Watauga Democrat. [volume] (Boone, Watauga County, N.C.) 1888-current, 1916-03-09
HuNTINs EXPERIENCE OF HARRISON
klDRIDeE.
BY L. D. LOWE.

BY L. D. LOWE.
When Harrison Aldridge was
quite a young man he concluded
to put in a part of one fall in the
wilds OF the mountains. During
the month OF November, after
putting his flint-lock rifle in first
class condition, collecting an am
pie supply Of powder and bullets
he started across the mountains
on one OF his rounds. 1t was one
of those beautiful days during
the period of Indian Summer,
clear except the peculiae haze
which resembles the smoke from
a distant forest fire, but later in
the afternoon he observed that
the clouds began to form about
the western horizon; he lit tie
thought, however, that a storm
was approaching.
AS he was crossing over the
top OF q ridge leading from the
main top of the mountain to-
. ward an immense bed Of laurel,
he saw where the fallen leaves
had been freshly overturned and
he knew that a number OF wild
turkeys had just passed over in
to the cove below, so he crept
along through the forest with the
stealth OF a lynx until he could
gee the turkeys busily engaged in
picking up chestnnts. After selec'
ting the largest gobbler as. his tar
get and drawing his long rifle to
his shoulder he fired, and when
the smoke had sufficiently disap-
peared the turkeys arose a n d
flew in different directions, but he
observed that the object OF his
aim few in a straight course O.
yer the top OF the tall hemlocks
in the low ground in the thick
bed of laurel until it reached a
tall pine with a dead top when
the huge bird seemed to draw his
wings to his body and drop to-
ward the ground, and then he
knew that his shot was not in
vain, provided he should be for
tunate enough to find the tur-
key. After selecting a number OF
birch and hemlock trees to guide
him to the dead.topped pine, he
entered into the great laurel
thicket to find the dead bird. and
after considerable time he reach
ed the pine and near the base OF
it be found the turkey.
Upon examination Harrison
found that he had learned a les
son that he would not forget:
that in taking aim he had been
deceived by the bulk and the ef-
feet OF the gun-shot upon a tur-
KEY; that il the bullet should en-
ter the breast or too low IN 9TH
er parts of the body the bird is
too apt to rise and fly out OF
sight, and if the shot proved Sto
be fatal nine times out OF ten the
bird would be lost, or if only
wounded it would upon reaching
the ground at a considerable dis
tance away, conceal itself in some
hollow log or dense thicket where
it would die eventually; but il
shot about the head, back oroth
er vital spot it would either de
instantly. or be 80 disabled that
it coul,l not fly and if it under
took to run it would soon be O
vertaken and caught.
As soon as the young man en-
erged from the dense laurel t h
wind began to howl at a furious
rate, and he could see the ra ir
falling in the distance. After wal
king up 1.-THE cove for some dis
tance he observed an immense
ledge OF overhanging cliff, which
formed q shelter from the rain
AS be approached this shelving
mass of rock he observed t h
fragments OF a hog which h a
been slain by a bear and partial
ly consumed; and by the time h