Evening journal., 1904-09-28
DANCE OF THE DEER
THE OLD DOES GRACEFUL ANTlcs
WITH HER YOUNGSTERS.

Ihnt Ana Witnessed nt huhtcFs
A Novel Circus In Fairy Ring.
The Young Lord OF the Woods.
The first time saw him wgs in the
company Of his mother and sister,
whom he much resembled, says Hugh
NJ. Warrand In Blackwood's Magazine.
He was playing and nibbling along the
soft edge Of a little tarn. What o
dainty, nimble, unconccrned looking lit
tie person he was! I sat hidden on
hillock about 200 yards distant watch
ing the trio. His mother was very
large old doe, whom / had known by
sight for several seasons. but this was
the only one IN which she had been sue
cessful in rearing both her infants TO
such an age Of semi-independence.
II might have been week later ere
l saw the old mother doe out again
with her family. when again found
her feeding by the little tarn in the
hollow. She appeared totally unaware
Of my presence. and what she was
about l could not imagine for she
strolled backward and forward as a
man might who was making up his
mind about something.
Suddenly she sprang forward a yard
or two into a round open space in the
heather, hitherto unnoticed by me. and
began running round and round. As
II from out Of the very earth and al
most at the same moment into the cir
Gle jumped Master Buck and his sis
ter, and before had time TO guess at
what was going TO happen l found my
self the solitary spectator of certainly
the most novel and graceful circus I
had ever seen or may ever hope to see
again. fF
Round went the old doe faster and
faster. her children after her Then
she faced about. chasing the Batter this
time Again she turned and was FOL
lowed, and so the game went on. Pres
entity all three were out Of the ring
led by the doe, and bounding away
through the heather. over the ridge and
out of sight A'I''-
/ thought that 1 had seen the last OF
them for one day. but not so. Back
beheld the performers coming at full
gallop, and this time they had another
performer with them. Last years
fawn had Joined the troupe On they
all came without a stop and into the
fairy ring, where was treated tC
another graceful performance, which
seemed rather more complicated thar
the first l wish / had studied il bet
ter, but I was so surprised at the
whole thing and It was over so quick
~ that l really had not a fair chance
to grasp every detail.
In a few minutes the ring was emp
ty, the performers out Of sight. and
left alone to wonder II what / saw wa
real or imaginary. Real 1t certainl,
was. for when my astonishment hat
worn off a little l got up and went fol
ward to view the fairy circle, where
Z found abundant traces of my fairies
and a few yards away 1 found anoths
circle, which was evidently in use, an
, farther on another. which appeared ol
! and disused. In one stood a tree,
! another two stumps of trees cut dow
10 the latter being the one most in use,
) judge by the state OF the ground.
D went home happy that evening, fC
! / felt that / had been a witness TO
spectacle few sportsmen have had a
opportunity Of Witnessing
From the time when l FIRST saw m
young lord of the woods playing in III
fairy ring with his mother and siste
l saw him frequently each year an
usually about the same spot He wa
really a grand beast. The full dee
coronates. stout dark horns. rough a
= ancient birch trees, with long curve
points above, formed n head such as
have never seen on any living buc
before. 1t wes head to dream Of
My brother, friend who had nev'
seen a buck and l took a walk OF
y Sunday afternoon to visit loch on II
3 hill which had lately been stocked wit
e trout. We lay for a long time in Il
heather watching the fish rise, an
finding the hour, when we rose 20 e
was later than we had imagined. v
took a short cut back through the b
fir woods, which short cut led I
through my lords domain. Our frier
was particularly anxious to see goo
buck. so / led the way first by a tra'
where l happened to know a nice bea
= was often to be seen, but Of course {
r that day he was invisible.
IS Proceeding homeward, we entered
l. little valley to the east of the part
+ the wood that my lord was suppose
" to have selected as his own and whe
/ I had not seen a roe that season.
'e we came out at the far end. there,
a ing down on the slope before us, WI
!, my lord himself He must have SCI
n us before we saw him, but had allow
us 10 approach TO within sixty or seve
ty yards. We ali three stood still 81
ing at him in rapt astonishment, whI
he gazed inqulringly back at us with
look which said. "Is not the Saba
my own to restT' Then he rose, al
with two loud sharp barks disappear
over the hill.
have never seen him since.
sought him many times. but his po
ers Of evasion were superior to mi
of pursuit. At times 1 almost wond'
ed II he was not some uncanny pha
D tom, the ghost of a great buck Of I
pleistocene age. But. no; II is he who
/ knew from babyhood. grown now
be n great lord Of the forest, and
master of woodcraft. Are not I
marks of his horns on every sapli
within his domain? Everywhere the
n fr ox-fdopoa ~ n r,otorfof 49, ,~1