OF WILD^ ANIMALS 307 



Once when alone in the corral of the axis deer herd, I was 

 treacherously and wantonly attacked by a full-grown buck. 

 I had violated my own rules about going in armed with a stick, 

 and it was lucky for me that the axis deer was not as large as the 

 barasingha or the mule deer. As the buck lowered his head, 

 threw his long, sharp beams straight forward, and pushed for 

 my vitals, I seized him by both antlers, to make my defense. 

 At that he drove forward and nearly upset me. Quickly I let 

 go the right antler and shifted myself to the animal's left side, 

 where by means of the left antler I pulled the struggling buck's 

 head around to my side. Then he began to plunge. Throwing 

 the weight of my chest upon his shoulders I reached over him 

 and with my free hand finally grasped his right foreleg below 

 the knee, and pulled it up clear of the ground. With that 

 I had him. 



He tried to struggle free, but I was strong in those days, and 

 angry besides, and he was helpless. Up beside the deer barn, 

 most providentially for the finish, I saw a very beautiful barrel 

 stave. It was the very thing! I worked him over to it, caught 

 it up, and then still holding him by his left antler I laid that 

 stave along his side until he was well punished, and glad when 

 released to rush from that neighborhood. 



Female "pet" deer, and female elk, can and do put up dan- 

 gerous fights with their front hoofs, standing high up on their 

 hind legs and striking fast and furiously. A gentleman of my 

 acquaintance was thus attacked, most unexpectedly, by his 

 pet white-tailed deer doe. She struck about a dozen times for 

 his breast, and his vest and coat were slit open in several places. 

 I once saw two cow elk engage with their front feet in a hot 

 fight, but they did no real damage. 



Of course an angry bison, buffalo or gaur lowers its head in 

 attacking a man, and seeks to gore and toss him at the same 

 moment. The American bison will start at a distance of ten 

 or twenty yards, and with half lowered head jump forward, 

 grunting "Uh! Uh! Uh!" as he comes. When close up he 



