Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1902-03-07

ger hills directly and maybe you'll
see something there with enough
speed and twist to be entertaining.
You can bet one thing, though, that
if you shoot at one, as you have been
in the habit of doing with a shotgun
before the hounds, you will make a
dead miss with the rife most of the
time
''That kind of talk is all right for
those who don't know how to shoot
a shotgun or anything else. But you
just run me up against one of your
deer if you want to see something
artistic
''And your talk is all right for one
who knows nothing about rife. But
I am surprised you should try to work
it on me when you know that know
that you have never shot a rifle in
your life,' said I, with great gravity
of tone.
"You had better confine your tai
ents to painting California rainbows.
You can fool people that way all
right. But you needn't start in so
late in life to educate me on shoot
ing.''
In about half an hour we were in
some higher hills and there we met
Bill Martin, another old companion
of mine, who was out after deer. AS
we sat down to rest a bit Martin
pulled off his cartridge belt and laid
it on the ground so that Boswell
could see the end of the bullets. They
were hollow in the point and filed
with wax-some of the first eXpan-
sive bullets used in this country. Bos-
well took out one from the belt and
began to examine the ball with great
| interest.
"What's this for?" he asked.
That's the chamber for the anti
septic. It's capped with wax I re-
piled very seriously.
"Antiseptic!'' he exclaimed, big
eyed.
eyes. In these big hills we have to
make such long shots sometimes on
wild deer we have to have something
to keep the meat from spelling in hot
weather before we can get to it. Mine
are that way, but they are all in the
magazine of the rifle"
| Martin took the cue in twinkling
and, with an air quite as serious as
mine, asked me:
| "What kind do you like best?''
"Why, concentrated creosote is the
best, if you. are going to smoke VEN
ison. But for fresh meat chloride of
zinc is the BEST replied.
'I don't like the idea of it, though.
Too much like embalming," said Mar
tin, with an air of disgust. tits
pity arsenic is poison, for it's so sure
| and don't taste bit. You can notice
just faint taste from the chloride
| if you have had to lose much time in
finding your game in the brush, or if
it's got away wounded"
| Boswell had started to pick out the
wax with the point of his knife, but
had suspended operations and sat
looking at us with big-eyed wonder.
Neither of us quivered, but we contin-
| ued the discussion in that line until
finally Boswell, with all the artless-
ness of a sucking lamb, gracing a
childlike smile of bashful incredulity,
| said:
"Say, you fellows are fooling about
that, amt your"
| WhereupOn we took a roll on the
ground, but he didn't see anything
funny about it and kept dignified
| silence for the next hour, as he wan
dered away by himself.
We finally beckoned him to us, for
we had found the track of two big
bucks. We told him to go and get
a position on the top of the ridge
where he could get shot if they ran
around on either side.
"Pig tracks," he said with contempt
as he looked at them.
"Well, you make goat tracks for
that ridge, and you may see some
thing"
''You just want to get me to climb
that big hill in the hot sun for moth
ing'
It'll be nothing all right enough,
for you'll never hit anything, but it's
worth something to see good buck
run through the brush and rocks
said I.
another California fake, I'll bet
dollar he muttered as he went off.
After waiting awhile for my friend
to reach the ridge, I sent Martin
around the hill one way while 1 took
the tracks that led the other way, so
that some one would have a chance
for shot if we could start the deer.
After following the tracks about half
an hour, as they wound around hill,
reached the ridge that commanded
a view of the other side of the main
hill. AS 1 followed the trail up it's
side there was heavy thump of
hoofs from its top and grand smash
of brush. I scrambled to the top as
| fast as 1 could, and reached its crest
well out of breath in time to see two
big bucks in high riochet career, now
clearing brush with lofty bound, then
diving through the heaviest like a