The Savannah morning news., 1902-12-02

Sometimes They stop when You Tell
Them to-Red Attracts Them.

Sometimes They stop when You Tell
Them tO-Red Attracts Them.
From the New York Sun.
There are some tricks in woods hunt
ing that are common property. For
instance, most hunters who pot part
ridges while the covey are sitting on a
pine or spruce tree know that the
lowest bird should be shot first. If
this is done, nearly all of the covey
will sit still to be butchered, but If
the highest bird be shot the survivors
will fly instantly. They are disturbed
not only by the noise of the dead bird
coming down through the branches,
but they see it fall and take warm
ing.
Not many hunters know, however,
that a deer under full Roadway, speed
ing down a runaway as If a legion of
hounds were after 1t, will often stop
still and instantly if it hears a shrill
whistle. The whistle is the deer's
signal of warning, of challenge and OF
sociability and 1t always attracts at
tention from them.
Similarly a running deer will often
stop if it hears an unusual, but not
terrifying, noise. A half-breed Chip
pewa of the Flambeau reservation
named Sam Pogon asserts that deer
understand the meaning of the English
word 'Stop!" and always obey it.
Whether this is true or not, and it
isn't, Sam always says "Stop!" in a
clear, mild tone instead of using the
whistle, and his deer generally stop
He does good deal of guiding and it
gives his patron rather an eerie feel
ing to lie hidden by runway with
him and hear him give his brief COM
mand.
The brown deer of the woods is. as
much attracted by red handkerchief
or any other bit of scarlet cloth as is
the antelope, and sometimes angers an
imals and sometimes arouses their
curiosity, but it never frightens them.
That is one of the reasons why most
Indian hunters wear red cloth bound
around their foreheads; the other rea-
son is that 1t is a distinguishing mark
of a human being and brother In
dams or amateurs are less apt TO mis-
take them for game and pot them as
they move slowly through the trees,
1t is fact not commonly within the
knowledge of sportsmen that a wound
ed deer, shot while speeding by a
stand, will always come back to that
stand If it has strength enough. More
deer are finally bagged by men who
simply inspect the bloodmarks and sit
down and wait than by men who take
up the blood trail.
OF course, 1T is wise to follow the
blood for half mile on a chance that
the deer has gone down, but if 1t goes
beyond that distance ii is pretty much
of certainty that it will continue for
some time longer and in that case the
best place for another shot is at the
old stand Why the deer does this is
not positively known, but It is prob
ably because 1t is best acquainted with
that runaway and in its hurt condi-
ton likes to be near its haunts.
Some men in the woods will not
shoot a doe at any time of year, no
matter how tempting the shot, and
they earn credit as self-restrained
sportsmen. Others are not so con-
scienceful and take deer of either sex
as they come.
A few of these men are wise enough
to know that in case a buck and doe
are together and it is wished to bag
both. the one to shoot first is the doe.
III the buck be shot, the doe will flash
away, never to return: If the doe is
shot, the buck will probably make
half dozen jumps going out of sight,
but, If no noise be made, will always
return to sniff at the body of his COM
panion.
This may be because the male has
more affection than the female, or
merely because his courage is higher
and he has less caution.