Storytelling Week 9: The Deer Ghost

There once was a man that decided to split from the tribe and attempt hunting on his own. His pray was deer that would feed his family for a couple weeks through the harsh winter ahead. He climbed up high in a tree and waited patiently with his bow and arrow for a deer to walk by.

Time went on and he did not see a single deer. He decided he would make camp that night and try again in the morning. When he went to rest for the night he heard some wrestling in the leaves near his camp. He thought it might be an intruder that could be dangerous. The man grabbed his knife and bow. He hid behind a large tree trying to hold his breath so the enemy could not hear him. By the light of the moon he saw a shadow on four legs.

The man was relieved that it was not a warrior of the woods that was there to take his belongings and kill him. However, when he studied the shadow it grew closer to camp, grazing on the acorns that were on the ground. Finally the shadow was close enough he could see the tall horns of a deer that would feed his family for at least 3 weeks.

The man thought he could manage a shot in the dark. He then pulled back on his bow string to let an arrow fly. The deer had no idea he was there and kept eating acorns. Soon the man let go when he had the perfect shot and the deer did not even flinch. How strange the man thought and he loaded his bow to try another shot. This time the deer looked up at him. The man and the deer made direct eye contact and it was if the deer could see directly into his soul. The hunter put down his bow and thought he would wait until the morning.

That morning the man had high hopes of seeing the buck he had encountered the night before. Instead the hunter saw several does that all had fawns. The tribe had always agreed to not shoot a doe that was able to reproduce or needed to provide for a fawn. The hunter waited patiently just hoping he would come back with meat. Soon a doe that was abnormally large walked out from the woods. The man pulled back and let the arrow fly from his bow. He climbed down from his tree to go harvest the deer. He suddenly felt the urge to look towards the woods in which he saw the big buck standing against the tree line.

When he went back to the tribal grounds he told all of the men about his journey. One of the elders of the tribe spoke up, “There is nothing wrong with your arrows son that is the deer ghost. He roams the woods at night to distract hunters that may be breaking the codes of the tribe by taking a deer when it is not daylight. He was struck once with an arrow while asleep by a white man. Your great grandfather nursed him back to help with certain native potions that made his life eternal.”

Author’s Note:

While reading The Man Who Shot a Ghost I thought about taking a different approach to the story. Several Native American tales have to do with animals or nature and how they are spirits. I wanted to make the deer a spirit. Another influence of this story was what is recently in the news about a young girl that shot a trophy buck. People tend to think that hunters are only about killing an animal for it to be a trophy. I think this attitude is shameful because our ancestors had to hunt for their food as well. Deer are harvested, not gunned down. If the meat is not used by hunters there are donation banks where the meat can be given to people who are in need. I also used the elder telling about the ghost story to imply that hunting is something that is passed down from generations. It should not be lost because there may be a day when every person has to provide for their own family.

The Man Who Shot a Ghost

Bibliography: “The Man Who Shot a Ghost” by Katharine Berry Judson from Myths and Legends of the Great Plains (1913).

Personal photo from my deer camera. I thought this foggy picture would represent a deer ghost well.