The Huttig news., 1908-01-18
WHEN MEN CATCH
 BUCK FEVER

The old guide sat on the front porch, lazily blowing smoke at the mosquitoes from his pipe. His theme was the curious action of people when they see deer, or big game. He called the peculiar action buck fever"
 Yes, sir, when I was guiding it, saw lots of people have buck fever They act the queerest way you ever see when they get it. But the queer est case l ever heard of or see was when l 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 came out of it. He wasn't violent. or anything of that sort, but just out of his head. It was a bear that gave him the buck fever, and I suppose that's why he got it so bad
 Tt was one morning at breakfast time that it all happened. 1 was cooking 'taters, venison, and other down to the brook and washed them selves. They had all washed up ex cept one feller who was late getting up. He went down to the brook alone and by and by 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. l looked at him and thought he was doing it for fun, but I remember afterward that his eyes sort of bulged out 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 a 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 he is going to kill deer Stevenson didn't say word, but planted himself before the looking glass and began combing his hair. Pretty quick he finished and took another swing around. He whipped out a 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. It was crazy actions, but We supposed he was just doing it for fun Then he got down his gun, damned i; full of cartridges and started for the door.
 Where are you going? said l Breakfasts about ready
 Bear! bear!' said he, ard he uI and swung around, and his eyes popped and stuck out like a scared owls.
 T jumped and grabbed my gun and made for the door, with the other fel lows after me- We run down to the brook. Stevenson came along an6 pointed to where he'd seen the bear Well, the man had been so long fixing up that 1 knew the bear was on the other side of the mountain by that time. But we went down to the DrOOR where It ndQ been, ana there in the sand was the biggest tracks of bear 1 ever see.
 When Stevenson saw them he stuck one foot in the air, whirled around and fell to the ground in a deep faint We poured some whisky down his throat and before long he came to-. He was weak and shook all over.
 Did I 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 doin' he seemed sur prised
 Why he said, when got through washing l stood up and look ed down the brook, and there was an enormous bear drinking from the wa ter. 1 whirled around on one foot and started for the camp and the gun, as 1 suppose.
 Buck fever, by gosh,' said I, and we all laughed hard, you bet, for, as 1 say, it was a most curious case"