The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1894-11-09
Selret Miserllany.
CURIOUS INTELLIGENCE OF ANNALS.
CARLOS ERSkINE CROSBY.

In Il late number of the Home Jour
nal | noticed an article on the chaparral
cock, or road runner" in which the well
known sagacity of this bird was shown in
its method of attacking and DESTROYING
the rattle>nake. | have witnessed several
traits in the deer tribe in the far west
which certainly are worthy of attention.
not only on account of the intelligence
and sang froid shown by them under diff
cultlcS. but also for the exquisite develop
ment of that sense which prompts us to
sacrifice ourselves for those we love and to
whom we owe protection.
One summer | was encamped in the
mountains of New Mexico, where deer
and bear and pumas Nbound. One morn
ing left camp at four o'clock, and de-
Scendin@ the mountains towards the foot
hills, walking cautiously, hoping to find "A
deer 1t had rained during the night-a
rare occurrence in that climate, and al
ways eagerly expected by the hunter, fol
only then can one be sure of the freshness
of deer track. As the sun rose, | came
fairly across the tracks of two deer. doe
and fawn evidently. and followed them
for more than three hours sometimes with
great difficulty on account of the stony
character of the soil upon which no i'm
preston would be left by their little point
ed hoofS Finally, a curious whistling
snort apprised me that the game was nj Oh.
| approached cautiously and perceived the
doe and fawn together among the trees.
The doe caught sight of me in some way
IN fact | had already reason to believe that
she suspected the presence of a pursurer
from the way her course douhled-but |
kept on. taking advantage of the broken
ground. tall cacti and dwarf pines.
Suddenly heard a jump on my left, and
about scvcnty-tiye yards away, across a
deep arroyo, perceived the doe, who came
out into a clear spot and listened. She
was quite alone, and had evidently circled
around me and openly shown herself on
my left while the fawn was concealed in
the opposite direction. | raised my rifle
and fired: when the smoke cleared away
there WAS nothing to be seen. | went
SLOWLY forward, crossed the ravine, and on
attaining the other side | saw the doe ly
inc on the ground, breathing heavily, the
ball had pierced her lungs, and passing
through her body. | lost no time in end
ing her SuiferinwS and then cndeavored
to find the faWn, but entirely without sue
cess. Whatever ferocity the excitement
would speedily vanish al the view of this
gentle mother who had died to save her
offspring. The fawn was probably youn 2
and fatigued, and the doe concealed it..
meanwhile drawing the attention Of the
enemy upon herself This is in no sense
a remarkable case. rs the doe never hest
tatcs to sacrifice herself when necessary
as have often heard related by old hunt
crs.
\ second instance in which was com
rlctcly durrG proved to me that such is
the rule with the genus deer and its spe-
Cics. had mad" an expedition into the
tween the upper Pccos, and the RIO Grande,
and while riding GUictiy along one hot
morning | Spicd 4 number of antelope i'll
the distance. dismounted, and drivin =
my horse before me in the direction of the
game. arrived at about three hundred
wards from them, when kncc!ing | fired
under my horses neck. but with no other
rcsul, than to StartIc the antelope who be
gan To run in every direction a. though
,iazcd | had Jeff my heavy rifle in camp,
and only carried light Colts carbinc,
and heavy revolver. More accustomed to
mountain hunting, was dazzled by the
licrcc sun on the li@ht yellow ground
which with Il temperature of ll5 degrees
caused the earth seemingly to rise and fall
in waves. as the air trcmblcd with the heat
had evidently greatly miSCalculated
the distance, for fred Il number Of shots
without effect Greatly annoyed, | slung
NV rifle across my back leapcd on horse
back, drew my heavy revolver and Spurred
after the antelope. My horse. Il tough,
bonv. active Navajo no sooner laid his
eyes on the game than with a bound he
was after them, and away we went over
the rough. stony ground at a tremendous
pace; at times losing sight of the antelope