Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1897-04-01
A BOY GOT THE STAG.
he Shot Down the Prize which London
Sportsnnen Had Sought In Vain.

Sportsnen Had Sought In Vain
The gray stag, which, according 10 The
Badminton Magazine, had roamed all over
the northwest of Ross county, in Scotland,
passing from one deer forest into the rest,
puzzling still hunters by its devious course
and crafty ways and giving buck fever to
everybody that shot at it, until it came TO
be regarded as a charmed beast, was killed
ut last by a boy.
Corrievear deer park is not very large,
but considerable number of deer are
killed there, and it Is a neat little place for
coy hunts The owners live in London
and are kept informed Of what. goes on
there by Colin Macdonald the head game
keeper, who knows the uplands better than
most people know books. One day early
in July Percy Stephens, one of the own
ers, got letter, saying that the celebrated
gray stag had come over the fence into
Corrievear land from Inveronaig, a neigh
boring forest, where the beast had escaped
a number of bullets. Once a week there
after letters came telling that the gray stag
had been seen ON Shis moor and in that
wood. On Aug. l2 the gray stag, covered
with miro, hopped out of a mud hole and
stared at the men and dogs that were
| looking over tho lay of the land. Stalking
began the next day, and in a week Ste
phens got a shot at a little over roo yards,
I but missed. A running shot at $50 yards
was equally unsuccessful. Others got
| trials, but the big brute waved its tail at
| them. Every effort was made to drive the
stag to tho hunters, but it usually took up
| its position on the hills behind the hunters
| and looked at their backs.
A boy whose mother feared he would
get the measles in the city arrived at the
hunting lodge one day and turned things
topsy survy in a way that got him heartily
disliked by every one. One day the shoot
ers gave little rowing party and left tho
boy at home to amuse himself by shooting
rabbits. The boy when the party was out
of sight, got "rabbit gun" in the shoot
ing lodge. He had been expected to take
! 22 caliber weapon, but instead he took a
3S caliber because it was bigger. There
was nearby evergreen tree patch in which
the boy was expected to hunt, but instead
he travelled three hours into the upland
looking for roebuck he had seen. Being
well tired out, he lay down in the sunlight
and went to sleep. He slept for several
hours, and when he awoke the great gray
buck, with several other deer, was before
| MIN, 6O yaruS OH.
Without realizing that the gun in his
hand was fit to kill so mighty beast, the
boy resolved to "prick him up to see the
beggar jump" He fired, and the deer
threw up its head and for moment stood
looking toward him. He began to fear tho
brute was about to attack him. Then
away tho deer plunged, around hill and
out of sight. The boy climbed to the hill,
arriving there Just in time to see the deer
60 plunging hoofs overhead. He fired an
other bullet into it to make sure of its
death.
A rainstorm came up, the boy got lost
and was found weeping and wet through
by the gamekeeper, Macdonald. At the
lodge the boy told his story. The Eng,
lishmen grew angrier and angrier until
he came to the bucks death. Then they
could not contain themselves.
~ must fain draw veil over the scene
that followed his confession" Mr.. Ste
phens says, "for my humble pen is totally
inadequate to do justice to it. But suffice il
to say that it was a very dispirited boy
that started for the south at the earliest
hour next morning. During the day the
stag was brought down. 1t weighed Is
stone, and had IA points. -