Fourty-Four Years, or, the Life of a Hunter. Meshach Browning
and a fine Buck — In the Spring, hunts for Bears— Finds an old Bear and two Cubs — After a hard Fight, kills them all — Ed- low meets him at Camp — Hunt next morning — Sees an old Bear playing — Waits to see the Fun, then shoots — Bear has a hard Fight with the Dogs — Difficulty in building a Barn — Hunts at Little Crossings — Kills three Deer — Camps in the Woods — At night a Wolf Comes to Camp — Kills him in the morning — Catches three Bears at one fall of a Trap — Kills a fine Buck the same morning — Hunts with George Riley— Sees four Deer, and kills them all — Next day, a fine hunting Snow — Kills six Deer — Goes out, and kills two Deer before Breakfast — Desperate Fight with a wounded Buck in Yough. River ………………………..………………….…...
CHAPTER X.
Hunts with Daniel McHenry — In going, kills a Deer and three Bears — Uses Du- pont's Cannister- Powder — Rifle nearly kicks him over — Camps in the Snow — Fine Supper of roasted Bear-meat — McHenry's Death — Goes to North Branch with his Son, John Lynn, to hunt and also examine the Ground — Camps in thick Laurel —Catastrophe — Dwelling consumed and two Grandchildren burned to death — Again visits the Potomac, with his two sons, John Lynn and James Browning — Gets lost in the Woods — Rough time — Has to camp out in Rain and Snow — Hair sticks fast to the Pitch or Turpentine — Uncomfortable fix — Fasts three days — Is Found by the Boys, and leaves for Home — Hunts with Enlow — Kills one Deer — Dangerous Ford over the River — Hunts on Cherry-Tree Meadow — Finds a Pan- ther's Track going into the Laurel — Treed by a Dog — Kills it — Finds the Ball in the Panther's Scalp — Beats it round, and kills a large Buck with the same Ball, having no others …. ………………………………………………………………..……………
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CHAPTER XI.
Sets a Steel-trap for Wolves — Catches a Panther in it — Panther fights the Dogs — Finds other Tracks in the Snow — Pursues and kills two more — Finds another Panther's Track — Pursues it many miles, when be trees him — Shoots, and wounds him — Most desperate Fight between Hunter, Dog, and Panther— Dog loses an Eye — Another Panther-chase — Follows him from thirty-five to forty miles before killing him — Returning Home, finds a Panther's Track — Follows it into the Laurels — Cunning of the Panther to elude pursuit — Treed by the Dog — Sheets, and wounds him — Hard Fight between the Dog and Panther — Is Killed by an- other shot — Hunts again on the Potomac, with Hugh McMullen — Kills three Deer, and camps in the Snow — Feet frozen — Returns to " Milk and Honey," and hunts eight days— Kills thirteen Deer and a Catamount — Exciting Bear-fight, and Mr. Wable — His great Fright………………………………………………………………...
CHAPTER XII.
Finds an old Bear and Cubs in the Trap — Shoots her and one Cub— Takes two Cuba home— Their Docility — Raises one, the other escapes — Mary sends the Author to Hunt — Kills five Deer in an afternoon — Parts with his Rifle — No success with his new Gun — Hunts a week, and only kills two Deer — Reflections on outside Ap- pearances — Gets the Rifle in order — Two Bucks fighting— Kills one— Hunts with his son William — Kills three Deer — Dog-fight — Goes to the Glades with two boys to feed the Stock — Very Cold, and Snow on the ground — In two days, kills eight deer — Next day, kills two Deer, and has a shot at a Wolf—Did not get him — En- low's Hunt — Kills a wounded Bear with his Knife — Kills several Deer — They hunt at Cherry-Tree Meadow — Kills a Bear with the Knife, after two shots and hard fighting — Catches a Wolf in a Trap — Kills an old Bear and two Cubs — Makes a Deer-Park — Catches a number of Deer in the deep Snow, and puts them in the Park — Mode of catching them — Has a desperate Fight with a large Buck ………………………………………………………………………………………………..
CHAPTER XIII.
In 1836, hunts with his two sons, William and John Lynn, on Meadow Mountain — Kills a Buck, and finds two Bears in the Trap — Next week, Hunts on the same Ground — Kills a number of Deer — Races with William in Hunting— Kills twenty Deer in one week — Visits Uncle Spurgin, in Preston County, Virginia, to kill some large Bucks, which he could not — Kills two of them in a couple of hours — Hunts ~n Roman Nose — Encounters a large Bear — Wounds him — Dangerous situation —Kills an old Buck, that had baffled all the Hunters — Two Friends come to Hunt — Kills an old Bear and two Cubs — Hunts on Negro Mountain — Kills three fine Bucks within a few steps of each other — Pumpkins and Cream — Hunts at Little Crossings — Kills six deer — Long Chase after the largest — Visits the same Ground, and kills another Buck — Mrs. Cunningham and the Bee-tree — Amusements of the young people — Cold weather — Goes to the Traps — Finds a
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large Bear in a Trap, killed by another Bear after a desperate battle — Hunts on Deep Creek— Kills two Deer — Goes to Little Crossings — Kills a Buck — Packs the Saddle with the Turkeys killed on the way — Travels some ten to twelve miles — Load weighs eighty-seven pounds — Hunts at " Milk and Honey " with two neigh- bors — Kills three Deer — Abandons the hunt, on account of Rattlesnakes there…………………………………………………………………………………………….….
CHAPTER XIV.
Mary thrown from a Horse— Seriously injured — Causes her Death — Distress and despondency — Time assuages grief — After months, goes to the Hunting-Grounds as a relief, and to procure Meat — Kills a large Bear, hand to hand, with the Knife — Kills two Deer — Is appointed Assessor for Allegany County — Meets with Mrs. Smith, a Widow — After long delay, and great opposition, marries her — She proves a good and affectionate Wife — Watches a Deer-Lick with his Son — Kills two Deer — Hunts Wolves— Kills six — Scalps worth $105— Watches another Lick with his Son, M. A. Browning — Buck-Ague — Kills a Deer — Last Deer killed by the Author — Wife stricken with Palsy — Survives until September, 1857 ……………….
CHAPTER XV.
Describes the Glades — Herding, and bad effects on Grass and Game — Early Settlers — Mode of living — Hospitality of the Hunters — Voting — Story of Mr. Steward- Describes the wild Animals of the Mountains — Bears, Wolves, and Panthers — Rattlesnakes — Can charm Birds — Horse bitten by one — Dies in great agony — Are killed by their own Bite — Experiment with one — One skinned alive — Attacks a Rattlesnake on Yough. River — It fights on Water as well as on Land — Hangs one — Kills eighty-four at a Den — Their Fangs and Poison — Remedies for the Bite — Mode of training Hunting-Dogs — Trout-Fishing, Baits, etc……………………...…..
CHAPTER XVI.
Mode of trapping Bears, Wolves, Panthers, and Otters — Describes a Bear-trap, or Pen — Shooting Deer by Fire-Light — Shooting Deer at a lick — Making an artificial Lick — Natural History of the Deer — A general Description of Alle- gany County— The Mountains—Rivers—Soil— Productions— Climate- Timber— Coal — Iron-ore —-Water-power……………………………………………………………….
FORTY-FOUR YEARS
OF
A H U N T E R'S L I F E
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CHAPTER I.
Birth and Parentage — Difficulties of his widowed Mother — Moves to