The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-10-08

! Hound after hound was started, but !
| could hear the music of the chase, now
| swelling, now dying out among the hills,
! but never coming near enough to the pond
| TO make my heart leap with that keen ex-
! pectancy which every deer hunter knows
as the bugles of the hounds sweep near
! his stand.
ate my lunch and again stretched my
! self out on the rock in aimless meditation.
My face was turned toward the head of
the pond. / could see the entire expanse
of the oval-shaped bay, which we called
the head" and could even distinguish
the lily-pads which dotted the water near
the farther shore.
AS lay thus, looking across the water,
there came suddenly within my field of
viSlon-as suddenly as If it had risen up
like nsiad from the depths beneath
the full antlered head of a magnificent
buck. 1t was steadily moving out toward
the center of the pond, and l could see, as
plainly as | ever saw anything in my life
the long, ripping wake that deer always
leaves behind it when it is swimming in
still water.
The shock of amazement with which
beheld this sudden and unexpected sight
for moment rendered me incapable of
action. Not a hound was anywhere to be
! heard. There had been no splashing
sound, such as a deer usually makes
when 1T takes to water. Furthermore, it
was but minute ago that my eyes had
been wandering up and down the shore,
and over the water between the point
where the deer first came in sight and
the shore, so that il seemed hardly pos
I sible for any object, even the small
est, to have escaped me. Yet there was
buck, all at once, swimming leis-
urely past my battle-ground out into the
pond.
After the first shock of surprise, it did
not take me long to recover my senses
and leap down to where my boat was
drawn up on the rocky shelf. Noise
lessly laying my rife in the bottom of
the boat, with single vigorous push
l sent the light, canoe-shaded craft glid-
ing far out from the rock, leaping
In myself with knee on each gun
vale, as l gave the push. Then l slid
down to the middle seat, picked up the
oars, swung the boat around, and looked
over my shoulder to get the bearings of
the deer's head. Yes, there it was, look
ing with its branched horns. as I have
heard an old guide say, like a floating
tree" had not the slightest doubt that
l should overhaul the buck inside of five
minutes at the longest, and so began to
row br1skly, but without any particular
effort in order that my nerves might be
steady when the time came to draw
Deau on JildJ magnificent head. NV light
boat cut through the water like knife
and felt so confident I was gaining
rapidly on the game that 1 did not again
look over my shoulder for a minute or
more.
When l did so, however, what was nv
establishment and CONSERVATION to find
that, instead of my gaining on the deer.
the deer had slightly, though perceptibIy,
gained upon me! l began Immediately to
take the deep, surging stroke which old
hunters and guides use when they wish
TO drive these light Adirondack boats
through the water at their highest speed.
l could feel the boat fairly lift out of wa
ter at every stroke. IN about thirty
seconds ] again looked over my shoulder.
The relative distance between myself
and the deer seemed 70 remain about
the same Certainly had gained moth
ing
This win never dop'I muttered and
l neryed myself for a fresh and greater
effort. The slender oars beut ike ashen
bows, and the boat now seemed 10 lean
half its length out Of water pulled for
couple Of minutes with all my strength