The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-08-14
zrST OF DEER DRIVING.
,gy .Jors or THE CHASE IN LOUIS
lana FORESTS.
Peculiar Kind OF sport in Hunting Deer
I, Frequently Results in n NTaddeninG
chase with Dogs and Horses, and There's
A.nnlnnl IL nnnnAE In IL

ITeOheullN NkNNAANn IN -
chase with Dogs and Horses, and There's
Lively Amount of Danger In II.
pr>roy. La. Aug. 1.-THE Louisiana law
p,-tec,s deer until Aug. l. Then for six months
49, man hand is against them. Just now
,re woods are vocal with the music OF the strain
Irr hounds. and the noise OF the shotgun hooms
srang ,hp tall pines and sonbrc Expresses.
planters. who ought to be in their fields at day
rst, ,lperutendinG the gathering Of the cot
,,r. are ts,ride understood ponies and far from
,le post ~ duty, and any negro who can borrow
or srea. enough powder to drive a half dozen
sing. 2 cad cut from a piece OF pipe refuses TO
vnrs at all until he has discharged his load at
,la pra,Ius quarry and has returncd 10 the
rsh.r 60 tel his vie how he missed it.
Deer chasing has been always the ~favorite
.ra,t Ut tie Loui-ianian and, as rracticed
he,.. ' diners wholly from deer Staying in
o.., f..', " the country. Here the deer Is
pm.,, 1rNuu. St|ll-huu;ing is known, but
lno followed. II is admitted that 1t is the
l-lc,t form Of deer pursuit. hut there is no
DE- music IN II. and the clanGor OF the hounds
isvInt tie Sportsman hereabouts wants. In
dr.,.ne. too. h. gets frequently the mad ex-
c,,amrnt II a dash through the woods when
,lr ta,t ~ Workmanship is required. Riding
h,iurru tree boles hat are not more than four
fr.t arart. in q light that is made dusk by the
ir~,artviuiuG branches. over ground that is
rlr-hy aud filed with treacherOus holes, is not
riifuE ~ q smart trOt over a turnpike.
A. arv moment the horseman may be swept
from the saddle by a hanging vine, or his horse
nay rur his foot into a woodrat I hole and turn a
sume-s.u' t. rolling over on his owner and crush
,rs out his life. This accident has happened
frequently in northern Louisiana. Indeed. the
percentage Of men badly hurt in deer driving
!. urrrr than the percentage Of fatalities or
casualties on the English hunting fields.
though the latter are written about more. Per-
haIfe the most singular accident in the annals
a. BlSsisr parish occurred toward the close OF
the last deer season. and resulted in the death
ofJed Thompson. a negro farmer in a small way
IuauIuvero fdaer driving. JEFF had a bay pony Of
r--a' .peri ana activity and a very hard mouth.
Il, rode him with q heavy Spanish bit with a
long shank 10 it. 1t was strong enough TO tear
q horses Jaw out Of Joint. but even with this
Instrument he was unable to hold the horse
when excited 10y the bayinE Of the hounds. and
It WAS his custom to give the pony his head.
trusting 10 his sure seat 10 bear him harmless
il the mad dash between the trees.
Thompson was a man OF violent temper and
h. used 10 lash the pony at every Jump he
made in these bursts Of speed. IN his last
hunt he carried q new awhide "Quirt," 4
heavy. short whip, and this was attached to his
right wrist 10y a loop Of buckskin. The last
seen Of JEFF he was tearing through hey woods.
his horse having bolted as usual. and his right
arm was rising and falling with ponderous
regularity. bringing down the cruel whip on
the pony's tanks. His wife reported nearly a
week afterward that he had not come home.
ind a searching party OF negroes was
started. They found the horse at midday
H. - III
rua away. The saddle was still on. but was
turned and hung under his belly. One OF the
e-irrups was gone and the reins were broken.
