The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-10-28
TEXAS DEER AND PECCGRY.
HUNTED IN MESQUITE FLATS or
THE SOUTHWEST.

when President Roosevelt shot PeCcAftea In
Uvalde COunty-Hard work and Pa
tienco Necessary to Get Game-A
Mighty Bear Hunter and Hls Traps.
The approaching open season for deer
hunting is impatlently awaited by the boy
anxious to get his first shot as we'll an by
the experienced hunter who hopes to make
his six bucks. From all reports deer are
plentiful in this section.
The southwest portion Of Texas is an
ideal deer n says the San Antonio
ErDress, and especially so is thisjmmediate
section of Uvalde, Kinney and Zavala
counties. The mesquite fats, Interpreted
with KuajillA ridges, are the natural HON
Of the deer. The country is also well
watered. The live oak furnishes mast; the
prickly pear apples. and the mesquite fats
the rich, curly mesquite grass tina the deer
delight to feed upon.
In the early morning or late in the evening
the deer come in from the thickets or hills
where they have been lying up during the
day and Craze on the grass in the openings.
They are very cautious and generally re-
main by the side Of some clump OF bushes
and are not easily detected. Being assured
Of their safety and Of the approaching night
they become more bold and advance into
the opening. The doe snatches a few nibbles
and then looks for an enemy while the
spotted fawn gambols about. The cautious
hunter does not then have long to wait be-
fore the buck appears.
Deer hunting, as the old hunter knows,
is not what it Is cracked up to be. 1t takes
hard work and lots Of patience as we'll as
experience to get the game. 1t is no easy
natter to detect o bucks head at 100 or
~ - .-.s1 . ,tIIo-nAaa ~ ooakNNa and
profusion Of brush and scrub. The chances
are a pear leaf will look more like the
genuine article thar the deer who Is OBJ
serving the hunters motions and ready to
take instant fight il discovered. A waving
signal Of white ia about all that rewards
many a tired hunter as he stumbles through
the catclaw and mesquite brush.
There are not many hunters who can
claim six bucks to their credit during the
season. az the law allows. b.. +. Mcdaniel
claims to have killed his six in one day last
season.
viii Meacham, who was one Of the sue
cessful hunters, is Of the opinion that the
greatest benefit Of the present hunting
law is the stopping OF pedding out yenl-
son. While the meat could be sold there
were many who did nothing else but hunt
deer for a living. Now this has stopped.
1t is 4 matter of sport.
The iaveline or peccary il another wild
animal peculiar to this section, the hunt
ing of which affords excellent sport. The
iavelinC has many characteristics OF the
wild hog, but II quite a dlfierent animal
in many respects. They inhabit the dense
Tickets which are common In many parts
Of this country. The tangled, thorny
brush and cactus In impenetrable in many
places for anything, unless it I've a lave-
line. Their tough skin, covered with long,
sharp bristIas. il proof against any OF the
thorns they come in contact with. The
~javeline lives ~ pear. apples, roots, mes
qnita beans and Cther vegetable diet. They
have long, keen tusks. which cut like razors,
and they strike with a downward stroke,
unlike the common hog, whose stroke IL
upward. Their hoofs are small and sharp.
and they are said TO be sworn enemies to
the rattlesnake. One after the other these
ferocious little beasts will leap upon the
coiled snake and literally grind il to pieces.
The javeline is usually hunted with dogs ,
and il takes an old warrior OF the canine
tribe to hold his own. The ~javeline can
whlrl with almost lghtninglike rapidly,
and woe betide the dog II it Is not beyond
the reach Of the popping tusks. The cry
OF a wounded iaveline serves as a rallying
cry for the bunc h and they have been known
TO return and compel the hunter to seek
safety in a tree, where they have kept him
for hours.
President Roosevelt when Governor of
New York visited Uyalde for the sole pur-
pose of hunting the i~ayeline, which was
then one animal he had never hunted. He
spent several days on the d ranch. owned
BY Ike T. Pryor, and succeeded in killing
a number.
When taken as a pig the ~javeline can be
reared az a pet, and they evince much at
tachment for their master. They will
follow him like a dog. They also make
good watch dogs" about a house, n with
their fierce aspect, popping tusks and ele-
waited bristles are calculated to make the
There are still a few bears and panthers
in this section. Not long ago an old
she bear and two cubs were seen on the
Dodson ranch, about twenty miles north
of Uvalde. There are also some bears at
the head Of Camp Wood Creek and among
the cedar brakes among the hills OF the
Upper Nueces oafon.
The most prominent bear hunter in this
territory is William Wells, who lives at
the head Of Montell Creek. near Montell.
He has lived among the mountains since
1890, and knows every trail within a ra-
dius OF many miles OF his mountain home.
like chapters from -Deerslayer." Mr.. Wells
is a lead shot with a rife and Is utterly
fearless. He has followed bears into the
recesses OF dark caves and has been let
down by ropes where the incline was too
steep for man to descend, and thus buried
in the bowels OF the earth shot the growing
bear by the light Of the torch he carried.
He has some gigantic traps with which
he has caught many large bears in the days
gone by. These would be anchored to q
heavy log. but 10 great was the strength
Of the captured animal that the log would
often be dragged many miles from the spot
where the trap was set. Few people have
any idea Of the strength Of a bear said
Mr.. Wells. zone slap Of the paw and a
dogs neck Ia broken, his back crushed
or he Is hurled to a great distance. II Ia
hardly possible 70 follow the stroke OF a
bears paw with the eye, 1t is 50 quick"
In hunting game Mr.. Wells goes bare
/. footed and Il thus enabled 70 slip up on
the wary deer In the mountains. Among
the loose rocks the sound Of a booted foot
step can be heard a great distance, but In
Slipping up on game Mr.. Wells knows all
the Indians cunning He is a man OF great
endurance and has thought nothing OF
striking out and walking thirty or more
miles across the mountains.