The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1906-01-18
BUCK FEVER BY GOSH
MAN WHO SAW A BIG BEAR HAD A
BAD CASE OF IT,

The old guide sat on the front porch,
from his pipe. His theme was the curl
Gus action of people when they see
deer, or big game. He called the pecu-
liar action ''buck fever"
Eyes, sir, when l was guiding it, l
saw lots of people have buck fever.
They act the queerest way you ever see
when they get it. Why, have actual
ly seen men drop their guns on the
ground when they saw deer, or some
times they shoot into the air or into the
ground, thinking they are filling the
animal full of holes. They actually go
plumb crazy. About every man has a
way of his own of acting when he's got
the fever. Some will stare and cape
away and not think thing of their
gun. But the queerest case L ever
heard of or see was when had a party
from New York up to Twin Lakes.
One of the men in that party went
clean crazy, and it took him nigh on to
an hour before he come out of it. He
wasn't violent, or anything of that sort,
but just out Of his head. 1t was bear
that gave him the buck fever, and l
suppose that's why he got it so bad
ut was one morning at breakfast
time that it all happened. | was cook
ing 'taters, venison and other stuff to
eat, while the fellers went down to the
brook and washed themselves. They
had all washed up except one Teller
who was late getting up. He went
down to the brook alone, and bye and
bye he came back. When he came into
the door the first thing he did was to
stand on one foot and swing around on
it with his other foot in the air. | look
ed at him and thought he was doing it
for fun, but | remember afterwards
that his eyes sort of bunged out a little.
After he swung around he went to the
towel and wiped his face. After he did
that he up and swung around on the
toes of his foot again. Then he took
his toothbrush and cup of water and
washed his teeth, and when he got
through I'll be blowed if he didn't up
and swing around on the toe of his
shoe with his other foot in the air, just
as he did before.
''Steve is happy today said one of
the fellows, must be ne is going to XIII
deer Stevenson didn't say a word,
but planted himself before the looking
Pretty quick he finished, and took
another swing around. He whipped
out funny kind of knife and fixed up
his finger nails, swung around, put on
his collar, his tie, then his coat and,
idiotic-like, swung around after he did
each of these things. 1t was crazy ac-
lions, but we supposed he was just do
ing it for fun. Then he got down his
gun, jammed it full of cartridges and
started for the door. Where are you
golng?' said |. breakfasts about
ready Bear! bear! said he, and he up
and swung around, and his eyes popped
and stuck out like scared owls.
jumped and grabbed my gun and made
for the door with the other fellows after
me. We run down to the brook.
Stevenson came along and pointed to
where he'd seen the bear. Well, the
man had been so long fixing up that
knew the bear was on the other side of
the mountain by that time. But we
went down the brook where it had
been, and there, in the sand, was the
biggest tracks of a bear ever see.
When Stevenson saw them he stuck
one foot in the air, whirled around and
fell to the ground in deep faint. We
poured some whisky down his throat,
and before long he came to. He was
weak and shook all over. Did l kill
him? he said. He seemed to have clean
forgot what had happened after he
went to the brook to wash. When we
told him what he'd been dom, he
seemed surprised. Why he said,
when 1 got through washing stood up
and looked down the brook, and there
was an enormous bear drinking from
the water l whirled around on one
foot and started for the camp and the
gun, as suppose
"Buck fever, by gosh said I, and we
all laughed hard, you bet, for, as say,
it was most curious case"