JMTING WHITE-TAILED ( V »r1 DEER VMI BY \ /,/ THEODORE ROOfIBVBLT \ ;Copyrlght, ISSS, by G. P. Putnam's Sons Published under arrangement with G. P Putnam's Sons, New York and X^ondou.] afternoon, while mow of us were away fron the ranch-house, one o) the cowboys, riding It STmjTfl from his day's outinj over the range, brought word that ho had seet two white-tail deer, a buck and a doe feeding with some cattle on the side ol a hill across the river, and not muct more than half a mile from the house There was about an hour of dayllghi left, and one of the foremen, a tall fine-looking fellow named Ferris, the best rider on the ranch, but not an un usually good shot, started out at once after the deer. Ferris found the deei easily enough, but they started before he could get a standing shot at them, and when he fired as they ran, he only broke one of the buck's hind legs, just above the ankle. lie followed it in the snow for several miles, across the river, and down near the house to the end of the bottom, and then back to ward the house. The buck was a cun ning old beast, keeping in the densest cover, and often doubling back on his trail and sneaking off to one side as his pursuer passed by. Finally it grew too dark to see the tracks any longer, and Ferris came home. Next morning early we went out to where lie had left the trail, feeling very sure from his description of the place (which was less than a mile from the house) that we would get the buck; for when he had abandoned the pursuit the deer was in a copse of bushes and young trees some hundreds of yards across, and in this it had doubtless spent the night. When we trot to the thicket we first made a circuit round it to see if the wounded animal had broken cover, but though there were fresli deer tracks leading both in and out of it, none of them were made by a cripple: so we knew he was still within. After work ing some little time we bit on the right trail, finding where the buck had turned into the thickest growth. While Ferris followed carefully in on the tracks. I stationed myself farther 011 toward the outside, knowing that the buck would in all likelihood start up wind. In a minute or two Ferris came on the bod where he had passed the night, and which lie had evidently just left; a shout informed me that the game was on foot, and immediately afterward the crackling and snapping : of the branches were heard as the] deer rushed through them. Iran as rapidly and quietly as possible to ward the place where the sounds seem ed to indicate that lie would break cover, stopping under a small tree. A minute afterward he appeared, some thirty yards off on the edge of the thicket, and halted for a second to Ico!: round before going Into the open. Only his head and nutters were visible II'IIIVC the bushes which hid from view 1 ■ rest (!' hi: body, lie turned his aildlUlCr, , ! 'i." lip J I (lion(j vi rij easily. head sharply toward me as I raised the rifle, and the bullet went fairly into Ills throat, just under the jaw, breaking his neck, and bringing him down in his tracks with hardly a kick, lie was a fine buck of eight points, unusually fat, considering that the rutting season was just over. We dressed it at once, and, as the house was so near, determined we would drag it there over the snow ourselves, without going back for a horse. Each took an antler, and the body slipped along very easily, but so intense was the cold that we had to keep shifting sides all the time, the hand which grasped the horn becoming numb al most immediately. When not much molested white-tail Teed in the evening or late afternoon; but if often shot at and eha-ed tli"/ »'!ily come out at niglil. They are very partial to the water, and In the warm summer nights will come down Into the prairie ponds and stand knee-deep fn them, eating the succulent marsh plants. Most of the plains rivers flow through sandy or muddy beds with no vegetable growth, and to these, oi course, the deer merely come down to drink or refresh themselves by bath ing, as they contain nothing to eat. At times the white-tail will' He so close that it may almost be trodden on. One June morning I was riding down along the river, and came to a long bottom, crowded with rosq-bushes, all in bloom. It was crossed in every di rection by cattle paths, and a drove of long-honied Texans were scattered over it. A cow-pony gets accustomed to travelling at speed along the cattle trails, and the one I bestrode threaded its way among the twisted narrow paths with perfect ease, loping rapidly onward through a sea of low rose bushes, covered with the sweet, pink flowers. They gave a bright color to the whole plain, while the air was filled with the rich, full songs of the yellow-breasted meadow larks, as they perched on the topmost sprays of the little trees. Suddenly a white-tail doe sprang up almost from under the horse's feet, and scudded off with her white flag flaunting. There was no reason for banning her, and she made a