The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1891-05-21
WRESTLING WITH A BUCK.
a Thrilling Adventure of a Hunter In South
Carolina.
from the Metu York Times.

From, the New York Times.
An extremely handsome pair of antlers
adorns the DINING room chimney piece
of "a cosey fiat in this city aud The writer
having expressed admiration of them in
the course of a recent visit the owner
replied: "There is a thrilling personal
experience connected with those horns
If any truth be in the old Scotch proyert
that there iB death in the wound of horn
of hart they came very near being fatal
to me-" Urged to tell the story, the
owner of the sntlers responded as fol-
lows:
"You know I run down to South Caro-.
lima every year about Christmas time.
partly on business and partly for the sake
of keeping up old associations. Ibelieve
when man once acquires fondness fol-
hunting he never loses it, and so when
ever I find myself in the woods my
thoughts all involuntarily run to the
chase. Every Charlestonian, I may say
every South Carolinian, knows where
Old st. Pauls is. 1t is not q church
mind you, but parish, or subdivision
Of q County if you like. 1t is truly his
toric ground, having been the scene Of
more than one battle in the Revolution,
and the seat of very active hostilitiea
during the late unpleasautneas. There
are parts of South Carolina where game
is more abundant at present, but in days
gone by St. Paul's was famous hunting
ground. Still, q few deer are left, and
their scarcity increases the zest of hunt
ing them.
"On two successive annual visits had
sought to bring down an old buck, which,
Judging by the size of his track, knew
to be veritable Titan Of the deer
family; but so cunning was the old
rogue that although we had as fine pack
OF hounds as ever followed deer aud
hunted him diligently We never once
succeeded in getting him up. The dogs
would trail him to and fro and around
about for hours and finally come to fault.
But successive disappointments increased
my desire to get at least shot at the
coveted game, 30 on each recurring visit
to the spot found myself quite mechan.
ically looking for his tracks as rode
along the forest road. On my recent
visit found the track as before and
promptly informed my previous compau.
ions in the chase. We met by sunrise
on crisp December morning at place
in the pine forest convenient to the sup
posed lair. There were six guns and
eight hounds. As we had approached
the rendezvous from different directions
each had kepta lookout for the track,
and it was my good fortune to find it less
than quarter of a mile from the place
of meeting. 1t was scarcely two hours
old.
"Four of the party were hurried off to
the stands, while I elected to 60 into the
drive with Dick, the master of the
hounds. As soon as the dogs were put
on the track they broke into full tongue
and went down into the swamp on a
brisk trot. In the stiffness of the early
morning the woods resounded with their
cries and no sweeter music was ever sung
in hunters ear. On they went to the
south, clear across the swamp, at least a
mile in width. Then they came to a
halt, yelped for time in an uncertain
sort Of way, and finally made out the
trail to the eastward along the edge of
the swamp. A mile or mile and half
in that direction they came to another
halt, then recrossed the swamp and turn.
ed back to the westward on the northern
border. Half mile west of the point
where the trail entered the drive the
dogs came to fault upon knoll of one or
two acres extent in the heart of the
swamp.
"'The same old storyp exclaimed
Dick. Darn me if I ever saw anything
like it. It's almost enough to make q
man believe that old buck has wings and,
after walking around the woods till he is
tired, finally flies into his lair"
"The knoll! was covered with the leafy
underbush of the Southern swamp, and
dotted with dense clumps of sweet-gum
bushes. One Of the largest of these grew
around the foot Of huge fallen pine
which, having snapped off about eight
feet above the ground, lay lodged upon
the stump. The dogs, completely at
fault, circled around that particular
clump for at least twenty minutes, and
Dick and I, who sat upon our horses
about fifty yards distant, supposed they
had gone all through it dozen times.
CAT last, when it was clear that the
dogs had lost the trail for good, said to
Dick that it vas somewhat strange they
had made so many circles around that
clump of bushes and suggested the pro-
priety Of riding through it. But Dick
was disgusted and worn out. 1t was now
after 10 O'Clock, and We had been on the
trail since the sun was rising. | had
hardly finished speaking when Beauty, a
big blueish bitch, the most active trailer
and swiftest runner in the pack, leaped
upon the fallen pine and trotted leisurely
somewhat despairingly, up the incline
toward the stump. It is wonderful how
much can be expressed by q simple
action. When that dog reached the
stump she looked down into the bushes
beneath her with a sudden interest tha!
said as plainly rs words, why, here.
under our very noses, is the old rascal We
were about to give up
SAT the same instant it seemed as if q
whirlwind had struck the clump, and