Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1899-02-09
Old Times.

Ed RegiSter-How it SHOWS, anG
how it has showed for the last few
days! And now as l sit by a good
hickory fire, how the early scenes O
life come up to my mind! One in par
ticular. 1t was in the winter of the
year 1915, the year before | was mar
| ried. The summer of 1874 was the
year that all later high waters haye
been compared TO. The rivers were
the highest any white man had ever
known, and the following winter the
coolest. with the deepest SHOWS. That
winter, about this time of the year,
| there came such a long and binding
snow storm that for several days nc
| one could venture out of sight of the
house, much less get out in the noun
tains hunting. At last, when the
storm was over. and we could see the
sky and the stars, the ground was COW
cred with snow just to my knees. AS
it had stormed so long l knew all
kinds of game would be out stirring to
get something to eat. So, as soon as
daylight began to show in the east,
wrapped up in my hunting shirt, and,
with ''Old Betsy" on my shoulder, l
started out for hunt in the noun
tains. But. wasn't it hard wading
through the snow, most two feet deep!
| said to myself, eff | can't walk,
don't think the deer and turkeys can. ;
After tiresome walk-or wade-I
got out in the woods right where Doc
tor Peck afterwards built house. and
right there l found a great flock of
turkeys just flying down from their
roosts. AS each turkey alighted it
would go down almost over it's back ia
the snow. and there they were! II
they tried to run, they would just wal
low along; if they tried to fly their
wings would lay spread out on the
snow. They could neither fly or run!
AS would shoot ones head off, the
others would go fluttering few feet
and stop.
After had shot three or four heads
off | said to myself, "What do you
want to kill so many for? Haven't
you got a dozen or SO hanging up in
the meat house nowP o just you quit
and let them alone, poor things! They
are half starved and snowbound; let
them alone. / will go up on the noun
tain and kill an old buck" So / went
poking along through the snow up the
steep side of the mountain, sweating
and putting. How many times | had
to stop to rest before / at last got to
the top of the mountain. don't know
but found it hard road to travel.
As mounted the very top of the noun
tain looked down its side, and I saw
herd of deer away down below me.
They were headed right towards me,
so / waited for them as they came
cropping any tender thing such as
fungus growing on old stumps and
logs. or the moss on the side of the
trees. And how greedily they would
chew these things, as If they tasted so
good! And they are good, for l have
tasted them myself just to see how
good they are. But, after all, should
not like to make steady diet off OF
them; but for all that the deer are
very fond of them.
As stood aud watched those deer
feeding, one great big fellow came as
near me as I wanted him, and as he
turned broadside to me I drew down
on him and touched the trigger. At
the crack of my rife the way that deer
did kick high and go right down the
mountain-side like a hurricanei ALI
at once he turned somersault and the
way the snow flew was sight. And
there he lay while the others went on
the way they were headed, with
their white tails swinging. It's