The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1898-02-04
-BRoUeHT HoME II VENIsoN

.5BoUoHT HomE TAE vENisoN-
FrEends seoGed "a They Ate BeoazHs
They We're Not in at the DEATH
II Is the habit Of an engineer whose
run IS on a division Of the Northwest
ern railway in the famous game region
Of Wisconsin, to 60 into the woods for
deer sometimes during the open season
He always comes back with gray mat
ter renewed, a fresh stock Of cOrpuscles
and If not with a fine buck at least with
hauneh Of yenison, which he divides
among his friends
He is not an egotistical man. He
would scorn 10 boast OF to exalt his own
proves IN the wilderness, 50 he can
seldom be brought down to those
minutiae which always SAVIOR Of self
glorifcation. But there IS a potency in
the reserve Of his sPesch and in the mod
est disclaimer Of his manner, that
blatant braggadocio or the common
place Of circumstantiaI narrative does
not possess. An element of romance
invests the hunter Of heroic mold, and
the beautiful rife in its irreprOachable
canvas case becomes a thing Of fearful
execution.
But there are always people, particu-
larly in a frontier town, whose pereep-
tions are not equal to anything more
subtle than gunpowder. So scOfers
arose who, even with the flesh in their
mouths, declared their disbelief that
the hunter had bagged his own game,
because forsoOth their very eyes hadnO
seen and their very ears had not heard
the fash and therepOrt that had brought
the noble stag crashing into the under
brush. And thus IL has come about
that each year when the hunter takes
to the woods he contributes his infn-
itesimal part Of the gayety Of nations.
This year when he returned with
his haunch Of Tenison, some Of the scot
fers asked very direct and searching
questions; and because the hunter had
a soul above petty detail, and because
he refused to be cross-questioned like
a guilty sehoolboy, the story was
set af1Oat on excellent authority that a
certain hunter had confessed TO selling
Frank his venison. Then these people
made merry over the situation, and the
local paper brought out a thrilling
tale Of the bold hunter who took his
trusty gun and went out into the thick
woods to chatter with red Indian for
a haU1ch Of yenisOn.
Then the hunter made mighty re-
solve He left his engine once again,
and once again went forth to slay. On
the evening of the third day he re-
turned, but this time with no beggarly
quarter of hind. A splendid stag was
wheeled before him through thestreets,
with pendant antlers, while the hunter
lowered behind in all his massive
strength, In the waning light the very
picture Of a cOnquering hero.
And the scOffers saw and were for the
moment silenced. And the hunter for
once broke his wOnted reserve. He told
them how for two days he had stalked
the game; how he had lain in wait be-
side the path; how more than once OF
twice he had sighted his quarry at an
impossible distance, though the poor
animal had not passed without expert
encing so close a call on life or limb that,
under Baron Munchausen's fire, he
would have felt himself basking in
peaceful security.
Then he told them how he had fol-
lowed a clear little stream in the hope
of finding a drinking basin that might
prove a runway for the deer But the
stream led into a ravine with precipi-
tOus, rocky sides, and after following
ii for some distance, with no appear
ance Of getting through 1t, he sat down
under a projecting ledge to rest a bit
before turning back. Sitting thus and
looking down into the water he was
startled to see a deer with antlers an
swering his gaze. He thought at first
that it must be the reflection Of a men
tai image; but a stamping Of hOOfs di-
rectly over his head assured him that
as fine buck as ever was seen was
just out Of range above the ledge. He
could not cross the stream; there was
no point for rods onIhis side from which
he could hope to get a shot. But he had
not waited for two days to be Knocked
by such proximity To make the situa-
tiOn more maddening the buck just at
this moment looked up at him out of
the water with a defiant toss Of its an
tiers and an insOlent, triumphantly
cOutemptuOus wink. That was too
much. Estimating the height Of the
cliff by the depth of the head below the
surface of the water, and carefully cal
culating the angle of incidence, he fired
against the opposite cliff The ball re-
bounded, and dull thud announced
that 1t had pierced the animal to the
heart The hole in the breast where the
ball had entered was pointed out as in
dubitable proof.
The scofers listened and had naugfbt
to say Then the hunters cut up the
venisOn and sent 1t around as a peace
ng.-ChicagO Times-Herald.