THE DEER HUNT. 



FROM SAMUEL S. HUTCHINS'* JOURNAL. 



OCT. 21, 1860. We caught a deer to-day, and I am 

 going to tell you all about it ; for we had a lively time, I 

 assure you. 



It was one of those still, cloudy mornings you see so often 

 at this time of year. We rose early, got our breakfast, did up 

 our chores, and then started for the lake to hunt deer. We 

 found the lake as calm and smooth as glass. Father took the 

 large boat and went up to the head of the lake to start the dog, 

 and I took the small boat and started down the lake for the 

 " point," to watch for the deer. After getting there I climbed 

 up into a tree, so that I could have a good view of the lake, 

 and listened for the dog. After staying there some time, the 

 wind began to rise, and I was cold, and began to think that 

 we should hardly get a deer that day. So I came down out of 

 the tree and begun stirring about to get warm, when I heard 

 the dog away off on the hills. I stopped for a moment to see 

 which way the chase was going, and came to the conclusion 

 that they were coming around the head of the lake, and so 

 on down to where I was. I then got up into the tree again, 

 to await the result. I waited about an hour, I should think, 

 watching the upper part of the lake most of the time, think- 

 ing the deer would be most likely to come in there. On look- 

 ing, however, in the other direction, behold there was the 

 deer, swimming for life. It was a buck, and a large one too. 

 He was about half-way across the lake, and half a mile from 

 where I was. I did not stand there and look at him long, I 



* This young man was a soldier in the late war, and came home from McClellan's 

 peninsular campaign, with wounds and diseases that caused his death in the fall of 

 1864. 



