The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1895-04-02
I'm AGGRAVATING DEER.
a Dig Buole with a Passion for
Practical Jokes.
Its Fun In Steering BIRD Hunters Againot
toa-s and wild Cats-A Story
Full o. Dry IIumor-One
Mans Adventure.

headwaters Of Indian Run, Pa.,
n from all accounts is acting in
N an aggravnting manner that I'M
some one kills it before long half
lfdue folks over in that county will
2 afraid to go out hunting. Already
three persons have been all but scared
into fits by it, and others who had in
tended to go out and try their luck on
the trail Of the eccentric deer have
hung up their guns and said they
would wait.
The first to discover the big buck
1 its aggravating nature was Farm
er Joseph Baker Farmer Bakor has n
field of rye near the edge of tho woods
on one side of his farm. The rye was
up two or three inches One dny
Farmer Baker walked over to take q
look ct the rye, and there stood n
tremendous big buck, cropping tho
rye us complacently US COW eating
grass in pasture. Farmer Baker yelled
ut the buck and expected to see it
bound back into tho woods, scared
half to death; but it didn't The tres
passing deer simply raised it's head.
took an impudent look at the farmer
and resumed its feasting on the young
rye.
why, iigecrblow your impudcnce,"
said the farmer. ''Ill twist your con-
ceitcd necli"
Farmer Baker climbed the fence,
picked up stone and ron toward the
buck. The buck quit eating and
gazod ut the advancing farmer in sur
prise. Then the hairs on his mock rose
up. He laid his ears back, and came
forward in SO decided way to meet
Winner Baker that the latter turned
ingFhurricd back toward the fence. If
he had been one second later he would
have been helped over it by the bucks
horns. The farmer believes that tho
deer would have come on over the
fence after him if it hadn't happened
that Friend Jackson and Phil Sourbecr
were coming along the road just then,
on their way TO the woods after par
fridge The buck evidently did not
like the looks of their guns and the
little yellow dog they had with them,
for he rctreatcd speedily and disnp-
pcarcd in the woods.
Well" said Farmer Baker, "if it's
got so that deer can come and drive Il
man out of his own rye fields seems to
me it's time to call out the military"
bNe ~ iCdNt OdChSOn Sulu IuaC he
guessed he and Phil Sourbecr would
be about all the military it was neces-
sary to call out to suppress that inn
pudcnt buck, and they and the little
dog cut across the rye field and entered
the woods to follow up the big game.
The little yellow dog wasn't broken
for deer, but he knew that the deer
must be something he ought to run
down, and he took the fresh track and
went away on it. barking and yelping
at every jump.
You make a run for the crock,
Phil" snid Jackson. Like as not the
deer will hustle for water soon as he
hears Belix on his track, and you'll
stand chance OF getting q shot ut
him."
The creek was n mile away and Phil
started on the double quick to get
there. Jackson went after the dog.
He followed the dog two miles. and
then came up with him. The dog was
c:rcPng around in tho brush, half
crazy, for the cunning deer had thrown
him off the scent somehow. If jack
son had been good deer hunter he
would have known that the buck had
stopped in his tracks, taken o tremen-
dous leap to one side or the other, run
back in the direction he had come and
was probably even then gazing from
his hiding place in the bushes at the
frantic efforts of the hunter and dog
to find the lost trail.
After circling around for quarter
of an hour without recovering the
decr's trail, Jackson took his dog and
went on, hoping to strike the troll
somewhere ahead They had gone a
couple of hundred yards when they
started q bear from its hiding place
beneath The roots Of n fallen tree Tho
bear had no idea of tarrying in that
locality and was making off dag
onally across an open space toward
patch of laurel But jackson was not
content to have it that way, and he
banged away at the bear. Not until
that moment had it occurred to Jack
son that having started out to kill
cartridges, he was not loaded for
either deer or bear. But his dog Be-
lix was hardly capable of knowing
that important fact and when the gun
cracked he thought that oil he had to
do was to go and fetch in the game,
md he started at once to get the bear.
1t would be difficult to calculate how
many pnrtridges Jackson might have
killed that day, judging his skill as
marksman by the shoot he made at
the bear. man who shots to kill
Dear would naturally not aim at its
feet Yet this bear got the charge
rom Jackson's gun square in one of
IS fore feet The bear instantly laid
/fsclf down, bowling with pain, and
Etgan to lick and suck the wounded
prt- The recollection that he had