A Camp Hunt. 
Though we spoke of it as a deer hunt from 
the time the idea was first mentioned by our 
president, it turned out to be any kind of a hunt 
from a deer to a rattlesnake. It might have 
been designated an ideal hunt, for the weather 
man managed the elements to perfection, giv¬ 
ing us a gentle sprinkle of rain at night and a 
bright sun ready to smile upon us as we rose 
next morning. And then our party of sixteen 
jolly men fresh from the depths of Philadelphia 
city life, most of them tenderfeet, could not 
be surpassed anywhere for congeniality. Last, 
but by no means least, was the abundance of 
game. It looked as if the entire wild popula¬ 
tion of several counties and surrounding 
swamps were holding a reception in our honor. 
I, being a hunter of many years experience 
in this locality, was looked upon as general 
manager, so went in ahead of the party to su¬ 
pervise the pitching of tents, the laying in ol 
supplies, etc. The entire company was expected 
on Sunday, so Saturday was my day to put all 
things in readiness. 
The very sight of our wagons loaded with 
tents and supplies was enough to raise our spir¬ 
its. As we made our way through shady 
woodlands and over sunny slopes, our dogs 
darted forward and hurried back to meet us 
as is their wont. 
Suddenly a picture, dear to the heart of a 
sportsman, appeared; the dogs rigidly pointing 
what we thought might be a covey of birds. 
I stepped softly aside to investigate and to my 
surprise found a rattlesnake in his coil making 
the sound that, once heard can never be for¬ 
gotten. The eldest man of the party, whom we 
afterward called “Pop,” claimed him as his prey. 
Darkness found us established, though our 
commissary tent had not yet been pitched. 
Anyway we wore the kind of smiles that won’t 
come off and carried appetites that clamored 
loudly for attention. 
_ P> ctur e if you please a cook stove in the open 
air, a fire crackling merrily on the inside and 
sending flames skyward through the short pipe. 
Behold a big fellow wielding a knife; see the 
ham drop into thin, even slices; sniff the air 
as the odor of frying meat penetrates your be¬ 
ing; catch the aroma of good coffee, as it 
blends with the odor of the sputtering meat. 
We counted ourselves fortunate in having two 
boards for a table upon which to spread our 
feast. 
On the following day the remainder of our 
party arrived. It goes without saying that 
waiting for the dawn of Monday morning was 
accompanied by great restlessness. In fact 
everybody suffered untold anguish from the 
very length of that memorable Sunday night. 
By daybreak everybody was in tip-top shape 
and armed to the teeth. Some carried a shot¬ 
gun in one hand, a rifle in the other and strung 
around their waists were samples of different 
kinds of knives and pistols. When all were 
ready for departure I took up my .30-30 rifle 
and strolled out behind that crowd of armed 
men. I was looked at in astonishment and one 
asked me in wide-eyed wonder if that was all 
I was going to take. I said, “Yes, I need 
nothing more unless it be a hole to hide in with 
so many of your kind scattered throughout the 
woods.” 
The dogs were fired with ambitions to match 
their masters, and their barking made the 
woodlands ring. Sousa s Band or the swelling 
"pop” and the five rattlesnakes. 
notes from the depths of the pipe organ are 
but vibrating air compared to the baying of 
those hounds borne to our listening ears through 
the pure air of the calmest, sweetest morn to 
which Eastern North Carolina can give birth. 
Enthralled by these sights and sounds, I took 
my stand by an aged pine tree which had given 
its life to help furnish mankind with turpentine. 
I now looked to it in its last days to serve as 
a shield to protect me in case of reckless shoot¬ 
ing. I heard the reports of many guns which 
brought to mind the glorious Fourth. Casting 
my eyes rapidly in every direction, I suddenly 
beheld a big four point buck near Pop’s stand. 
Not understanding why Pop had not fired, and 
fearing the deer’s escape, I dropped to my 
knee and let my little .30-30 speak. This woke 
Pop up to the shooting point. It was supposed 
that he had had an attack of buck fever; any¬ 
way the deer turned and crossed a ridge with 
me in hot pursuit. Another shot brought him 
to earth. I reached camp first and was quietly 
resting when the others began to appear, some 
struggling beneath the weight of deer as I had 
done. Imagine our elation when six deer hung 
by their slender legs in front of our tent on the 
very first morning of our hunt and it barely 10 
o clock. Two of these were killed by our pres¬ 
ident, they being the first he had ever brought 
down. His walk after this reminded one of that 
of a turkey gobbler which had escaped from 
the holiday dinner table. 
Several good-natured disputes arose during 
the day about who hit and who missed. This 
and other incidents brought about the necessity 
for certain rules to be enforced by the follow¬ 
ing officers: 
“Camp General—government, organization and 
laws, October 30, 1909: President, C. H. Boyer; 
Secretary of State, Robert R. Dearden, Jr.; 
Attorney General, William W. Smithers; Chief 
Justice, Truman A. Wright; Chief Marshal, 
Joseph H. Brandt; Chief Surgeon and Sanitary 
Officer, George H. Summers; Board of Guides, 
F. C. McKay and J. J. Chadwick. 
We had two or three sittings of court during 
the week to punish offenders and protect the 
guiltless. 
The game shot by the gunners included fif¬ 
teen deer, numerous gray squirrels, four rac¬ 
coons, a goodly number of duck and quail and 
five large rattlesnakes. Our taxidermist did 
some fine work preparing skins, mounting 
birds, rattlesnakes, etc. Through the physician 
in the party we learned that rattlesnake oil is 
a most valuable remedy for deafness, so we ex¬ 
tracted a large quantity to take home to our 
deaf friends and relatives, as it is impossible 
to obtain it from our druggists at any price. 
There were many subjects to be discussed and 
much to be learned from each other. When at 
night we hugged our knees around a fire of 
lightwood knots, the general conversation 
would be so enlivened by wit, good nature and 
learning that we saw at once the advantage of 
having one big tent for dormitory use rather 
than a number of small ones which would tend 
to separate the party into smaller groups. 
This was not my first experience at sleeping 
in the woods on a wire cot with the cool 
breezes of the night circulating beneath it, pen¬ 
etrating to the very marrow of one’s bones, 
so I carried along my sleeping bag which con¬ 
tains a mattress of sufficient thickness to defy 
that persevering wind. I smiled as I packed 
mine for the journey, knowing well the others 
would not be so supplied. I even spoke to my 
wife about it as I rolled it up. 
The first night, when everybody began to 
get cold and crawl out to kindle fires, I lay per¬ 
fectly still as far as is possible for one con¬ 
vulsed with laughter. 
If one had chanced to look out through the 
