November, 1922 
485 
Hunting the elusive, crafty, almost magic creature of our North American wilds 
But this discussion of wounds and the 
like ought to be closed with something- 
like a summary. What may be consid- 
ered the most vulnerable parts of a deer? 
This is usually the list, arranged accord- 
ing to relative importance : the brain, the 
neck, the heart, the paunch. Many an 
old deer-hunter has expressed to me the 
belief that, after a fatal head-wound, a 
wound in the neck is most liable to bring- 
down a deer. The old saying, “Get it in 
the neck,’’ with all that it implies, is 
very true. A heart-wound, of course, is 
going to prove fatal, yet a deer may ac- 
tually escape with it. Most deer which 
get away to die or which are overhauled 
after long chases are either wounded in 
the paunch or else have a broken leg. 
One experience of this nature was so 
remarkable that I shall here recount it. 
A very fine stag, a ten-pointer, was 
started and he came within about fifty 
yards of a stander. He fired, and the 
deer went on ; but I, being on the next 
stand and watching the whole perform- 
ance intently, saw the deer’s right fore- 
leg fly up. We therefore let the hounds 
follow the buck, which they did in grand 
style, sweeping a long curve of more than 
three miles. So hot was the pace and 
so well did the stag keep his distance 
that I began to doubt whether my eyes 
had played me true. However, he at last 
bore for the river ; then I knew that he 
probably had been wounded. 
We followed fast, but the chase was 
so far ahead that we knew the deer 
would take the water before we came 
within sight. Yet when we came near 
the river we heard the pack baying. It 
seemed to me remarkable that the dogs 
should bay on the brink of deep-flowing- 
water, beyond which lay safety for the 
deer. Yet when we came up, that was 
exactly what was happening. And the 
cause of it was one of the most remark- 
able incidents of deer-hunting which has 
ever come under my observation. It 
seems that as the wounded buck had 
taken the tide he had had to swim under 
a few bushes, and down among these a 
huge grapevine was draped in long folds. 
It was suspended from a giant cypress 
that stood on the bank. In his haste and 
distraction the buck let a loop of the vine 
catch his horns fairly about the brows. 
Behind him on the bank were the hounds, 
informing him that they had come to call. 
Every time the buck would swim out a 
certain distance the tightened vine would 
draw him back; then again his maneuver 
would be repeated. It was a wild and a 
pathetic sight. Of course, we quickly 
put the fine old creature out of his strug- 
gles. The horns of that stag are now in 
my collection ; and the savage rubbing 
of the grapevine on the beading just be- 
low the brow-tines is plainly discernible. 
To us he has always been known as “the 
grapevine buck.” 
N discussing deer-hunting as a sport it 
seems to me that we must never lose 
sight of the fact that its interest is due 
chiefly to the nature of the game pursued. 
I have, for instance, no ambition to hunt 
wallabys, and my interest in groundhogs 
is tenuous. But I hope to be a stag fol- 
lower as long as I can see a sight. This 
feeling I attribute to the character of 
the deer — that noble, elusive, crafty, 
wonderful denizen of the wilds, the pur- 
suit of which is surely the master sport 
of the huntsman. These things being 
true, it will not be amiss to examine 
somewhat closely the habits of the ani- 
mal, for such an examination will not 
only be interesting, but it may lead to 
better hunting. Assuredly the poorest 
deer-hunter is always the man who 
knows least about the deer. And other 
things being equal, he who really knows 
the deer and his ways will be surest to 
prosper in his pursuit. 
I think there is no other creature so 
large which lives so silently, secretively 
and effacingly. Many a time deer will 
live close to settlements, yet their pres- 
ence may for a long time be unguessed. 
They are by no means shy of noises when 
they understand them. I remember well 
with what misgivings I once saw a saw- 
mill erected near the end of one of my 
favorite deer-drives. Yet, despite all 
the howling of the mill, the shouting of 
the teamsters, the hammering and pound- 
ing about the mill yard, the deer soon 
became accustomed to the racket. About 
two months after this particular mill was 
established I started as many deer as 
usual in its vicinity ; one old stag I 
bounced out of the bays not more than 
a hundred yards from the mill. I once 
knew of a herd of about seven deer that 
lived in a strip of woods between two 
settlements and they fattened on the 
crops of both communities. All this 
proves that the whitetail is a remarkable 
skulker. More deer escape enemies by 
skulking than by running. In fact, a 
deer does not readily run and jump. It 
can and will ; but if left alone, it will 
just steal along noiselessly, push its way 
cautiously through bushes, float lightly 
over obstacles, wander delicately through 
the lonely night forest. 
In most cases, unless hard pushed, a 
deer will run under an obstacle where 
possible in preference to leaping it. I 
have repeatedly seen deer run under a 
strand of barbed wire not more than two 
and a half feet off the ground, and have 
observed them do the same thing under 
a hurricane-thrown log. Of course, 
sometimes the grand show or main circus 
conies off: a deer will set sail (the ne- 
groes of the plantation say “ca’ sail,” 
meaning carry sail), that white banner 
will be stiffly erected, and of all the run- 
ning and jumping you ever saw in your 
life, a genuinely startled buck or doe 
will show it to you. Occasionally a deer 
when first started — and this applies espe- 
cially to a wise old stag — will take one 
tremendous leap as if to get his bearings 
from an elevation. I have seen this done 
but twice, and I have seen hundreds of 
deer start from their beds. Some hunt- 
ers claim that it is a special maneuver. 
I have never been able to decide whether 
it is that or merely a major reaction 
from a man-size scare. Whatever it may 
be, it is one of those sights that is genu- 
inely memorable among woodland pic- 
tures. 
F a deer’s behavior before being 
started from its bed I can give some 
idea from personal observation. A white- 
tail, especially an old buck, may lie ver}'- 
close if he thinks he may be passed over. 
I remember seeing one lying far under 
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