Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-12-16
If ANIMALS DON'T REASON
What Was That Big Buck Doing ?
Asks Col. Hamp Stone.

IF animals don't reason out the
why's and wherefores of things and
act accordingly" said Col Hamp
Stone of the Big Thicket county, Tex
as, what was that big buck that
didn't shoot doing that time down
Devils Mountain way?
They had put the dogs out, and
] was To get To bull pine tree on
the east bank of the river. at a place
where they said the dogs would be
apt to send deer into and across
the stream, giving me a fine chance
for successful shot. Before ] got
there heard the dogs baying off
on the west side Of the river, which
was about 800 yards wide there.
Il was still quite Il way from the
tree when doe came i'm sight on the
opposite shore, jumped into the river.
swan across and bounded away into
the woods away from me- The dogs
were still yelping off in the woods
across the river. and not yet in sight
| made a few big strides and got to
the tree, as | didn't know what might
be ahead of the dogs yet, just out of
the opening where the doe had leaped
and taken the water bounded big
buck.
Il dropped down behind the tree,
expecting the buck to come on across
The doe had run out on a tongue Of
land that extended into the river
about twenty feet, and from the ex-
tremity Of that bit Of land had
jumped into the water. Supposing, of
course, that the buck would seek the
same course l was ready to let him
have it as soon as he pulled himself
out on my side Of the river, but he
had other ideas.
The dogs hadn't broken from cover
yet. / could hear them coming out
far behind the buck. Two or three
rods from the shore, on that side Of
low the tongue of land, was a big
rock that rose perhaps eight feet
above the water
Instead Of coming on as the doe
had. the buck took his leap from
where the bar joined the mainland,
dropped quickly down alongside the
rock, hugging it close with his head
up stream. There he remained mo-
tionless, entirely hidden from any
thing on the side from which he had
come.
The buck had scarcely gotten into
that position when the dogs came
dashing out of the woods They fol-
lowed the does trail to the tip of the
bar plunged into the water and swan
toward the opening on my side of the
river where the doe had landed and
bounded away.
The buck lay against the side of
the rock as motionless as the rock
itself unit! the dogs got well out in
to the middle Of the river with their
noses pointed in the direction In
which the doe had gone. Then he
backed down to the lower end of the
rock and passed around it to the 9TH
er side of it, thus hiding himself
against possible chance of being seen
by the dogs when they landed on the
opposite bank.
THE dogs landed and went baying
off on the doe track. AS the last
sound of the dogs died away the
bucks head came slowly in sight at
the upper end of the rock, until at
last the wary deer was peering across
the river to see If the coast was clear.
Satisfied that it was, the buck swan
boldly back to the bar, drew him
self out on land threw up his head
scornfully as he gave one glance
across the river in the direction the
dogs had gone and then bounded back
into the woods out OF which he mad
been driven to save himself by that
remarkable bit of strategy and dis
appeared.
Il could have dropped him in his
tracks as he stood there in his scorn-
full pose, but after witnessing that act
of almost human ingenuity | hadn't
the heart to do it. Animals don't
reason out the why's and wherefores
of things and act accordingly? What
was that buck doing, then?
Yes we got the doe. One Of our
party brought her down two miles
up the river as she was taking the
water to cross back again. still way
ahead of the dogs" New York Sun.