wheat. When we had the piece of
wheat most cut we would divide out,
some on each side, 50 as to be ready for
81 chase. One day we had the piece
most cut. AS I made a sweep around
with my cradle, | saw fawn right be-
fore me, lying close to the ground. AS
[ brought the cradle around, the fawn
made spring, and jumped right into
my cradle with his legs down between
the fingers of the cradle. There he lay
and could not help himself. swung
the cradle around to the binder and
told him he could bind that bundle if
he wanted to. He took the fawn off
and made pen out of the bundles OF
wheat aud put 1t in, and there it stay
ed until we went. home at night.
Sometimes when they broke cover they
would run and every fellow hard after
it, We used to have some tight races
after the little spotted fellows, and
sometimes we did not catch them.
old it takes a good runner to Ca tch one,
unless the fawn undertakes to hide.
Sometimes the fawn Will run few
rods and crawl under bunch Of weeds
or bush, and lay himself fiat to the
ground, thinking he is hid. You can
then walk up to it and take it up just
like little lamb. / have in my life
had some good runs after the little
spotted fellows and most always caught
them before [ had run more than a
quarter or half mile. At some future
time | will tell you how to tame a fawn
in ten minutes 50 he will follow you
like dog, T. p. r.
Vest VS.. FlIley.