and the next morning we went back to camp.

After we had arrived at camp, I crossed the divide from the
Sinnemahoning side of the Pine Creek side to hunt. I had not gone far
after reaching Pine Creek before I struck the trail of five or six
deer. After following the trail a ways I concluded that the deer
would pass around the point of the ridge and pass through a hardwood
balsam on the other side of the ridge.

I climbed the hill and made for the balsam in hope to head the deer
off. I had only reached the brow of the hill so that I could look
into the basin when I saw the deer. I thought to myself, there is a
good chance to try my new gun, for I had not yet shot it. I drew on a
large doe that was in the lead of the bunch and cut loose. The doe
made a leap into the air, made a jump or two down the hill and went
down, while the rest of the deer made two or three jumps up the hill
towards me and stopped and looked back down the hill in the direction
of the doe that I had shot. I pulled onto the shoulders of a buck,
the largest deer of the bunch, who gave his tail a switch or two,
wheeled, made a few jumps down the hill and fell, while the rest of
the bunch made a lively break for other parts. I continued to scatter
lead as long as I could see them.

I ran down to the deer that I had killed, cut their throats, removed
their entrails, climbed some saplings, bent them down, cut off the
tops and hung the deer on them. Getting a pole with a crotch at the
end to place under the sapling, I pulled the deer up the best that I
could and started on the trail of the others. I did not follow the
trail long when I saw one of them had a broken leg. The deer with the
broken leg soon dropped out from the others and went down the hill,
crossed the hollow and went into a thick hemlock timber and laurel.

As it was nearly night, I left the trail and went home to camp. The
next morning, Mr. Ball went with me to help get the wounded deer. We
did not follow the trail far until we saw the deer fixing to lie
down. I backed up and went up the hill above where we thought the
deer might be lying. While Mr. Ball waited for me to give the signal
to come. Mr. Ball had not gone far after I had howled, letting him
know that I was ready, when out of the laurel came the deer. Mr. Ball
was close, so that we both got a shot, killing the deer almost before
it was on its feet.

Now I was so infatuated with my new gun, that it was a case of love
at first s