The Plot of a Vengeful Deer
Posted: Thursday, December 01, 2011
by Jack H. Schick
As a Friend (a Quaker), I believe that harmony permeates the universe. Everything is part of the whole. All individual parts of the Great Spirit’s creation--plants, animals, rocks, star dust and galaxies--exist in harmony with all the other parts. Life, in all of its manifestations, is one of those parts; consequently, so is Man. But, men are different. While a deer or a cactus might be part of the whole; they merely exist in God’s world. Man, however, has intelligence and consciousness, a conscience and a soul. Not only are they a part of the whole, but part of the Supreme Mind also dwells within all men.
I thought about it then told her, “It’s because I meditate while I’m hunting.” I sit quietly in the woods and focus on the Spirit. I don’t pray for success. I simply allow myself to become absorbed by the creation that surrounds me. I become one with nature and bask in the Light. I come into closer harmony with everything. Consequently, the animals don’t notice me. I’m more imbedded in the whole. That which makes me a special type of being--my aura, the jabber of my thought process, my active consciousness--usually send ripples through the ether. While meditating, I no longer blatantly announce my Self, there in the woods, as I approach oneness with the all.
That’s the story I’m sticking with, anyway. It sounds good. I have to admit, I’ve sure been lucky a few times, though.
One of my hunting buddies, Troy, had an experience this year that’s making me have second thoughts about my philosophy. Maybe Man isn't so special after all. Troy hunted for deer during the early archery season. He’s got a great spot that’s close to his house. He sees deer in his yard all the time. I don’t know if he mediates while he hunts, but he got a shot at a real nice buck this year. It came walking right into range, oblivious to his presence--there, up a tree, dressed in camoflage with doe-in-heat juice sprinkled around. He drew and shot his bow. The arrow was headed right for target when it hit a twig and deflected into the deer’s leg.
Troy was a little frustrated. He should have been dragging out his trophy, but instead he was tracking the deer until dark. It was not seriously wounded. There was very little blood on the trail and it diminished as he followed behind. He found the arrow. The deer had shaken it loose. It was bent and ruined, of course. He might have a sore leg for awhile, but the big buck was definitely going to survive, and be wiser for the experience--and vengeful it turned out.
Troy gave up and headed back to the house to tell the tale (as so many of us archers have), of the big one that got away. He had the whole week off for deer hunting and planned to get out there again early the next morning. But, while he was putting his gear away, he noticed that his hunting license was missing from the back of his jacket.
The only hunting Troy did the next day was for his license. He back-tracked his entire trail. When he didn't find it, he had to run over to the sporting goods shop and buy a duplicate. Then he had to trek all the way down to the county treasure’s office to replace his doe permit. By the time that was over it was getting late in the day so he opted to knock a few items off of his ‘honey-do’ list to keep the wife quiet. The repercussions of wounding that big buck were beginning to mount up. He had no idea, yet, that there was a plot against him and his family in the works.
Troy’s wife was a little late heading out for her weekly book club meeting that night. She sped out the drive way and up the street. When she got to the blind corner a block up from the house, standing smack in the middle of the road was a large buck deer with a wound on his leg. She slammed on the brakes. The deer bolted and headed down across the back yards. She didn’t come close to hitting him, but with all the fallen leaves on the pavement, she went into a dangerous skid. She wasn’t hurt but was a little shaken up.
At the time, Troy was at the kitchen sink doing the dishes (one of the Tuesday ‘honey-do’s’). He just happened to glance out the window as the buck ran into his back yard. He recognized the antlers immediately. “That’s him!” he shouted, startling the kids. The deer stopped for a second in the yellow swathe of light cast onto the lawn from his window. It seemed to glare at him angrily before it took off into the woods. He was flabbergasted and just stood there staring out the window for a few moments.
Troy sat in the woods the entire next day; from before light until after dark, never moving, waiting for that buck to come by again. He didn’t see a thing. He had a lot of time to think, though, and that can be dangerous sometimes. A fantastic ‘story’ hatched in his normally focused, competent brain. He imagined that perhaps the deer had found his lost license, gotten his home address and was now stalking him and his family. It was idiotic, but he couldn’t get the idea out of his head (that's happened to me on an all day stand, too). The mind can do strange things when it’s isolated and bored.
He told me about his thoughts, jokingly. We both laughed, but the event of the previous evening, the wounded buck running his wife off the road then showing up in his yard and glaring at him, did strike us as an odd happenstance.
Weeks went by. Troy never got another shot at a deer; buck or doe. Local deer season closed. It was the week before regular season Deer Camp, when ‘the guys’ head up to the mountains for an infamous week of outlandish stag activities at a cabin in the woods. The whole idea sometimes (quite frequently), irritates the women-folk. Troy was trying to be especially nice and family oriented that week to abate the underlying tension he could feel. He was doing the season’s last backyard grilling.
It gets dark early this time of year. The sun was long since set when the grub was finally done. Troy didn’t bother with the porch lights, just grabbed a flashlight and serving tray to go get the barbecued pork chops. When he got out on the patio he heard a funny noise and shined the light out into the yard. There, not ten yards away, stood a big doe and a yearling. When the light beam hit them, they didn’t run away. They seemed to be glaring at him, angrily. The yearling snorted then charge at him. He panicked. He held out the serving tray like a shield and the flashlight like a light saber. The fawn stopped short, snorted again and lunged at him a second time. Troy took a few steps back. He couldn't believe what was happening.
Thankfully, nobody got hurt. After making their feelings for Troy perfectly clear, the two deer turned and slowly walked off into the woods. He's sure that they were the wife and child of the wounded buck. He's convinced there's a plot, now. He knows it's a crazy idea. "Or is it?" he debates. He’s actually considering skipping the late archery season this winter. He’s not sure it's safe to be out in the woods with just a bow and arrow.
Up at Deer Camp, Troy uses a high powered rifle. It's a couple of hundred miles from his house, too. He’s hoping word of the vendetta hasn’t gotten that far north yet. He’s pretty sure it’s still just a local plot. He’s double checked the accuracy of his firearm, though; and he’s warned the wife and kids to not go out at night unarmed. If they see a deer, especially one with a slight limp, they’ve been instructed to run away as fast as they can.
This Article has been viewed 377 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)Quite a story Jack, about a deer seeking revenge.thanks for reading and commenting
Great story Jack. I hunted some in my teen years, but here in our area then, there were not large game species at all. There are now. But I became a wimp. I loved animals from my birth up and every time I shot a squirrel and watched the little fellow fall from a high tree, it broke my heart. So, since then, I try not to kill anything larger than a cockroach.I guess killing a cockroach or a deer is about the same thing. Thanks for reading and commenting
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.