The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-29
IF ANIMALS DON'T REASON
What Was That Big Buck Doings Asks
 Col. Hnmp Stone

From the New York Sun.
 "If animals don't reason out the
 why's and wherefores of things and act
 accordingly" said Col. Hamp Stone of
 the Big Thicket country, Texas. what
 was that big buck that I didn't shoot
 doing that time down Devils moun-
 tain way7
 "They had put the dogs out, and I
 was to get to a bull pine tree on the
 east bank of the river. at place where they said the dogs would be apt to send a. deer Into and across the stream. giv- ing me a fine chance for successful shot. Before I got there l heard the | dogs paying off on the west side of the river, which was about 800 yards wide there. 4 T was still quite way from the l tree when a doe came in 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. I made a few big strides and got to the tree, as I didn't know what might be ahead of the dogs yet. just as out Of the opening where the doe had leaped and taken the water bounded big buck.
 1T dropped down behind the tree. ex- pecting the buck to come on across. The doe had run out on tongue of land that extended into the river about 20 feet and from the extremity of that bit of land had jumped into the water. Sup posing. of course. that the buck would seek the same course I 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. I could hear them coming not far
 behind the buck. Two or three rods
 from the shore, on that side of the river and the same distance below the tongue of land, was a big rock that rose per- haps 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 quick | ly down alongside the rock hugging 1t close with his head up stream There he remained motionless. entirely hidden from anything on the side from which he had come.
 "The buck had scarcely got into that position when the dogs came dashing out of the woods. They followed the does trail to the tip of the bar, plung- ed 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
 until the dogs got we'll out into 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 other 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 paying off on the does 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 1t was, the buck swan boldly back to the bar. drew himself out on 1and throw up his head scornfully and he gave oae glance across the river in the direction the dogs had gone and then bounded
 back into the woods out of which no had been driven to save himself by that
 remarkable bit of strategy and disap- peared
 | T could have dropped him in his 1 , tracks as he stood there in his scornful pose but after witnessing that act of
 almost human ingenuity I 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 l 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 l the dogs"