San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1896-11-24
BUCK FEVER.
Various Forms of the Ailment Which Are
Likely to Attack Hunters

various Forms OF the Aument winch Are
| Likely to Attack Hunters.
| Hunters sometimes get excited when
they see game, and call the state of
mind by a variety of names, of which
buck fever, buck paralysis, buck ague
and tenderfoot's baptism are the best
known.
| Buck fever properis distinct from any
and all of the other forms, though usual
| ly the narrators of hunting tales do not
distinguish nicely between them. When
man has buck fever his face gets red,
| and later on he has fierce headache
that sometimes lasts long time. 1t
DOES not take much to give man buck
| fever. When one has the fever it is
usually a sign that the stricken one is
worried about neutrality-suspicious. a
cartridge has stuck in his gun or the
game shows signs of retreating. Any
hunter is liable. 1t comes unexpectedly
and with a suddenness that makes good
shooting impossible.
Buck paralysis makes it utterly inn
possible for the victim to move. The
! tyro sitting on a runway hears the dogs
coming back on the mountain side. He
knows that he must not move lest he
alarm the game, and he sits with every
muscle rigid and eyes starting out.
! The game-a deer, fox, or rabbit-sud-
denly leaps into the open and, try as he
| may, the stricken hunter cannot move
He tries hard to lift the rife, but fails.
When at last the game is out of sight
the victim manages to rise to his feet,
end then sits down again, too weak to
stand. When the guide comes along
the white face and shaky knees tell tine
story. The experienced hunter never
gets the paralysis on a runway, unless
he has never before hunted by logging
the game, but in the woods the still
hunter sometimes finds himself sud-
denly so close to the game that he can
almost touch it. To save himself from
starvation the stricken hunter cannot
raise his rife or move. Men have
watched deer under such circumstances
for many minutes, and only when the
game was out of sight have they been
able to move. Others recover from the
paralysis only to take on the form Of
ague.
With buck ague shaking his bones
and making his muscles feel like Jumps
Of jelly, the hunter can sometimes shoot
20 rapidly that the shots rattle like
beans, but he cannot hit deer-he
could not hit barn Ague takes a
dangerous turn at times. The victim
fires his rifle from his arm without
putting it II his shoulder, and his COM
panion, should he have one, must leap
quickly to escape the bullets. Again,
men have fired guns over their back,
while the deer stood looking at them
face to face. B. F. Kent, of Philadel-
phia, n. Y, once had to lie down to es-
cape the bullets sent flying over his
head by another hunter stricken with
buck ague.
The tenderfoot's baptism is curious
sight. Not necessarily is the baptized
one a green hand. The afflicted one
perspires and the perspiration pours
off him in streams. One man was so
afflicted in the Maine woods last year
when he saw moose. When it was all
over he took handkerchief out of his
shirt pocket to wipe his face with, and
| discovered that the handkerchief was
literally dripping wet.
| Various other forms of buck fever ere
recognized by local names. Men who
appear as cool as an old timer but for
get TO shoot, belong to one class. Others
| jump up and down in their excitement,
while still others try to catch the game
In their hands. One man at least has
been known to faint under the excite
ment of the chase. Athletes get faint
and sick at times. All the forms have
been known to afflict one patient, but
usually a man has two or three forms
that comes on at times and are I'm
| durable.
| When hunter speaks of buck fever
it does not necessarily imply that a deer
was the cause of it. Squirrels, rabbits,
ducks, woodcock, ruffed grouse. or any
thing else sought with gun may bring
it on. The word buck was used be-
cause deer usually cause the most vio-
lent forms Of excitement.-N. Y. Sun.
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