Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1892-06-02
A BROKEN HEARTED BUCK.
Death of Deer from Grief Over the
Loss of . HARVARD Steer

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Four years ago Horace F. Albright, of
Knob Mountain, caught a male fawn in
the Compton woods and petted it until it
followed him to his home, more than two
miles distant. The little animal soon an
swered to the name of Dick, and in a few
weeks became very much attached to one
of Albright's calves. At first the calf was
shy of the fawn, but Dick chased it around
the pasture, cornered it up and licked it
on the head until it became fond of him. and
after that they were almost constantly to-
gether.
Dick did not pay the slightest attention
to the other calves on the place, and dur
ing the summer and fall Dick and the calf
fed and played together in the fields and
woods near by. When the cattle were
''yarded" in the winter Dick stuck close to
the calf and lay down in the straw with it,
and if any of the animals came near his
chosen companion while they were resting
under the shed Dick would bristle up and
drive them away. The calf grew to be
steer, and Mr.. Albright began to work him
with a mate. He was driven on the off
side, and Dick walked by him whenever
the team was at work. He licked the steer
on the head and neck and the steer did the
same thing to him.
woods to browse while Mr. Albright was
tagging, the steer would low for him as a
COW does for her calf and Dick would
come bounding and bleating through the
brush, and he and the steer would lick
each other as though they had been sep
arated all day. Dick never noticed the
other steers in the least, and when Mr..
Albright began to stable the steers Dick
made such fuss over being kept out of
the barn that Mr.. Albright enlarged the
off ones stall so that Dick could lie with
his companion at night.
The affection of the buck and steer was
never lessened in the slightest; in fact, it
became stronger right along, and Mr.. AL
bright allowed them to be together the
year around One day while Mr.. Albright
was drawing a load of logs down the
mountain, the off steer lay down in the
road and began to groan and froth at the
mouth. Mr.. Albright Immediately I'M
yoked him and tried to get him to stand
up. Dick was walking by his side when
he lay down, and the moment the steer be-
gan to groan and roll the buck got down
on his knees, licked the steers face, bleat-
ed mournfully and showed remarkable
sympathy for the suffering brute.
The steer grew worse, and in few min
utes stretched out on his side and died
The buck continued to moan and lick the
steers head, and Mr.. Albright left him
there, drove the other steer to the foot of
the hill and went off to get man to help
him skin the dead animal When he re-
turned, Dick was still on his knees bv the
steers head. He was bleating piteously
and licking the face and neck of his lifeless
companion. Mr. Albright drove him away
several times. but he came back repeatedly
and seemed to be determined to stay by the
carcass.
Then they started to skin the steer, and
when they had removed the hide from the
head and chopped the horns off, the buck,
bleating furiously, stamped his hoofs,
bounded back and forth and acted as
though he was crazed with grief
The spot was half mile from Mr.. AL
bright's place and every day Dick visited
it, refused to eat and became so thin and
weak that he could not walk Mr. Al.
bright tried to force food down his throat,
but it was useless, and one morning he
found poor Dick lying dead in the barn
yard. - Scranton Cor. St. Louis Globe
Democrat