San Antonio Light Article: A Story Told by Walter Esser
San Antonio Light ArticleThis column was in the January 17, 1965 edition of the San Antonio Light. The story took place around 1922 on the Richard Esser Farm located about 2 miles north of Boerne and is a story about Walter Esser.
Excerpt from the article: "When I was about sixteen years old, I was living on the home place. I had never hunted, never wanted to. "Papa had two rows of potatoes and three rows of tomatoes in the middle of a field, and they were about 300 yards long.
EATING EVERYTHING
"The deer started to work on them at night; they were eating everything, right up toward the house. Papa asked me why I didn't go down there at night--it was moonlight--and take a shot at them. In those days farmers thought nothing of protecting their crops against deer, in season or out. So I decided to go. I took a long old single-barrelled shotgun, also a rawhide-bottomed kitchen chair; and at dark I sat down to wait. I had an old dollar watch on a leather thong, which I hung over one of the posts on the back of the chair. It had a radium dial, so I could see what time it was. "I got sleepier and sleepier. Midnight came, and no deer. At three o'clock I gave up and went home , carrying the chair and the gun. I remember telling myself that hunting was no fun; and I believe if it hadn't been for what happened the next night, I would never have hunted again in my life. "The next day Papa said: 'Son, are you going down there tonight?' So I said I guessed I would. I sat down at dark with my gun, and once more put the watch on the post of the chair. I got a big flat rock to set my feet on. I had decided to call it off at midnight. Nothing showed up. I turned to look at the watch. It was fifteen minutes until twelve, so I could go home and to bed.
3 BIG BUCKS
And then I looked down the rows of vegetables, between the higher corn, and there were three big bucks. My feet began to beat a tattoo on the flat rock, and startled the deer. I finally got my feet down on the dirt. "I picked up the gun and took aim. Two of them ran off, but this big one kept looking up the row at me, so I let go. He started running in circles, so I put in the other shell--I only had two. And I fired away and missed him, but he was still running round in a circle. "Then I took a big old hunting knife out of my pocket and said to myself, I'll stick him. But when I got close to and looked at that set of horns with ten points, I didn't know what to do, for I realized he could be dangerous. So then I decided I would try again. I missed him completely, but the knife went down and cut a place in his foreleg.
SPLIT STOCK
"I took the shotgun by the barrel, and the next time he came around I laid the stock across his nose, under the horns, and he went down. The stock was split. About this time I saw the lantern come bobbing down the tomato row, and I was sure glad to know my father was coming to help me. "A few days later I was in town and old Judge Balser, who lived down the road, saw me, and asked: 'Walter, what was all that shooting and hollering up at your place the other night?' "I thought for a few seconds and then I said, 'Mr. Balser, those owls are sure getting after our chickens.' "That night made me a hunter; I have hunted all my life."
