Evening star., 1922-08-20
BY w. H. CLAGETT.

Dear Folks:
If there be them among ye who've
never hunted deer. but still anticipate
-pastime. lemme tell of a little ex-
perience that happened to me while
away on my vacation up to Otter
Lake. Moo York, in the good old
Adirondacks,
Never in my life have l posed as
hunter but after listenin' for several
nights to bunch of horny handed
woodsmen relate some hair-rasin'
stories as we clustered around most
welcome campfire. l got it in my
noodle that l must shoot a deer!
All right. Mister Washington, d.
C" sang out big Frank Poupore, one
'eof the most noted guides and sharp
shooters in the whole of the northern
country Shake them funny lookin'
SpantaioonS and meet me down to the
.boathouse tomorrow mornin' at three
20 clock. and If | don't introduce you
ito a deer before the sun goes to rest.
:Ill cut out all huntin for the balance
.of my days"
The brawny pathfinder had just fin-
.ished a blood-curdlin tale about once
be1n' cornered by turri5le big buck,
(which is a gentleman deer. and how,
after TWO hot. 8 of desperate fghtin',
ned managed 10 twist the poor crit
tiers horns until his neck gave snap,
when l. in my excitement, begged him
TO take me when he next went
.a-huntin', and his kind invitation was
sin answer to my plea!
Looked Like Daniel Boone.
So. pree-cisely at three o'clock the
.followtn' mornin'. all dolled up like
! regular Daniel Boone me and pal
.of mine named Doc Manson, met the
big woodsman down by the lake. and
-after brisk pull to the other side.
.the three of us cut loose over about
sten miles of the widest. most God
~forsaken real estate I've ever seen
lin my life and finally pulled up to
ssPurgatory Creek. known far and
wide as a rendevoo for deer, 1 might
add here that this Doe partly suf-
.fered with fallen arches and knew
less about the sport than ! did my
self. which between you'n me. made
lit much more intrickeI'
Now there are many ways to hunt
1.-The sad-eyed. t1eet-fooied pride of the
forest. but we see-lected still huntin'.
with the accent on the still, for of all
the lonely. spooky, nerve-wrackin'
moments I've spent in my time them
three hours and half | put in on
that runway. nearly shiverin' to
sdeath. have never been euuaied anG
Il hope won't again,
AS you might know, a runway is 4
little boulevard in the WOODS. runnin
from the high timber to water. laid
out and much used by deer when
a drink. and accordin' to the rules OF
still huntin' the tenderfoot. or city
folk, sich as Doc and me. just squat
close by it until the Shooer or guide
skeers up one of the poor critters and
he beats it our way, then we pull our
shooters
It's also ag'in the rules for two
hunters to occupy one runway. as
the chances of one of them receivin'
what the deer oughta got are too
n
after plantin' me firm on the stump
of a tree. and warnin' me to wait
and keep perfectly quiet. Monsoon
.Poupore proceeded to lead poor old
Doc. fallen arches and all, through
two more miles of indescribable
loneliness to another little runway.
and the partin' made me twitchy.
Nevertheless, I waited. For nearly
four straight hours l set on that
sharp pronged stump too skeered to
move. AS far as l could see great
black boulders poked their ugly
faces my way and as time filtered by
l pictured a whole army OF giants
and witches comm nearar and nearer
to gobble me up. Deer flies and gnats
held regular annual outin' on my
uncovered arms and neck. until final
.ly. when one sharp beaked forest in
sect drove about two inches of
singer into the top of my earpiece I
could stand it no longer and hoped
from my seat!
Oh. unfortunate hop! For in so
-doin' my foot slipped overturned a
rock and much to my. horror l dis
covered I'd disturbed perfectly
peaceful family of huge black he'll
GRANTEES, Have you ever seen a he'll
granite. folks? 1 ask, have you ever
seen one. If not take a tip from
me, and don't seek 'em when drinkin'.
Long. hdeous. creepin' varmnts.
with about two thousand propellers,
horns 'n'everythirg. used sometimes.
I believe. as bait by fishermen for
bass. they amt game enough to come
out in Gods bright sunshine. but
thrive in the dark and carry. on un-
der rocks.
With eyes starin' from their SOCK
cts, I kept a sharp bead on the
leader of the crew. evidently papa.
who was maxim for my foot. Scat.
you miserable sarpint." L shouted as
the thing kept on movin'. ''One more
step forward and I'll shoot your
damned brains OUT
Something Rushes By.
Evidently satisfied that I meant
business, the Shiny envoy came to a