West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1907-02-21

dN ~S
he outdtd the IDildcst Of our pitching
horses for a half minute.
but. alas, It's poetry was ripped up the
back by the cutaway coat. the plug
hat and the unrelated effect OF those
long, bare red legs twinkling beneath.
Indirectly 1t was the plug hat that
ended the battle. At frst II Jimmy
Hit-the- Bottle felt my emotion, wheth.
or Joy, resentment, terror or anything
man can feel, his face did not show
1t. One OF the strangest features OF
the show was that Immediately calm
face suddenly appearing through the
dust clouds. unconscious of storm and
stress.
AT last, however, IA yank Of the
deer's ~head-Jimmy had him by the
horns-caused the plug hat to snap of,
and the next second the deer's sharp
foot went through It. You will remem.
Der Achilles did not get excited until
his helmet touched the dust. Well,
from what h cold, pale light OF fact
shows of the size and prowess Of those
ancient swaggerers, Jlmmy-Hit-the-B Bot
tie could have picked Achilles up by
his vulnerable heel and bumped his
brains out against a tree. and this with.
out strain. SO when the pride of his
life. his precious plug hat, was thus
maltreated his a was vast in pro
portion.
His eyes shot streaks OF black light.
ming. He twisted the deer's bead side.
ways and with n leap landed on his
back. Once there he seized an ear be
tween his strong teeth and shut down
We rose to u feet and yelled. 1t was
wonderful, but chaotic. / would defy
a moving picture camera to resolve
that tornado Into It's elements of deer
and Injun. We were conscious OF curl
u Illusions. such as n deer with a
dozen heads growing put Of all parts
of a body as spherical as this our
earth, and an lnJun with legs that We
toed all laws Of gravltation and anat-
omy.
Poor Billy Buck! He outdid the
widest OF our pitching horses for q
half minute. but the two hundred and
odd pounds he had on his back told.
He couldn't hold the gait. Jimmy
wrapped those long legs around him,
the deer'setail In n hand, the horn In
the other and the ear between his
teeth. and waited In grim determine
ton. "Me-ah-a-aaal' said the deer,
dropping TO his knees.
Jimmy got or him. Billy picked him
self up and scampered to the other end
Of the corral. shaking his head.
The Injun Strengthened himself up,
making an effort to draw n veil Of
modesty over the pride that shone In
his eyes.
"H-nh!" he said. Fool deer tackle
Tatonka-Sutah!' ("Tatonka-Sutah," or
Strong Bull. was the more poetic title
Of Jlmmy-IIit-the Bottle among his own
kindly
He then gravely punched his plug
hat into some kind of shape and re-
sumed his work.
We pitched In and bought Jimmy a
shiny new plug hat. which will lead
me far aheld II don't drop the sub
ject.
Well, he was master Of Mr.. Billy
Buck. When he entered the corral the
deer stepped rapidly mp to the farther
corner and stayed there.
Now came the broadening OF Bllly's
career. a certain man IN our nearest
town kept n hotel ncar the railroad
depot. For the benefit Of the passen-
gers who had TO stop there n half hour
for meals and recreation this man had
a sort Of m%enagerio Of the animals
natural 10 the country. Thore were n
bear. a mountain lion. several coyotes,
swifts. antelope. deer and n big tim
Der wolf. al in n wire net inclosed
park.
II so happened that Steve met Mr..
D., the hotel proprietor. on one OF his
trips 20 town and told him what n
splendid deer he bad out at the ranch.
Mr. ID. became Instantly possessed Of
n desire % own the marvel. and n bar
gain vas concluded on the spot. Billy
by this time bad shed his horns and
was all that could be wished for I'm the
way Of amiabillty We tied his legs
together nnd shipped him to town in n
wagon.
Steve aid not trick Mr. y. He told
him plainly That the deer was a dan
ger0us customer and that 20 be care
ful was 20 retain n whole skin. but
the hotel proprietor. O little fat pom
pOus man. with a big bass vOlce-the
kind OF a man who could have made
the world in three days aud rested
from the fourth 10 the seventh lnclu-
sive had % been necessary-thought he
knew something 81 the deer character.
"Jhat beautiful creature. with its
mild eyes mud humble mien. burt any
onef NOnsensci"
So DE had a fine collar made for
Billy, with his name on "a silver plate.
and then Jed him around town at the
end n n chain. being n vain little man
who liked 10 attract attention By any
available means. al worked well un
tl the mex fall Mr.. -. was lulled I'm.
70 false security b. tho doclHty Of bis
pet and allowed him the freedom OF the
city regardless Of protest
Then came tho spectacular end OF
Biiys easy gfe. 10 occurred on On.
other wa-m autumn day. The passeu.
gers Of axe 000b train from the east
were ns~scLtele9 IN the hotel dining
room, putting away supplies as fast as