The Turnbo Manuscripts
by Silas Claiborne Turnbo
1844-1925
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KILLING TWO DEER IN A SINGULAR WAY
By S. C. Turnbo
Among strange incidents of hunting is an account given me by Mr. Calvin Vance who lived a number of years at Forsyth, Mo. Mr. Vance said that his brother, John P. Vance, who was a merchant at Forsyth, kept his father’s old rifle that he hunted with in Sullivan County, Tennessee. "One day," said he, "the most singular incident in hunting I ever heard of happened to Billy Walker, who settled near where Taneyville, Mo., now stands. A few years after Mr. Walker stopped on the ridge between the mouths of Cedar and Beaver Creek where he lived until the bloody conflict between the states began. One day while Mr. Walker lived on the Taney City ridge near Taneyville he come down to Forsyth and borrowed my father’s old rifle to go hunting with and while leaving town he said, "Boys, I am going to kill a deer before I go back home." It was late in the afternoon when he started and after riding around on the ridge between Forsyth and Taney City without finding anything worth shooting at, he rode down on Swan Creek and about sunset as he rode along the creek he saw a deer standing nearby and shot it. After picking up the deer and placing it on the horse’s back and tieing it there to prevent its falling off he reined the horses head around in the direction of home when he saw another deer lying in the agony of death in a few yards of where he had killed the other one. An investigation showed that it was shot behind the shoulder and Mr. Walker said that when he come to sum it up he and both deer were on a line when he shot. But he only saw one deer when he fired his gun. This account sounded odd to me," said Mr. Vance., "But as Uncle Billy was counted a truthful man I did not doubt his statement."
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