<TITLE>24. Par 88-91</TITLE>L-88 And it come a snow that night, about six or eight inches, about good tracking ground. And we always packed a thermos jug full of hot chocolate, where, if we got turned around in the woods and had to stay all night, why, wouldn't bother us (See?), build up a fire.
So then, Burt said, "I got something for you, Billy."
I said, "What is it?"
Said, "I'll show you." Reached down and got a little whistle, and he blew it. And it sounded like a little baby deer calling for its mammy, you know, the--the little fawn. You know how they make that little funny noise.
I said, "Burt, you--you wouldn't do that."
He said, "Aw, that's way with you preachers. You're chicken-hearted." Said, "You'll never make a hunter." Said, "You're too chicken-hearted."
I said, "Burt, there's such a thing as being chicken-hearted, and such a thing as being crazy." See?
And I said, "You're--you--you're crazy to do a thing like that. Don't do that." I said, "That's cruel."
He said, "Aw, get next to yourself, preacher. Come on, let's go."

L-89 And I got my rifle. We traveled, oh, almost till noontime, didn't see a track. And it was moonlight too, you know. And they'll feed at nighttime, and they'll get under brush and anything else. They'll hide through the daytime, and they'll almost starve theirself to death, 'cause they been shot at. And so, we didn't even see a track. It was almost noon.
And so, Burt set down, little drift of snow where the winds had drifted it right by some bushes. There was an opening about twice the size of this building. And so Burt set down there, and he--he reached back in, like this. I thought he was going to get his thermos jug and get a drink of the hot chocolate. We'd eat our sandwich and then separate. He'd go one way over Jefferson Notch, or some way, and I'd come back down by Washington, usually some way that way, and we'd meet in nine or ten o'clock to the base camp. If we got any deer, we'd hang it up. Next day, we'd get a horse or something, go after it.

L-90 So then, I thought he's fixing to separate right there, cause we was getting up pretty high. There's no--not much above timberline there. So he set down; he reached back like this, and he brought out that little whistle. And I said, "Oh, Burt, don't do that." See them lizard eyes looked up at me, and just grinned like a, I don't know what. He put that little whistle in his mouth and he blew it. And it sounded just like a little fawn, you know, how he kind of bugles for his mama.
And when he did that, just across that opening, a great big doe stood up (A doe is a mother deer. See?), stood up. I could see those big brown eyes looking around, them great big peaked ears.
What was it? She was a mother. The baby had called. He was in trouble. She raised up. Daytime or no daytime, danger or no danger, she was a mother. She was borned a mother. There's something in her. Like, even a little girl playing with a doll, what is that? She's born to be a mother. See? It's in her. It's by birth. She wasn't a hypocrite. She wasn't putting something on. She was a mother.

L-91 And Burt looked at me like that, and them lizard eyes looked up at me again.
I said, "Don't, Burt. Don't, Burt."
He got down like that. And he blowed it real easy. That mother deer walked right out into that opening. Now, that's unusual, very much. That time of day, and a whitetail deer, certainly been a lot of shooting going on; they won't do that. I never seen anything like it in my life. She walked out there, right out in the opening. I seen him... We never carry a shell in the barrel till you're ready to shoot. So I see him take this .06 and put that big hundred and eighty grain mushroom up there. He was a dead shot. I see him level down like that, and them lizard eyes looking thorough that scope. That cross-hair come right across her heart.


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