pretty picture as she bounded lightly off among the rose-red flowers, pass ing without heed through the raijUs of the long-liorned and savage-looking steers. Doubtless she had a little spotted fawn not far away. These wee fel lows soon after birth grow very cun ning and able to take care of them selves, keeping in the densest part of the brush, through which they run and dodge like a rabbit. If taken young they grow very tame and are most dainty pets. One which we had round the house answered well to its name. It was at first fed with milk, which it lapped eagerly from a saucer, shar ing the meal with the two cats, who rather resented its presence and cuff ed It heartily when they thought it was greedy and was taking more than its share. As it grew older it would eat bread or potatoes from our hands, and was perfectly fearless. At night It was let go or putin the cow-shed, whichever was handiest, but it was generally round in time for breakfast next morning. A blue ribbon with a bell attached was hung round its neck, jso as to prevent its being shot; but jj in tiie end it shared the fate of all "pets, for one night it went off and never came back again. Only once have I ever killed a white tail buck while hunting 011 horseback; and at that time I had been expecting to fail in with blaek-tall. This was while we had been making a wagon trip to the westward follow ing tiie old Keogh trail, which was made by the heavy army wagons that journeyed to Fort Keogh in the old days when the soldiers were, except a few daring trappers, the only white men to be seen 011 the last great hunt ing-ground of the Indians. It was abandoned as a military route several years ago, and is now only rarely travelled over, either by the canvas topped ranch-wagon of some wander ing cattle-men—like ourselves—or else by a small party of emigrants, in two or three prairie schooners.-which con tain all their household goods. Never theless, it is still as plain and distinct as ever. The two deep parallel ruts, cut into tiie sod by the wheels of the heavy wagon, stretch for scores of miles in a straight line across the level prairie, and take great turns and doublings to avoid the impassable por tions of the Bad Lands. The track is always perfectly plain, for in the dry climate of the western plains the ac tion of the weather tends to preserve rather than to obliterate it; where it leads downhill, the snow water has cut and widened the ruts into deep gullies, so that a wagon has at those places to travel alongside the road. From any little rising in the prairie the mid can lie seen a long way off, as a dark line, which, when near, re solves itself into two sharply defined parallel cuts. .On the trip in question we had at first very bad weather. Leaving the ranch in the morning, two of us, who were mounted, pushed 011 ahead to hunt, the wagon following slowly, with : a couple of spare saddle ponies leading behind it. Early in the afternoon, while ' riding over Hie crest of a great divide, which separates the drainage basins • of two Important creeks, we saw that 1 a tremendous storm was brewing with • that marvellous rapidity which is so • marked a characteristic of weather '■ changes on the plains. We spurred hard to get out of the ; open, riding with loose reins for the ' creek. The center of the storm swept ' by behind us, fairly across our track, 1 and we only got a wipe from the tall ' of It. Yet this itself we could not have 1 faced In the open. The flrr v gust caught ' us a few hundred yards from the cr#ek, 1 almost taking us from the saddle, and driving the rain and hail in stinging level sheets against us. We galloped to the edge of a deep wash-out. scram ■ bled into It at. tiie rislc of our necks, md huddled up with our horses under neath the windward bank. Here we re malned pretty well sheltered until tin storm was over. Although it was Ait gust, the air became very cold. Tlx wagon was fairly caught, and wou!. have been blown over if the top l-u< been on; the driver and horses escape* without injury, pressing under the lee ward side, the storm coming so leve that they did not need a roof to protec them from the hail. Where the cento of the whirlwind struck it did grea damage. The wagon came onto the creek along whose banks we had taken shel ter, and we then went into camp. I rained all night, and there was a thiol mist, with continual sharp showers all the next day and night. The wheeling was, in consequence, verj heavy, and after striking the Keogl trail, we were able togo along it bu' a few miles before the fagged-out lool of the team and the approach of even ing warned us that we should have t( go into camp while still a dozen mile! from any pool or spring. Aceordlnglj we made what would have been a drj camp had it not been for the inces sant down-pour of rain, which wc gathered in the canvas wagon-sheet ( \ The bright-colored patch disappeared. and in our oilskin overcoats In suffi cient quantity to make coffee, having with