The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-01-21

dozen attempts 70 stalk him. 'Thore are lett IN
foot These people have tried their hands and
they. never have been able 70 catch a glimpse
c~learinss and have stood watch about the fsids
when the corn and oats were young, bu! they
have not set eyes upon. the huge form. In The
possible I" ;sloy /, By wing in wall 81 moonlight
nights and shooting II MS II entered the rows
ofcorn, This IL sometimes done BY those who have
no packs " hounds. But Frank Dcvine. having
banauet,ed one night. Is ap, 70 be ten TO twenty
miles away on the next night. laying waste
budding fruits Of some other mans industry.
Lbs practical, ublquity o. hits deer Is ts most
puIlling aud preservative thing about him.
Thsre IN no doubt that. In addition " bis EN-
durancs and speed, be possesses u distinct sense
OF humor There In no other ex planaton Of the
way In which hs waits upon slow packs II Is
his manner W lead the chase through the most
difficult Of country and 10 put At the nst burst
a great distance between him and the dogs. Hav'
ing left them two miles behind and surmising,
from the change in their voices. that they are
growing disheartened over the coldness OF The
trail, he has turned deliberately hack and APP
preached within q hundred yards of them. finally
measured by their speed. SO running, with the
dogs almost always within view Of him, crazed
with excitement their tongues hanging out ana
their lungs riven In the ioyousncss 81 an e1pected
slaughter, he has cantered for miles and miles,
avoiding with marvellous Judgment all places
wherein a hunter might he waiting for him and
ENJOY III W ~ I'LL VIC uOpcltSS tdkrfHcSS ~ NM
toiling enemies. Hounds 30 laid upon his trail
have travelled until. one after another, they sank
10 the ground. utterly powerless 10 go another
Fam fasna i bs sn%' x iSaf 1 never !" BE- be h issSSniI Is t .Sds
until al least three dogs were found fast enough
TO keep him moving at top speed and sAunch
enough 70 run him all day and all night Y neoss-
eAIy. The number three was specified because
neighboring planters were convinced that no two
hounds would be able 10 conquer him and pull
him down. although be were brought 70 bay;
r.. H. ,L,,l. --~,A. .-A nab RnnAd
OF only slightly injured. viii seriously MAIN and
whip any unarmed man who endeavors 70 capture
H. and the great deer that " at once the admiration
snd ths hatred OF every hun.ei n %s9ua INV m,a.
chief in a close encounter than any two BUCKS
that walk through the pines Their manner 81
fighting Is almost wholly with the front feet ~
Is not often that their horns are brought into play
against any animal other than themselves: WIN
the foreleg curved and the sharp hoof brought
down with lightning speed, a slicing wound v
tina, does not enter halthade deep There IS
no man around here who would care TO enter
the corner Of a rail fence and give the finishing
slash 70 Frank Devine II he were still on his feet
As during his years In this region the deer has
been consistently destructive in crop seasons,
often breaking down the eighth Of an acre Of corn
In one night, apparently IN wantonness. he mas
compelled 10 exert ali Of bis intelligence ali Of the
time, lie has been tried by driving. by stalking.
by frs hunting and even BY a rude attempt "
trap him in a pitfall, Some whites OF the poorer
class, discovering a beaten pathway through
the woods, much marked with deer tracks, and
knowing that Frank Devine was in the neighbor-
hood. dug a great hole and covered II with branches
and earth, First a COW belonging 10 one VI them
fell in and then a half blind mule ~fUloWed broke
the COW 5 back and smashed its own leg, There
is one season during which the deer might lie
captured and that Is the rutlng season. Then
all bucks are less cautious and seem IN some way
"a lose both power Of scent and acuteness u hear
ing. Moreover when the fighting madness Is
on they do not much care whether they meet an
opponent Of any kind or not Unfortunately
the giant always disappears from this part Of tho
country at that time and remains away from SIX
weeks 70 two months, Where he goes Is not
known, but IL is certain that he seeks some deep
haunt in a much wilder part Of the State, IL Is
certain that he does not experience any difficulty
In finding mates, for there is no beast Of has kind
able 10 stand a against him in combat for five min
utes. He spends his moulting or shedding sea
son here, however. and more than one enormous
pair Of anuers has been pick ed up In the woods
which Is believed 70 have come from his huge
head. The last was found five miles from here
on the edge Of Otter swamp. Ii has eighteen
points and measures nearly a yard from tip 10 tip
When In the velvet that Is, when his new horns
are spTo19'ingi Fran. De,ine,s wa'Ghtulness is
and dankest parts Of the forest and comes into
the fields only at long intervals. lie has been
chased several times when IN this condition, but
has never played with the dogs. HIS object has
been to get out Of pursuit as quickly as possible
and he has always succeeded. He Is so far away
an hour after the Jump is made that the dogs run
in dispirited fashion and the hunters, recognizing
the signs Of a beaten pack, go slowly homeward.
In the long campaign which has been waged
against HIM and, Is yet in progress, Frank
Devine, the UNRELIABLE deer. has not gone
scatheless He has been hit three times, but
never wounded seriously enough TO diminish
his speed or TO lessen his endurance. Once,
fitting like a shadow between the tree bolrs at a
distance of fifty yards, he was covered by John
Scanland, a noted shot, who gave him two barrels
from q 10 gagged gun loaded with blue whistler
buckshot and rolled him head over heels lie
was up in an instant, however, and bounded away
without showing slownesS or weakness in his
leaps 1t has been commended here, AZ elsew here,
that the fastest thing on its feet in the world IS
a fest horse II is a certainty that there has
been hitherto nothing hereabOuts ~ keep pace
with some Of the ponies that are descended from
notable quarter horse stock. A we'll bred and
active pony will outfOot q greyhound, and there
forced into the open. provided it did not have more
than a hundred yards Of start Frank Devine
has demonstrated, however. the possession 81
more speed than the fastest horse in this county.
The animal Is owned by Theodore Sanders0n
and has distanced all Of tho swift quarter. mile
dashers around here. Three weeks ago, in one
OF the many attempts TO kill the deer, Sanderson,
who was working the dogs, Jumped Frank Devine
In Il thin pine thicket not 200 yards from a mile.
long field belonging % absent heirs. II has
not been in. cultivation in a decade and Is bare
Of trees and bushes as we'll as having q level sur.
face. The deer broke for the open Immediately.
Sanderson shot, OF course missed and then over
rode his dogs in the effort 10 get near enough
for another shot. The deer struck the field l25
yards u the good and five seconds later the man
and the horse burst through. When the great
rover leaped into the woods on the further side
he was 800 yards ahead and going like the wind,
though the pony. under a light weight and ridden
20 the mines, was doing his best In this chase
Sanderson threw away his gun, which he found
again after a half hour Of search, and he said
that il he had had the chance, he would have pulled
of his boots
Three times Frank has been started when in
company with other deer Once there were two
other bucks with him and on the other occasions
he was accompanied by does, He has always
left his companions as II they were standing
still II IS believed that his speed is so greatly
in excess Of that u other members Of the deer
family that he has been missed because the shoot
ers can not accustpm themselves IN holding far
enough ahead Of him. II Is Sanderson's opinion
that II Frank Devine were travelling along a line
which would bring him past a stand at a distance
Of seventy five wards and the gun were pitched
UP and fired when he was still a half mile away,
the shot might catch him in the launches.
mr. nam OrAnn ~