The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1893-10-21
sHoRN OF THEIR HORNS.
An Operation Necessary to Render Vicious
Young Buck Decr Harmless.

IA
, An Operation Necessary to Render vlciou,
Young Buck Door Harmless.
Five vigorous young buck deer at tn,
zoo are harmless as a result Of operation.
with lAsAo and meat'saw by Director Smith
and his six assistants, Bucks with horns
hard horns, are dangerous to the lives OIL
their mates, their keepers and themselves,
Everything about them In their quarters
shows the effect OF rough usage, even the
trees, fences and ground. All the trees in
the inciosure have 10 DO protected by iron
railings. Otherwise their lives would be
torn out by the wicked deer.
Ordinarily . bucks horns are allowed to
grow until nature sheds them. II the ami
mails are of a particularly good disposition,
this is allowable. But in most cases they
become vicious ~ soon ~ the velvet has
dried and worn Off their antlers, and they
become dangerous.
The first thing necessary in relieving a
buck Of its horns is to catch the buck. In
an Enclosure a lasso is resorted to, and only
by those quick with the eye and leg. AL
the keepers went to tho two fallow deer
%paddocks armed with lassos. Some were
as efficient as cowboys. Others resortcd to
the dodge act, getting behind trees rs the
bucks dashed for them, full of fight, stamp
AifS tAiUAt AtSO III aBS
Five beautiful fallow deer occupied the
north paddock. Ono was so fat that tho
director hesitated about catching it. But
as it was the worst of the lot it had to I'M
dergo the operation. So much for a bad
disposition.
Keeper Snyder laid his plans for that one
first. The buck, with lowered head and
distorted n~ostrils, charged the keeper. Sny-
der lodged and swung his lari%t. 1t missed
and fell on the animals back. Another
dash, this time for the othur keepers. All
got out of the way. One more swing by
Snyder, and tho loop fell over the bucks
horns. a tug-of-War resulted, Keepers Sny-
der, Holmes, Warren and Cook on one end
of tho rope and the buck OF the other.
Slowly the buck was e'wn up to a tree
until it's nntlers went around both sides.
Snydernnd Warren then seized its legs, and
as the animal jumped back threw it. All
four of its legs Were tied underneath, as a
calf is treated on going to market In a farm
buggy. The bucks struggles were fearful,
and a thin coating of blood and froth ap-
peared ut its nostrils. After being secured
Keeper Shannon produced n common meat
saw, and in two minutes the noble animal
had been shorn of its a~dornmcnts.
1t was SO weak when released that aftcra
Coupie Oh ttrIlilC DCunuS IL landed nQG Oh
the ground and painted and hcaved. While
it was recovering the others underwent the
operation. Invariably whenever o
lasso was thrown the animals bounded in.
to tho air six feet, and the moose fell short.
Three thousand spectators saw the battle
and cheered the men Oh.
In one Of the bucks charges Keeper
Holmes knee was badly bruised by Il blow
from tho animals hoofs. If the blow had
been square, his leg might have been bro
When released, the bucks bounded
sway to the iron fence, their heads striking
it 10 feet above the ground, only to fall
and recover themselves for another charge.
One got his head between the bars, and
it being a tight fit the whole fence shook
rs it tugged and jerked. 1t seemed as if it
would break its neck. Instead, the iron
bars, an inch in diameter, bent aside and
the head to escape. Another buck
charged with such abandon that it's nose
bled.
The first one clipped was in a bad way
for some time. The keepers had to carry
it into the house, where it lay fainting and
to rise. Mr.. Smith said the fat had
accumulated to such an extent about the
animals heart that the action of that organ
materially affected, and as in the case
of an overfat person great excitement was
to produce heart failure.-New York
WorlL