IN THE UPPER PENINSULA. 



349 



moment to see the white flag wave a quick 

 goodbye. The day was a disappointment, 

 however, to all except Buckskin, who was 

 fortunate in securing a fawn, with a run- 

 ning shot. The deer was 2 miles from 

 camp, and it took 3 of the party to drag 

 it in ; but the supper of roast venison and 

 ruffed grouse repaid us all for our labor. 



From the first day our larder was well 

 supplied with choice venison and grouse. 

 Sunday dawned warm and pleasant, and 

 was spent in a quiet manner by all, Buck- 

 skin devoting a considerable portion of the 

 day to making pictures in the vicinity of 

 the camp. 



All were out Monday morning early. 

 The atmosphere was cool and bracing, 

 but it was noisy traveling, and al- 

 though many deer were seen by all, 

 none was killed until late in the after- 

 noon. Buckshot, our explorer, accom- 

 panied by Baldy, took a trip of in- 

 vestigation toward Creighton creek, 3 

 miles West. While they were making 

 their way through a swamp, talking as 

 earnestly as 2 school girls, a doe jumped 

 into the old logging road right ahead of 

 them. Remembering their early training 

 they immediately turned their batteries 

 loose. As soon as the fusillade began, deer 

 appeared from all directions. The boys 

 emptied their magazines, partially reloaded, 

 and emptied again. Still the deer came. 

 The boys thought they had run into all 

 the deer in the Upper Peninsula. After 

 the smoke of battle had cleared they went 

 forward to view the scene of carnage, ex- 

 pecting, of course, that each had his limit 

 and would have to take the next train 

 home ; but all they could find was a doe, 

 killed by Baldy, who felt well satisfied. 

 In relating their experience that evening 

 they concluded they had seen 6 deer, al- 

 though at 'the time they thought there 

 were at least 100. 



The weather continued warm and pleas- 

 ant, with no snow to gladden the hearts 

 of the old hunters. In consequence still 

 hunting was hard, but it was so delightful 

 to wander through the grand old woods 

 with the smell of the late autumn per- 

 vading everything, that we were more than 

 compensated for the lack of snow. After 

 we had been in camp about a week, one 

 morning was ushered in with a quiet soft 

 rain, an ideal day to still hunt. Every- 

 body started out early, to make a record 

 day, and when the returns came in at night 

 it proved to be the best in camp. 



Eagle Eye haunted The Loop, formed 

 by some old logging roads North of the 

 camp, all day, with no success until late 

 in the afternoon, when he was fortunate 

 in killing a 4 prong buck with a difficult 

 running shot. Satisfied with his good 

 luck he was walking rapidly toward 



camp, when a large doe broke cover just 

 ahead of him. He had no idea of hitting 

 her, but thought he would "take 'a draw 

 at her just for fun," and was much sur- 

 prised to see her go crashing to the ground. 

 He dressed her, unloaded his gun for 

 fear he might kill more and went to camp. 

 Buckshot followed his old jumper road 

 up toward Mud lane. While quietly stand- 

 ing under an old hemlock he was startled 

 by a snort a little to his right, and turning 

 quickly he saw a large buck plunge through 

 the whips. Judging from the noise, the 

 animal apparently stopped after running a 

 short distance. Buckshot cut around 

 where he thought the deer had stopped 

 and approached the spot with the utmost 

 caution. Not a sound did he hear nor a 

 motion anywhere. After listening fully 



10 minutes he mounted an old pine stump 

 standing near, to get a more extended 

 view. He had barely straightened up when 

 suddenly, within 50 feet of him, the buck 

 started down through the tall timber with 

 a loud whistle, hitting the high places at 

 every jump. Buckshot was so startled he 

 almost fell off the stump, and for a mo- 

 ment forgot he had a gun ; but gathering 

 himself he began to empty his new Win- 

 chester. Judging from his description of 

 the scene afterward he must have destroy- 

 ed several acres of choice hardwood, but 

 he was successful in ending the earthly 

 career of a 3 prong buck, which satis- 

 fied him for the unseemly waste of am- 

 munition. 



That same day Buckskin visited his fav- 

 orite hunting place, the hills, as he is fond 

 of hard work and climbing. He had hunt- 

 ed diligently all the morning and had seen 

 only a fawn, which he allowed to pass, as 

 he was looking for larger game. About 



11 o'clock he approached the brow of a 

 hill overlooking a ravine running up from 

 a swamp. Standing quietly a short time 

 and scanning the valley beneath, his at- 

 tention was --attracted to a slight motion 

 in the edge of the swamp. Carefully watch- 

 ing this particular place his patience was 

 at last rewarded by seeing the monarch of 

 the forest walk out and proudly make his 

 way up the trail toward the high ground 

 above. He was a magnificent animal with 

 a grand sweep of antlers, 5 prongs on a 

 side. The heart of Buckskin was imme- 

 diately troubled with palpitation, but he 

 was master of the situation, and could see 

 plainly enough to pick out a good open 

 space between the trees. When the deer 

 appeared in this space a plaintive "Baa" 

 caused the animal to stop like a graven 

 image and look in the direction of the 

 sound. Almost at the same instant the 

 sharp whiplike crack of the 30-30 was 

 heard. Without a struggle the lordly 

 creature sank to his knees, fell forward, 



