cowhunter
Well-known member
My mamas daddy was a native american. His daddy was also but his mama was 1/2 white. It was said they run off from the trail of tears and took up deep in pumpkin swamp in dixie county fla. He had polyo as a baby and it was said he would never walk but he did. He limped but faired ok. He was much of a man, even cripple. When he drank, he would fight a panther. But wernt hard to get along with. Granny did crack his head with a cast iorn fryin pan one time for comein home drunk and raisein hell. The say I act a lot like him. Or I did. He cowhunted all over dixie county and they would drive them to gainesville to the market. It took about 7 days and crossin the suwannie river in fannin springs. Close to the end of the drive, they would lay them up at cubly or watermellon pond to get there bellys full of maiden cane before the final drive to gainesville. Years later, when he moved to levy county, he leased cubly and drove a herd of cattle there to there new home. That was in 1938. That was the days of open range. He had a cattle and hog claim and the marks were registered at the court house. That all changed in 1967. He had to fence his in his cattle and sell a bunch. And try and catch about 1000 head of piney woods rooters. He quit at 500 because the market was flooded. There decendents r what we hunt today. My granny said narry a county comishiner got realected on acount of that deal. I was born in 57 and got to go with him as a youngin on horse and jeep a lot. Checkin hog traps and feedin cattle. We ate a lot of pork but I never remembered grandaddy butcherin a beef. We at a lot of wild game like squeral, quail, turkey, duck, kerlu and deer also granny had chickins. He loved us like we never new. But wore out young asses out if we were wrong. Like one time me and my cusin found ourselfs at home alone and got after the chickins. We were in a frinzy and aint even noticed grandy had come home. I was bringin one around the barn to my cusin to ambush when I got hung in the electric fence. It was eatin me up. I kicked out of it and went to cryin as a went around the barn. I seen grandaddy and headed to him for some soothin. When I got there, them bridal reans were way worse than that electric fence. Granny had no soothin either. Her hens didn't lay for three days. He said he learned us. And he sure did. He tought nobody. He learned them. One time my family moved off down in south fa. I was about 8. Santy claus had bought me a 410 shot gun and a box of shells. We had come home for christmas and I was wontin to go squerral huntin but the wind was blowin and grandaddy sure wonted to take me. He felt pity for me and the day before we were goin back to south fla, we went that afternoon. We walked the hamocks only to see a few birds but narry a cat squeral. He did not beleave in wastin no shells. Not a one. I finely got the nerve to ask him if I could kill some birds even though it could mean a tore up ass. He said are u goin to eat them? I said I'd eat a blue jay. I know now he felt sorry for me. Liven down south not gettin to come home much. He said alright, three shells. I smiled up at him and said 3 birds. I was not wontin to eat that blue jay but me and my cusins had done it before. We got home and he made a big deal to granny about what we kilt, spreadin them out on the freezer. Then he throwed them to the cats and said let me show u how to oil that gun. When us grand youngins ranged from about 14 to 17, we sure loved to hunt. And we were a bunch of outlaws to. Fire huntin and gator huntin and such. The game warden came to grandaddys house one day acusein our bunch of killin a bear that had been turnt loose with a colar on it that they had found dead We had ran him a bunch but our dogs were just potlickers and wernt much good. He told the warden he new for a fact his grand youngins aint kilt the bear because we would have skint hit and ate it. The warden left with a good answer and we got a good ass crawlin. He loved us all in his own way. He lived to be 100 years. Trey was a baby but he remembers him. I got a pic of him and trey I'll send in. Love u grandaddy.
