Without a Trace

ML's brother Bert writes....
It was a nice day to be in the woods. Sunny, warm and deer season. All one could ask for. I was to meet Bill and Jim in early afternoon. I would wait at the "telephone pole" for them. It was called the telephone pole for reasons I never knew. I never saw telephone poles or wire there. Oh well let us move on.

I was waiting at the telephone pole. Soon the others came. Hunting could begin. As I moved to meet them, some movement to my right caught my eye. Deer! Several of them! Some had horns! Great!!!! Jim saw me react, but not shoot. I told them what I had just seen. The following plan to acquire some venison went into operation.

I would return to the pole [and wait-- taking the "stand" as hunters call it]. They would go around and try to bring the deer back. If you were ever the one who was on a stand you know what it is to be bored. After what seemed like three hours twelve minutes and thirty seven seconds movement caught my eyes. The deer were returning. The plan was pure genius. Before me were the deer.

I would hear noise to my right front and the deer would move left. I would then hear noise to my left front and the deer would move right. Always moving closer to me. Then the moment of truth. Just in front of me, perhaps thirty five yards, were five, yes FIVE bucks. Taking careful aim I proceeded to empty my rifle. The deer moved to the right. Five shots rang out [from a distance]. The deer were headed back at me. I am reloaded and ready. Three more shots but the deer keep going.

I would learn that Jim was to my right front and Bill to my left. Bill had fired the five shots. Jim, being the demanding person he is, made us check to see that we were as bad as we looked [that we really had missed all those deer with all those shots], and we almost were. This is where our tale begins.

It seems that in front of Bill was an unseen doe and he got it. While missing the bucks he had seen, he had still not been skunked after all [Bill had another not exactly legal deer]. We dressed out the deer. Bill was acting as if he had just robbed the bank and had the feds after him. He said he would take it out and we should get away. We made a compromise. He would take the deer to the highline and I would meet him there with the car.

It had snowed the night before and the ground was covered. Nothing had yet disturbed it. I backed the car into the highline to meet Bill. I did not see him yet. I got out and went to the trunk to open it. Placing the key in the lock I turned it. I looked up to see Bill at the north side of the highline, I was on the south side. Before the lid was all the way up a deer landed in the trunk and the lid was on its way back down. Bill was standing next to me.

As I looked to the north side of the highline I got the surprise of the day. The new snow was unmarked. He had not only crossed the highline in less time than it took to open a spring loaded trunk lid, he had done it without leaving a mark in the new snow. There were no footprints or drag marks in the new snow. It all happened so quickly that I had missed what had to have been one of the most amazing feats in human history. [how do you] move fifty yards down hill dragging a deer and not disturb the new fallen snow. I still am in awe.