White Hart of the Ozarks

When an albino deer appeared north of Marshfield a few years ago, folks viewed it as unique, not supernatural or otherworldly. This stands in stark contrast to two millennia of folk belief. Native Americans viewed the appearance of white deer as very good luck and a sign of strength and abundance, however the reverse was true should it be killed. Some southern tribes have legends claiming a white doe is a maiden trapped by a witch, in order to separate her from a lover. Old time Ozarkers felt a sense of dread. Don and Sue Tyson were filled with wonder and joy as they watched a doe give birth to twins near their front porch, one being tan the other snow white. The Tysons watched the little fellow daily until he became accustomed to their presence, this proximity enabling them to document its life through pictures and video. Dale Richerson had seen the animal on multiple occasions, but failed to get a picture. “I just got lucky one morning and got a little video.” The video he captured soon went viral, drawing the attention of local media, even getting picked up by the UPI. Soon other pictures began popping up on social media, with many hoping he would pass his genetics on and start a herd of similarly colored animals. For sometime folks with their video app at the ready cruised the roads north of town hoping to get a glimpse of the otherworldly-looking celebrity. These deer are rare but not unheard of, according to Francis Skalicky with the Missouri Department of Conservation, who was quoted at the time, "One in 30,000 sounds like a rare ratio…However, when you have over a million deer in Missouri, which we do, that means you will probably have a few albino deer a year. We get reports of them around the state." Under the game code they're legal to harvest, the same restrictions and permits applying to all white tail deer. In the latter half of 2023 the young buck vanished, not being seen again. Did he succumb to disease or fall to an arrow or bullet? Local rumor had it being poached out of season. The Tysons lament his apparent demise, “We still talk with him and cannot imagine who took his life and what kind of person would kill something so beautiful.” One informant being a tad more blunt than the rest stated, “There always has to be a butthole around…”

The excitement on social media and in the press regarding Marshfield’s white buck and its apparent demise stand in stark contrast to what folks believed in the past. Sightings of white deer in the Ozarks are nothing new, in the early settlement days of Oregon County, locals saw a white buck for years until it was assumed it died of old age. Hunters avoided it fearing if it were shot bad luck would descend on the countryside, maybe a famine or some form of pestilence too. In March of 1939 near Mincy, Missouri, a similar occurrence was documented by Mary Elizabeth Mahnkey, the longtime columnist for the Taney County Republican. It seems that James Columbus Booth, locally known as “Lum,” was riding horseback to do his “tradin” at the Mincy Store. Riding past an alfalfa field he spied a group of deer with what he assumed to be a white goat. Upon closing the distance, he could see it wasn't a goat but rather a massive white buck. Hardly able to believe his eyes, the aged hunter knew he had seen the fabled stag of pioneer myth and lore. Multiple sightings created quite a stir amongst the community, with Mahnkey echoing the thoughts of many when penning her column, “I cannot overcome the subtle feeling that this may be a token. In other words an omen or warning.” Vance Randolph, writing a few years later, found most in the community, like Mahnkey greatly discomfited, but opinions varied as to why. Some agreed that it foretold of ominous things to come (Hitler would invade Poland in a little more than five months), several thought it had “...to do with witches' work, others that it was an indication of disease among deer and that venison will be unwholesome for seven years.” So much was made of the matter that the Springfield Leader sent Jim Billings out to investigate. His feature article focused more on the people and community of Mincy, than the beliefs associated with white deer. When gleaning various news articles, there seemed to be a great deal of concern among locals that someone would shoot it in an effort to retrieve the madstone. Today, the madstone is an almost forgotten staple of Ozark folk medicine, purportedly endowed with the miracle-like power to “draw pizen” from wounds. The name itself is a testimony to the belief that these odd “stones”, when properly used, could prevent hydrophobia. The “stones” themselves are generally a calcium concretion taken from the digestive tract of a deer although they are reportedly retrieved in other parts of the body. The only consistent factor held that the animal be white. Several famous nineteenth century madstones claimed to be the petrified udder of a white deer, dismissing the digestive tract notion entirely. Whether or not the white buck at Mincy carried a madstone or was a token of things to come, remains unknown, as it disappeared shortly after being seen.

The white buck holds a magical place in the mind of mankind, irrespective of time and place. The ancient Celts believed these magical deer were faster and stronger than their mortal counterparts, carrying messages from the underworld. In Celtic legends, pursuit of the mythic white stag, an animal that can never be realized beyond the thrill of the chase, transforms the hunt into a spiritual and moral test. These legends found a home in Arthurian Lore, where these deer often foretold quests. They were apparently common as Arthur and his knights hunted them annually on Easter. During one such hunt, Yvain pursued the animal relentlessly, almost close enough to touch it, for miles while ignoring his surroundings and becoming hopelessly lost. Boy Scout founder Robert Baden-Powell reflected on this, equating pursuit of “White Hart” to the spirit of scouting, “Hunters of old pursued the miraculous stag, not because they expected to kill it, but because it led them in the joy of the chase to new and fresh adventures.” For the record, Baden-Powell did not advocate getting lost. English kings perhaps had a more political end in mind. Ignoring the warnings, the king went right ahead and killed the unkillable. If no calamity befell his kingdom and his subjects did not suffer, he would be viewed as powerful and perhaps divinely ordained. To pull off such a feat or at the least mimic the legendary Arthur was clearly an attempt at image management. This trend continued as Britain christianized, “White Hart,” as the deer became known, shed its pagan roots and evolved into a symbol of purity, figuring prominently in royal art and heraldry. Richard II capitalized on this, utilizing White Hart on his royal badge, the deer in this case wasn't running free, but now collared by a golden crown fastened to a long chain representing the king’s service to both Christ and his kingdom, emblematic of life, “both noble and enslaved.”

St. Hubert, the patron saint of hunters and gamekeepers, experienced his conversion while giving chase on Good Friday. The hounds bayed a magnificent white stag which Hubert was ready to dispatch. Suddenly, between the antlers he beheld a silver cross. Hubert fell to his knees as the power of Christ caused the animal to speak, “Hubert unless thou turnest to the Lord and leadest a holy life, thou shalt quickly go down into Hell.” The animal continued, lecturing Hubert on how animals should be treated and ultimately hunted and killed. Today these traditions live on through the International Order of Saint Hubertus, an organization of hunters founded in 1695, who are committed to practicing the sport of hunting in a fair and ethical manner. They could be viewed as the originators of the “fair chase” doctrine adopted by the various fish and game agencies around the world.

So this deer season, should you see the white buck of Marshfield, give it a pass. With the election and the upcoming holiday season most folks will be too busy or tired to deal with bad luck, let alone pestilence and famine. There are plenty of normally colored deer to kill. Be like the Native Americans, take it as a good omen and expect the best, there’s another buck around the corner.