Two CASES OF BUCK FEVER. 221 



always be on advantage ground. I had not seen the trail of any 

 other deer during the morning although it was in the height of 

 the mating season, or as us common folks call it, the running 

 season. I was trailing the doe along through a small basin where 

 the timber was nearly all hardwood, beech and maple, and the 

 woods were very open. I was quite positive that the doe was not 

 far in advance for she had just been feeding on some moss from 

 a limb that had blown down from a tree and the tracks were 

 very fresh. About this time one of those snow squalls had come 

 up. I was standing by a large maple tree waiting for the squall to 

 pass by so that I could look the ground over well before I went 

 any farther. 



After the squall had passed I looked the ground over closely 

 but could see nothing of my deer. Forty or fifty yards farther 

 along the side of the hill and below me there was a very large 

 maple tree which had turned up by the roots. This tree hid from 

 view a piece of ground close to the log. I could see that the trail 

 led directly up to the tree. I could see a slight break in the snow 

 on top of the log that I took to be made by the leg of the deer 

 in jumping the log. I could see nothing of the trail beyond the 

 tree so I worked very cautiously along until I could see past the 

 root of the tree and as I suspected, there stood my game with 

 head down, apparently asleep and standing broadside to me. I 

 drew the gun onto a point just back of her shoulders and let go 

 and the deer dropped almost in her tracks. 



I cut the deer's throat and began to skin out the foreparts. 

 I had only partly gotten my work done when another one of those 

 snow squalls came along. I was bending over the deer, busy at 

 work when I heard a slight noise, and straightened up to see what 

 had caused it. I looked none too soon to save myself from a ter- 

 rible thrust from the horns of a large buck deer, for as I straight- 

 ened up the deer shot past me like a shot from a gun, barely miss- 

 ing me and landed some six or eight feet beyond me. I had stood 

 my gun against the log 8 or 10 feet from me. I sprang for my 

 gun but I was trembling so that I could do nothing and I could 

 scarcely stand on my feet. The buck stood for a moment looking 

 back over his shoulders. Every hair on his back stood up like 



