XX 



RECREATION. 



SOME BUCK FEVER CASES. 



There seems to be many styles of buck 

 fever, but most attacks are confined to the 

 first sight of wild dee.. The first deer I 

 saw was after days of patient watching, and 

 when I heard a noise in a fallen tree top, 

 I thought it must be a man. However, an 

 old doe and a fawn soon came in sight, 

 stopped, looked around and then loped 

 slowly across an old logging road. I re- 

 member how tightly I gripped my gun, 

 and how hard I tried to aise it to my 

 shoulder, but it seemed impossible to move 

 it. In fact, I stood paralysed, rooted to 

 the spot. My hair seemed to rise, my 

 tongue was dry and my heart pounded 

 against my ribs in a most painful manner. 

 As the deer, all unconscious of my presence, 

 walked slowly out of sight, I took to tremb- 

 ling and am sure I could not have hit a 

 flock of barns. It was a full hour before 

 I could control my reason, and the sensa- 

 tion will never be forgotten. 



Another case : A young man on his first 

 deer hunt saw a doe feeding about 8 rods 

 away. He raised his rifle, took careful 

 aim, but could not pull the trigger. Try 

 as hard as he would he could not make his 

 finger move.. 



In another case the fever seemed to af- 

 fect the finger in a different way. The hunt- 

 er was standing on a runway with cocked 

 gun and the muzzle resting on the toe of 

 his shoe to keep the snow out. When an 

 old buck walked out near him his finger 

 worked but he failed to remove the gun 

 from his foot. The loss of his toe brought 

 him back to his senses. 



Another inexperienced Nimrod, a man 

 of about 30 years, was placed on a runway 

 while the rest of the party drove a small 

 thicket. They started a large buck which 

 took the right runway and passed un- 

 harmed within 10 feet of the astonished 

 hunter. All the poor fellow did was to 

 exclaim, "Wasn't he big!" Perhaps the 

 scolding he got steadied his reason, for he 

 killed his next deer without looking to see 

 if it was big or little. 



Here is a case where the fever affected 

 the auditory nerves. A man about 60 years 

 old, who was a fine shot, but who had al- 

 ways hunted small game, saw his first deer. 

 There were 3 quietly feeding on a hillside. 

 Taking a careful aim at the shoulder of the 

 largest, the hunter pulled the trigger. The 

 deer all ran over the hill out of sight, and 

 the man believed that he had snapped a 

 poor cartridge, for it did not make any 

 noise. In the belief that the shell had 

 missed fire, he returned to camp.. After we 

 heard his story of how this deer had 

 dropped her tail and then run ahead of the 

 others, we sent a party back to investigate. 

 They found a dead deer, shot through the 

 heart. 



It is no disgrace to have this fear, even 

 if it lasts longer than the first sight of 

 game ; because the one who has it the worst 

 generally has the larger imagination and 

 will make the keenest sportsman. 



Medicus, Hart, Mich,. 



YOUR HUNTING COMPANION 



REV. WM. CHILDS, 



The pleasures of the sportsman are 

 largely increased by the fellowship of an 

 agreeable companion. Anyone will not do; 

 such a man must have more than ordinary 

 patience and forbearance. He must also 

 have ability, joined to a keen sportive na- 

 ture. When he makes a clean miss he 

 must be able to endure all your ridicule; 

 and when you miss he should be ready to 

 return the compliment. 



When you make a record (not a game 

 hog's record), he of all men must magni- 

 fy it till you really think you have grown 

 a few inches taller. When you get the 

 buck fever and allow that 200-pound deer 

 to walk away from you, he must palliate 

 the circumstances by the assurance that it 

 was one of the most difficult shots he ever 

 saw. When you lose your "biggest fish" he 

 must tell it to the boys and make it still 

 bigger. 



To the tenderfoot such a companion may 

 seem unnecessary, but to the man who loves 

 gun and rod he is a blessed reality and a 

 necessity. To such a friend you tell the 

 "whole truth" ; to the other fellows you 

 never reveal how the deer was rubbing the 

 end of your rifle barrel when you missed, 

 or that the fish got away because you were 

 excited. 



Such a companion exists. He paddles the 

 boat patiently hour after hour when you 

 cast your new bait, assuring him that the 

 fish will follow it right into the boat. He 

 sits by your side in the crowded buckboard 

 as you drive in the "wee" hours of the 

 morning on a wild goose chase, or to some 

 favorite hunting ground. He indulges your 

 every whim and crawls out of his warm 

 bed at unseemly hours at your call. Dur- 

 ing the close season he drops in for a 

 chat and revives memories of many 

 a pleasant outing spent together. He is 

 your right hand man whenever you need 

 him. You are happy when you can beat 

 him at a score and just as happy when he 

 beats you. He must not be your inferior 

 but at times your superior. All brother 

 sportsmen know this companion ; but for 

 him the woods would be empty and the 

 lakes lonely. 



This region is a good game country. 

 Deer have increased wonderfully in the 

 last 3 years, and do not leave for the 

 ftigh mountains in summer as they used to. 

 The game law is generallv respected. 

 Hunting parties from the East do not stop 

 here, but cross the range. Bears are numer- 

 ous ; mountain lions are also plentiful, but 

 hard to find. I succeeded in getting 2 last 

 November. Wildcats, coyotes, a few gray 

 wolves and some mountain sheep complete 

 our list of large game. I use a .38-55 '94 

 model Winchester. If that gun was built 

 for smokeless powder it would have no 

 equal. 



A. L. Sweitzer, Bare Hills, Colo, 



