AT THE PAINTED WOODS. 146. 
_ While employed on the Leader, of Washburn, N. D. 
during the autumn of 1893,the writer,while no longer on 
the list of professional trappers had not altogether given 
up an occasional stroll after deer during the hunting 
season. Saturdays beinga slack day to the printer 
after the paper was put into the post office, I usually 
took my 45-90 Winchester and beat around the north 
woods of Painted Woods Lake. At this time I made an 
ununsual record, even for an old hunter,by killing eight 
deer with only eight shots from the rifle. The cartridges 
being all I had, were easily counted, and the dead deer 
brought into Pioneer Rhude’s domicile, marked one each 
for the empty shells. This slaughter was not all done 
in one day, however, for several Saturdays, were spent 
thus in hunting. 
One day in December after a fresh fall of thick snow 
I started out bright and early with my rifle in good trim 
and a fresh supply of newly purchased cartridges to make 
a further record among the deer. The snow being 
over 14 inches on the level the walk became tiresome 
and drifting in from the bluffs was proceeding homeward 
when on the side ofa steep hill just along the old military 
crossing of Painted Woods Creek, I noticed a perfect 
cross such as were often in church spires, which in the 
fresh white snow seemed of wood about eight or ten feet 
‘in length with a cross beam of about fourfeet. I stood 
wondering why this was placed there and walked toward 
it. When within one hundred yards of the object—it 
became animated and I saw that it was three deer lay- 
‘ing in such a position that made the illusion complete,and 
I fired several shots before they got out of my sight. 
But not a bullet of the many sent after them did not 
