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Chas. Brust, Sr, Mighty Nimrod of Half Century Ago, Tells

How Four Men Bagged Game.

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MUZZLE-LOADING SHOT GUNS USED BY HUNTERS

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Big Jollification Followed

Successful Skirmish Few Miles Northwest Of New Ulm.

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The big game hunting season, which closed in Minnesota, last Thursday, awakened fond old memories in the unusually alert mind of our old friend and fellow-townsman, Chas Brust, Sr. He couldn’t resist the temptation to call at our sanctum and tell us all about an exciting and very successful deer hunt, in which he and three of his companions participated over half a century ago. This is, substantially, what he told.

First Snow Brought “Fever.”

“Fifty-three years ago, on the 21st day of November, four nimrods-John Hauenstein, Sr., Henry Spoerhase, Prank Grebe and myself-left New Ulm that Sunday morning. Snow had fallen the previous night, and we had arranged long before hand that we would start on a deer hunt in Milford township, a short distance north of he Peter Mack place, about three miles northwest of New Ulm, immediately after the first snowfall. We were all prepared in advance for big game with our muzzle-loading shotguns. The snow was still falling that Sunday morning, but we started away from New Ulm at about 8 o’clock.

First Sign of Game.

“We entered the woods, and in the rear of the H. L. Runck place we saw the first sign of big game. Mr. Hauenstein took up the trail and followed it, armed with his Cincinnati rifle, the only bullet-firing weapon in the party. He succeeded in making the first kill; it was about 10 o’clock in the morning. Overjoyed at his good luck, Mr. Hauenstein called out: ‘I’ve got one!’I heard him call, and when I neared the spot, he said: ‘What will you give me if I show you a dead deer? I quickly replied: ‘A keg of beer.’

Bagged Two More.

“Two more deer were shot that day with our muzzle-loaders. Returning to Mr. Mack’s place, we spent the night there, and what a time we had! Next morning, we started out to get the buck, which we were unable to shoot the previous day, but were unable to bag him. Mr. Mack shot the animal the following Wednesday. Our re-turn to New Ulm was, indeed, triumphant, and we stopped at almost every place of business in town to exhibit our trophies to the bewildered inhabitant. We celebrated our good fortune in the good old-fashioned pre-Volstead way.

Keg of Beer Became Relic.

“Nothing more was said about that bet of a keg of beer, there being no scarcity of the amber fluid in those days. But on November 21 of the fol-lowing year, some one suggested that we keep the beer intact in the keg, so that the members of the party could take a look at it each year on the date of the big hunt. Later we decided that the last man alive of the party was to drink the keg empty, if it took him a lifetime to complete the task.

Last Survivor “Cheated.”

“My four companions have since passed away-one after the other. The first to go was Mr. Spoerhase, next Mr. Hauenstein, then Mr. Grebe and, finally, Mr. Mack, so there is none left except myself. Since prohibition went into effect, the keg has been empty, but was still kept as a relic of olden times. On Friday, I went out to the Hauenstein brewery, to look at the empty keg, but was informed that it had all dried up, nothing being left but the bung hole. This I will keep as a memento.”

Was Mighty Nimrod.

In his prime, Mr. Brust was a mighty nimrod, seldom failing to ac-count for his game, once he drew a bead over his trusty shotgun or rifle. In addition to being the last member of the memorable hunting party re-lated about above, Mr. Brust is also the sole survivor of a dozen valiant huntsmen, whose picture, taken while they were grouped around a deer they had bagged, appeared in the Journal last year. Nick. Nenno, who passed away several months ago, was Mr. Brust’s last surviving companion of that hunt.

Brown County Journal,

Nov. 28, 1924

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