infinite difficulty started a smouldering fire just to leeward of the wagon. The horses, feeding on the soaked grass, did not need water. An antelope, with the bold and heedless curiosity sometimes shown by Its tribe, came up within two hundred yards of us as we were building the fire, but though one of us took a shot at him, it missed. Our sliaps and oil skins had kept us perfectly dry, and as soon as our frugal supper was over, we colled up among the boxes and bundles Inside the wagon and slept soundly till daybreak. When the sun rose next day, the third we were out, the sky was clear, and we two horsemen at once pre pared to make a hunt. Some three miles off to Ihe south of where we were camped, the plateau on which we were sloped off into a great ex panse of broken ground, with chains upon chains of steep hills, separated by deep valleys, winding and branch ing in every direction, their bottoms filled with trees and brushwood. To ward this place we rode, intending to go into it some little distance, and then to hunt along through it near tin edge. As soon as we got down near the brushy ravine we rode along without talking, guiding the horses as far as possible 011 earthy places, where they would neither stumble nor strike their feet against stones, and not letting 0111 rifle barrels or spurs clink against any thing. Keeping outside of the brush, a little up the side of the "hill, one of 11s would ride along each side of the ravine, examining intently with oui eyes every clump of trees or brush wood. For some time we saw.nothing but, finally, as we were riding both to gether round the jutting spur of a steep hill, my companion suddenly brought his horse to a halt, and point ing across the shelving bend to a patch of trees well up 011 the opposite side of a broad ravine, asked me if 1 did not see a deer in it. I was off the horse in a second, throwing the reins over his head. We were in the shadow of the cliff-shoulder, and with the wind ir our favor; so we were unlikely to be observed by the game. I looked lons and eagerly toward the spot indicated, which was about a hundred and twen ty-five yards from us, but at first coulu see nothing. By this time, however, the experienced plainsman who was with me was satisfied that he was right in his supposition, and he told me to try again and look for a p.itcli of red. I saw the patch at once, just glimmering through the bushes, but should certainly never have dreamed ii was a deer if left to myself. Watch ing It attentively I soon saw it move enough to satisfy me where the head lay; kneeling on one knee and (as il was a little beyond point-blank range' holding at the top of the portion vis ible, I pulled trigger, and tin- bright colored patch disappeared from amor the bushes. The aim was a good oiv for, on riding up to the brink of ravine, we saw a fine white-tail hi" ' lying below us. shot through just ! hind the shoulder; lie was still in ' red coat, with hi-: antlers in 111vel >/'\ *» •«* rlo-r- . V THURM>AY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1908 APPEAL TO CHRISTIAN CHURCH Made by Judge Taft In Behalf 0 the Filipinos. "A Great Missionary Work That li Certain to Promote Christian Civ ilization." The extension of a vitalizing Chris ♦ianity among the Filipinos as advo eated by Ju<4ge Taft both before hlf speech of acceptance of the nomina tlon to the presidency and in that doc ument itself has been widely com mented upon in the pulpits of tin United States. The voice of the cler gy has given earnest commendatioi to the attitude of Judge Taft, wh< when governor general of the island; exerted the utmost influence foi amelioration of the condition of tb< inhabitants of the archipelago, ane that, too, at the cost of great self sae ritice on his own part in refusing th« seat on the supreme bench, to whlct he was both called and commanded by President Roosevelt. Never since he first assumed the bur den of the governorship of the Philip pines Ims the welfare of the Filiponos ceased to be close to the heart 01 Judge Taft. In his speech of accept ance again he reminded the Americans that It is the duty of this country as « strong. Christian and enlightened na tion to give spiritual as well as ma terial aid to the distant brown breth ren. Taft's Appeal to Church. Rev. Albert Hurlstone, pastor ol Roberts Park church, Indianapolis Ind., in a recent sermon thus spoke ol Judge Taft's appeal to the Christian people of America: "Mr. Taft used words of wisdom li: referring to this question in his notifi cation speech. His appeal is not onlj to his party, but it is to the Christian church of America. It seems tom« that every man whose heart beats loyally to Jesus Christ must rejoice in the statement so truthfully made. Mr. Taft said: 'We have established a gov ernment with effective and honest ex ecutive departments in the Philippines and a clean and fearless administra tion of justice; we have created ami are maintaining a comprehensive school system which