The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1891-04-08
"I hit him, I hit him. be exclaim

COuOlet Dach 1nLO lue SWalup LII lul
cry. The course they took was slight,
y westward of that by which they
had come out of the swamp, and in
ferred therefrom that the buck would
take his way up the swamp. There
was ridge in the heart OF it, which
I felt sure he would follow. This
ridge could be reached by road
which crossed the swamp two OF
three miles higher up, and if / could
get there ahead os the buck l might
bring him down after all. All of this
came to me like flash, and my horse
was off like the wind before my fel-
low-huntsmen had time to ask any
questions. My nag was small mare,
but of good blood and endurance,
sure-footed, and as fleet, almost, as
the buck himself.
with her ears fattened back
against her head she laid herself
down to the chase till the tall pines
fairly whirled around US. On We
went, up hill and down dale, over the
! long stretch of sandy road a flying
dust cloud. There was no need to
ply the spur; the intelligent little ar
| imal knew what was expected OF her
and required no urging. The rum
bic of her flying feet and the rushing
of the wind around my ears prevent
ed me from hearing aught else with
certainty but I fancied that [ caught
the peal Of the hounds from time to
time and felt satisfied that they were
coming up the ridge. At last we
wheeled into the cross-road, but the
ridge was still nearly mile distant.
Then I distinctly made out the bay
ing Of the swift Beauty far in advance
Of the rest of the pack. The buck
was close to the crossing, and it was
hard race to get there ahead OF him.
The little mare was ia a lather OF
sweat and her nostrils were widely
distendea, but she did not falter or
relax her pace, and the pines whlrled
about US in giddy waltz.
"Ah! There is the morass that
| borders the ridge. But close, pro-
vokingly close, at hand on the left, is
the baying Beauty. And now we are
on the ridge, and not a moment too
soon, for there, in long, steady lope,
with head and tail high in air, comes
the buck. He fancies all danger is
past and is taking it easy ahead of the
swiftly following dog, who has dis
tanced the other dogs fully q mile.
His attention is given to the dog, so
he does not notice US.
''The mare sees him as soon as l
and stops short Of her own accord.
st the same moment the buck sees
us and stretches himself i'll a m&gnl1-
cent outburst Of speed. Instead OF
coming directly for Us, as at first, he
sweryes and crosses the road broad
side on, about thirty yards distant.
Aiming for the front of the shoulder
blade I ire the right barrel. Down
goes his tail, an infallible sign that
he is hit, but he does not waver, and
send the charge Of the left barrel at
his launches. Aha! His pace has al
ready diminished perceptibly; he will
not 60 far now. The thought comes
to me to run him down, and the little
mare and I 60 tearing through the
underbrush. But we had not gone a
hundred yards before Beauty flashed
past us ike meteor, no longer run
ming by scent, but leaping high over
the bushes, her long ears streaming
behind like two tawny bannerets:
In a trice she is up with the wounded
buck, has seized him by a hind leg
and dragged him down: I rein in
the mare, fling myself from the sad
die, throw down my gun and rush up
to cut his throat.
eff ever you find yourself in SIM
liar situation do not follow my exam
ample, but put fresh shells in your
gun and approach your buck eau
tiously. Before 1 could reach mine
| he had shaken himself free from the
dog and regained his feet. He paid
no further heed to her, but rushed at
me head down. In the presence OF
imminent danger man does not
think, he acts. How I came to do it
I am sure I do not know, unless 1t
was purely instructive act; anyhow |
sprang behind a tree, and the buck
turned his head so quickly that his
forehead struck the trunk squarely
and the tips of his antlers passed on
either side of it.
sWhen came to realize what had
happened, I found myself on one side
of the tree holding on for life to the
antlers and the buck on the other side
struggling desperately to free them
The animal was so large and power
full that the task l had undertaken
taxed my strength to the utmost.
Indeed, had it not been for the tree
which gently hampered the buck
movements and efectually prevented
the sidewise lurches of his head, dc
not think I could have maintained
the struggle for two minutes. Beauty
also gave me noble assistance by nag
ging at his hind quarters and fanks
sNext to his horns bucks mos
effective weapons are his fore feet
which are capable of cutting like dag
GERS, and with which he strikes terri
bic blows. He used these so furious
" and with such good aim that
found the greatest difficulty in avoid
ing them, partly shielded though
| wos hy the tree. The sleeves of my