Three miles from there they were attracted by
h heavy flight Of buZzards circling above the
trees and dropping down through the branches.
and when they approached the birds rose in q
swarm. One sat upon the head of an object
that swung from a branch until they had come
within twenty feet OF il. and then few unwill-
inEly away.
The first idea Of these negroes was " lynch"
THOMPSON had mmitted some crime, they
thought, had insulted a white woman or stolen
& COW or something. and the white folks had
hanged him. They have in these parts a
surerstitious horror Of a hanged man. and
have been warned besides always TO forbear
touching the body Of one who has been exc
elted by vigilantes. So they kept a respectful
distance from the dead rider. and wondered
what he had done. II was some time before
they noticed that he was not suspended by the
neck at all. and. furthermore. there was nc
Ilacard on his breast. They had never found a
negro dependent from a tree without a placard
on him. and they made bold TO come closer.
Then they saw that Thompson was hanging
ty the "quirt." the lash Of which was wrapped
around q massive limb over his head. and its
strong loop still encircIed the right wrist. which
had been dislocated. 1t became plain that the
negro had raised his whip hand hiGh TO strike
The horse, the lash had become eltanEled and
the Jerk from the saddle had pulled h!s wrist
out Of place. The horse had kept on and the
man mao hung there until he died from thirst.
BE had no knife In his pocket with which 10 cut
himself i2ose, and could not have reached his i'm.
ktfgheu name or pulled h!mselfupin any way Il
he had one, He was as efiectually shared as II
Salsht IN a beartrsp. and the part OF the woods
n when he met hls death was a lonely one, at
least i've miles from any road. He was a strong
NIal. INJURED 70 exposure and hardship, and
nast have suffered greatly. 1t, is supposed
Llal ne Ildq Gicd not q great while before he
Na.> found, because the carrion birds had gone
%Tiy 10 Tie .ength Of plucklng out the eyes.
NAI'I are always the first point OF attack. That
was the last OF Jet Thompson. and as no one
use ~ TINS country Is in the habit OF whipping
Ea!aenci horses through the forests the accl-
,ssisr Parish boasts probably the best type
o. aeerhoundt 70 be found in the South. The dogs
hSys teen bred here for a hundred years intel
teeL admitted only when the foreign animals
Ia demonstrated their worth, There has
,trl eoiAe ihbre"d!ng, but not enough to affect
III. we ana stamina OF the stock. Without e1
ciiiuI the deerhOunds Of BOssier are black
SHa Tan y, color, Many Of them are known
LD.h,s as ipur-eyed dogs that is, above each
e{" th"y have a small round spot Of the tan
sh,'wine wildly on the black Their ears.
Mhlrh are I"nduiouS are soft a. silk 70 the touch.
ilr gOgs, are both sturdy and swift. docile and
iran. They are descendants Of beagles
brought from England, with an admixture OF
ElAnguEa and some Of the royal blood Of the
H,,girh sthghpuBd courses in their veins.
4hr ~hygru"s, Of course, have a cummoner
SlF pl hound, but 20 mixture Is allowed 10
.'Nf. These packs. which number sometine s
IrHlT.', are trained to run deer exclusively
I'''N are not allowed 10 waste their time and
t,'n'N on boblaiied wildcats or foxes.
ft'n - 'helr stanrhnezs that IA pack has been
3"."" : ruu Il deer for thirty hours. carrying
entirety ont 81 the region in which IL was
ISt4Led, and finally killing it more than sixty
S.i"s away, j. this chase the dogs went over
cNfr man hali the BOssier parish. clear acrns:
nr.'sl"F parish and slew in Claiborne. They
Mrfr - exhausted that il took their owners
,h,'r days, 10 get them home, They are
tnL tlyN"d ip touch meat at all during the
.,uh'lLf season, being fed wholly on coTnbreaC
,l.hhi. cooked for them and dun ped into ket,
~ ,l"t-IGuor' which is the liquor let
. '"f ha.iLg bacon and greens. This diet, Il !:
TO-. MAKES Their noses Eeeuer and their wine