A Sportsman 77 



suddenly that in my haste to avoid it, I locked my 

 snowshoes and came down in a heap with the buck 

 on top of me, but whose sharp feet I managed to 

 avoid as he came down. Zip managed to get in on 

 the rear, but I lost sight of him in the flurry, and 

 had no way to avoid an up-and-down churning, ex- 

 cepting to throw my arms up over the neck of the 

 deer, still retaining my knife in hand. In this situ- 

 ation I was lifted up and down very quickly several 

 times with no ability to use my knife, and I saw that 

 something would have to result very shortly, or I 

 should be hors de combat, as my weight and strength 

 seemed of slight avail in contrast with the apparently 

 increasing strength of my adversary, who was hissing 

 with fright and rage and whom I would have been glad 

 to cry quits with, if I could only have been relieved 

 from him. But the combat ended in a moment. I 

 managed with my left arm hooked over the neck as 

 I came down to get a handful of hair and skin, to hold 

 at, and support my weight, and as quickly liberated 

 my right arm and hand, and thrust my knife to the 

 hilt in the chest of the deer at the neck. It was a 

 lucky thrust, splitting the windpipe and heart, and 

 we came down together, but I had to turn in the 

 snow to avoid the ruddy flow from the nostrils of my 

 dying victim. I had now to find if I had received 

 any injury, and found I had but a few scratches to 

 show, though my snowshoes had more serious damages, 

 requiring more or less patching up during the balance 

 of the trip. 



When Nay came up we dressed and hung up the 

 buck after taking a few choice strips for present 

 use, and the deer remained for ten days or so frozen. 