is educating the youth of the islands in English and In Industrial branches; we have con structed great government public works, roads and harbors; we have induced the private construction of SOC miles of railroad; we have policed the islands so that their condition as te law and order is better now than it has ever been in their history.' "Mr. Taft Is better fitted to speak 011 this question than any other man in the government today by virtue of his close connection with the problem, his experience and personal observa tion of the work being done; hence what he says will be heeded by the Christian church with intense interest. Influence of Christian Civilization. "More than ten years before Dewey sailed into Manila, Bishop Thoburn, our missionary bishop for fifty years iu India, predicted that ere long the missionary would find an open door in the Philippines, but God alone knew how the door was to be opened. "Now we hear Mr. Taft saying; 'We are engaged in the Philippines in a great missionary work that does our nation hQnor and is certain to pro mote in a most effective way the in fluence of Christian civilization. It is cowardly to lay down the burden until our purpose is achieved.' True, nor do we believe that the American peo ple will allow this to be done. The sacrifice has been made, the song of the redeemed people will ere long fill heaven and earth with gladness. The selfish are ever lonely and joyless, but they who bring the sacrifice to the altar will find the joy of the Lord arise within them." "According to His Folly." '"Shall the people rule?' is declared by the Democratic platform and can didate to lie 'the overshadowing issue now under discussion.' It is no issue. Surely the people shall rule; surely the popple have ruled; surely the people do rule." Thus Candidate Sherman re plies to Candidate Bryan, and if the latter was looking for a straight an swer he certainly got it. ltut those familiar with the mental processes of Mr. Bryan know that ho would wel come 110 reply, but that his absurd question was asked to instil doubt iu the minds of his more thoughtless fol lowers. Democratic Discouragement. At the risk of calling down upon our selves further execrations from a few of the faithful and fanatical we make bold to remark that the indifference of the South Carolina Democrats to the cause of Mr. Brymi seems to justify our prediction some months ago that the campaign would end with the Den ver convention. We wish that we could be disillusioned; we wish that the Dem ocrats of South Carolina and of the country would' sharply rebuke us for saying that there was an absence of enthusiasm for Mr. Bryan.—Charleston News and Courier (Dem.). Making or Keeping Promises. The difference between Mr. Taft's promise of tariff revision and Mr. Bry an's pledges in the same direction is that Mr. Taft if elected will be in posl sition to redeem his pledge, while Mr. Bryan if elected would be powerless to accomplish anything with a Republic an senate arrayed against his free trade plans.—Omaha Bee. Merchant | Tailoring i ' Fall Stock has arrived j in all popular shades. Brown and Elephant Gray are the leaders of this season. Call and look them over Theo. Haberstock MRS. M. F. Conway Has removed from Broad Street and is now located 011 Fourth Street, opposite the Odd Fellows Block, where she will continue to serve her customers with Home-made Bread Cookies and any thing in the Bak ing line made to order. Mrs. M. F. Conway, <—— Ludlams J a oummer Clearance Sals 1 ■ We do not intend to carry over any of our Summer Goods and in order to make all goods go we have put the knife deep into all prices. 1I I Any Untrimmed Hat 98c jf $6.00, $7.00 and SB.OO Hats $3.50 I $4.00 and 5-00 Hats $2.50 | $2 and $3 Hats SLSO ij AH Flowers, One-half Off 11 We still have a few nice pieces of Embroidery Flouncing that we % have reduced one-third in price. New Assortment of Valanese Laces and Insertion. Finest line of Hosiery in the county. Also the new Princess wmsLr \ \ V.N \ N N \ \ \ \ A/ SECOND TO NONE / ADAM, > / MELDRUM &: ' ANDEESON HO. ' g 390-408 ton lt - pjj d BUFFALO, s / / New Fall 1 Dress I 1 Goods! % ft Wc import more, sell more and carry more Dress ✓ Goods in stock than all the % department stores in Bnf % falo combined. Yon get a % greater selection here from % % a ful[ range of weaves and '% I colors. Onr large purchases and the fact tfcat we deal jt P with producers only enables | us to save all middlemen' |j I I 112 Send for | Samples | I \ £of the new Fall goods. Please state the kind and <| , / y : color you desire and about y the price you can pay. On account of our immense / stock it is impossible to / i| send samples of all. ✓ | | I | COME IN PERSON IF POSSIBLE / %, < b Railroad fares rebated '■/ in connection with tlie / % Chamber of Commerce. > s & / I I I | ADAM, MELDRUM & | ANDERSON CO. % American Block, Buffalo, N.Y. ■AN \ \ N N. \ \ \ \ \ \ ,\\
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