92 FORTY-POUR YEARS OP 



In a week or two afterwards, Mary and I went out to 

 get us some chestnuts ; and as we were going only a short 

 distance, I did not take my gun. But soon after getting 

 into the woods, off went botli dogs at full cry. I could 

 not tell whether they were chasing a deer or a bear. By 

 and by we heard them fighting ; when I ran for my gun, 

 and left Mary to get home as best she could — though she 

 told me not to wait for her. After running a mile or 

 more, I found they had a she-bear up a tree, and that she 

 was so completely whipped by the dogs that she would 

 not come down to fight any more. As she was entirely in 

 my power, it afforded me but little pleasure to kill her ; for 

 even in a bear-fight I like to have something to do : the 

 harder the fight the better I like the fun. 



In February of the year 1800, myself and another young 

 man went out to the woods to catch a young deer, which 

 I intended to raise as a pet. They will become tame in 

 two or three days ; and even the oldest bucks will yield 

 in a week, and become quite docile. I have so tamed 

 two during one week, that they would come to me, put 

 their noses in my pocket, take apples or moss out, and eat 

 it, and search all my pockets for more. 



Louis Vansickle and myself went into the laurel swamps, 

 where all the deer had taken shelter from a snow, which 

 had fallen to the depth of four feet generally on the high- 

 lands. As we drew near the edge of the swamp, \\e dis- 

 covered the roads made by the deer, which had been out 

 of the thicket, browsing on tlie small bushes and eating 

 the moss that had fallen from the timber. We had pur- 

 sued these paths but a short distance when we observed 

 ^even large deer running, or rather jumping up and down ; 

 the snow being so deep that they could advance no more 

 than three or four feet at a jump. We pursued at our best 

 speed, which was about as fast as I could walk on dry 

 laud ; for we had snow-shoes tied fast under our mocca 



