THE GAME BREEDER 



149 



Scene of The Experience. 



A DEER EXPERIENCE. 



By J. B. Foote. 



Some time ago you wrote me asking 

 me to relate my experience with deer. 

 About that time a dear experience with 

 this same animal prevented my doing so. 



My interest in deer was first aroused 

 about twenty years ago while visiting 

 friends near Atlantic, Iowa. One after- 

 noon while out for a drive I was very 

 much surprised to see a herd of from 

 forty to seventy-five deer. Of course I 

 expected my host to be equally aston- 

 ished but found they had no more effect 

 upon him than a herd of cattle would 

 have. Always interested in our native 

 animals and the more so at this time be- 

 cause of their seemingly strange ap- 

 pearance in this place, I began asking 

 questions concerning the deer. It seems 

 that a few years previous to this time 

 one of the wealthy men of that vicinity 

 had decided to raise a herd of deer. 



He had succeeded in raising about 

 twenty when the high waters tore away 

 the fence from his deer enclosure and 

 the animals escaped. He was unable to 

 capture them and did not wish the ani- 

 mals to be harmed. Being influential he 

 succeeded in having a law passed, pro- 



viding for their protection and for the 

 payment of damages by the State in case 

 they should do any damage. 



A few of the deer were killed and the 

 offenders were heavily fined. Shortly 

 afterwards it was discovered that the 

 deer had damaged some corn belonging 

 to a man in the neighborhood. The 

 neighboring farmers gathered to com- 

 pute the loss. Their computation was so 

 much larger than that of the officer sent 

 by the State to compute the loss that it 

 brought ridicule upon the head of the 

 man whose damage loss amounted to 

 comparatively nothing. No more com- 

 plaints have been made and now the deer- 

 roam about the country and enjoy a life 

 of ease and plenty. It has been esti- 

 mated that between five and fifteen 

 thousand deer inhabit the banks of the 

 Skunk River. Oftentimes they are seen 

 grazing with the herds of cattle. 



While rabbit hunting with my host 

 after this it was no uncommon experi- 

 ence to see the antlers of a buck rise 

 above the snow. As the deer raised his 

 back and lowered his antlers we did not 

 stop to dispute with him but left him 



