Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1891-09-10
NUMBER 10.
Old Times.
Ed. Reoister-

appeared above the mountain tops. All.
| just wanted to reach up and take tOld
Betsey" down from her resting place on
| those bucks horns above the door, How
many, many times | have, before any
one of THE family were awake, stolen
| silently down stairs and taken my gun
down and stolen silently away to the
mountains. And now on Just such a
morning as this feel a longing. "A hunger
ing. Oh, | feel so restless, only just let
me once more roam over those mountains
where, in the DAYS long ago, | spent so
many days and nights. 1t makes me feel
so sad, so lonesome, to be shut out of the
world, and shall l ever forget the good
times l have had in the years of my young
hunting days and of my old tutor! No,
never, never.
Well do | remember one just such day
as this in my early hunting days. | was
out IN the mountains all alone, miles and
miles from any house; | came upon a
torked horn deer lying dead. [ stopped
and looked all around 10 see if
could find who or what had killed that
deer. | could see no signs of a
struggle. l could see no signs of a
bullet mark. There were no tracks of
any other animal. No ruffiing of the
leaves, but l saw something had made
small hole in the jugular vein. [ saw
something had torn the eyes out. On
the small of the back | saw the skin was
full of holes as if shot with a shot gun.
sat down on rock and for an hour or two
studied the matter over in my mind.
Now what could have killed that deer in
such manner! | knew there were no
hunters in those mountains that would
have killed that deer, except in the night
at the lick. | could fad no shot marks
on the tees. At last gave it up. But,
| said, 81 will ask my old tutor.' The
next time saw him told him all about
it; all the signs and marks on the deer.
He said, THAT Is an eagles work..
''What, can an eagle kill deer?'
eyes, and before you have hunted
many years, if you keep your eyes open,
you will be very apt to see how they do
it. And it don't take one very long,
either.''
AS l had been sick most of my life, it
tired me to climb those rough. high
mountains. My old tutor said to me one
day, "Oon tspend your time travelling ov-
er the mountains, and firing yourself out
for nothing. When you get 20 a good
place where you can see a good ways all
around you, get up on high rock where
you can sit and look all around You, get
where you can back up againsta big rock,
because, while you are looking way off
over the hills and hollows, a panther, or
a lynx, or some other varmint might slip
up on you before you KNOW it, and jump
on you. 1t is always good thing to
have something to back against, and Iust
keep your eyes wide open and ears, too;
don't let thing move without you see or
hear it. Look close to you; then let
your eyes take little longer circle; ifl
your eyes light on anything YOU can't
make out, watch it until you can make it |
out; look at every tree, every old log, |
every stump. every rock. If you see |
some kind of game don't get excited; sit |
still until you have had time to think a |
little. 1t don't know you are there; so |
you can take time to study how to get |
near enough to kill it,
One day while perched up on high |
ledge of rocks, where | could see long |
way up and down the hollow between the
two high mountains and way up the sides
of the mountains opposite me, thought |
[ heard a deer bleat. | turned nv head |
and listened. Soon / heard deer bleat |
as if in distress. clutched my gun and |
strained my ears and eyes. Soon heard |
it again, and it seemed to be coming
nearer, but way up the valley. just as |
heard it again, | saw something at first
that locked like the dark shadow of
small cloud fitting along just over the
tops of the hazel bushes, that tringed the |
branch that ran down the valley AS it
was coming so as to pass in front OF me,
sat down and watched it. All at once
saw that dark shadow swoop down and
then up again; as it went down, | heard
a deer make most pitiful noise. | said
All SdStC ID ehtcI Iildt utti. as IL CdIle
in full sight and passed me, some three
hundred yards away, [ saw it was a very
arge, bald eagle. Just as it passed me
saw it 60 down and light on the small
Of the deer's back, Just as had seen cir
;us girl riders jump through hoop and
light on the horses back. As the deer
nd eagle went out of sight, l said to old
8etsey 'slet's have hand in that fight
tell you it did not take me long to go
down the side CT the mountain
md reach the track of the deer. like d
| struck the trail and half-stoop
ng [ ran along the trail and looking
Ihead; after going about quarter of a
nile | looked way ahead and saw the
white head of the eagle moving very fast
rs though he was picking at something.
With my moccasined feet | glided up
keeping large tree between
Is. AS soon as came iE reach of the
eagle, pecred around the tree. Yes,
there stood that great, tald-head eagle
on the deer's head with his head down
o the deel' s neck. | saw he had killed
he deer and was drinking the blood as 1t
lowed from cut he had made in the Jug
AZ vein with his bill. After watching
S long as cared to, [ said TO ''old t.
ey'', t'You just put that bullet right in
hat eagles eye" brought her to my
bou1der md drew down ou tho ava onJ