FOREST LIFE. 127 



but scarcely had its keen point touched his neck, when, with a 

 sudden bound, he threw me from his body, and my knife was 

 hurled from my hand. In hunters' parlance, I had only ' creased 

 him.' I at once saw my danger, hut it was too late. With one 

 bound he was upon me, wounding and almost disabling me with 

 his sharp feet and horns. I seized him by his wide-spread ant- 

 lers, and sought to regain possession of my knife, but in vain ; 

 each new struggle drew us further from it. Cherokee, fright- 

 ened at the unusual scene, had madly fled to the top of the ridge, 

 where he stood looking down upon the combat, trembling and 

 quivering in every limb. 



" The ridge road I had taken placed us far in advance of the 

 hound, whose bay I could not now hear. The struggles of the 

 furious animal had become dreadful, and every moment I could 

 feel his sharp hoofs cutting deep into my flesh ; my grasp upon 

 his antlers was growing less and less firm, and yet I relinquished 

 not my hold. The struggle had brought us near a deep ditch, 

 washed by the fall rains, and into this I endeavored to force my 

 adversary, but my strength was unequal to the eflbrt ; when we 

 approached to the very brink, he leaped over the drain. I re- 

 linquished my hold and rolled in, hoping thus to escape him ; 

 but he returned to the attack, and, throwing himself upon me, 

 inflicted numerous severe cuts upon my face and breast before I 

 could again seize him. Locking my arms around his antlers, I 

 drew his head close to my breast, and was thus, by great eflbrt, 

 enabled to prevent his doing me any serious injury. But I felt 

 that this could not last long ; every muscle and fiber of my frame 

 was called into action, and human nature could not long bear up 

 under such exertion. Faltering a silent prayer to Heaven, I pre- 

 pared to meet my fate. 



" At this moment of despair I heard the faint hayings of the 

 hound ; the stag, too, heard the sound, and, springing from the 

 ditch, drew me with him. His efibrts were now redoubled, and 



