cowhunter
Well-known member
Almost 18 years ago. My dad was struck down with cancer. Dienosed, chemo and a funeral. All in about 4 month's. It liken to have kilt me. He was the drivein force, now up and gone. I had started a little sawmill, cuttin mostly cypress cowpen lumber, gate materal and such. Daddy loved it and helped a lot. I morned him stedy, cryin almost everyday for a year. But hangin on. If it wernt for my wife, 3 month 's bred when he died, I figered I'd of never come out of it. I told him on his death bed if she had a son, I was goin to name him after him. My brother is the jr. But his wife chose not to call there son the third, so, here came trey, 6 month 's later. He was sure what I needed. God sent him to me and it was his plan to help me over loosein my dad. He was a tow head, just like his mama. And a real perty, smart little feller. As he grew, he loved to do what ever I did. As the years went by, he took up with a little cripple mexican that worked for us. Trey and him were thick and trey soon had him named little cusin. They get into somethin every afternoon, fishin, huntin or makein bows and airows huntin rabits. I soon had them outfited with slingshots. I had a old red gildin I kept there to hunt off some. He was old and big but he could tote me, trey, a little jackrussel dog and little cusin, just about anywhere. Big red was bomb proof to. We went rabit huntin in the summer about twice a week and got perty good at killin them with our sling shots. That little dog would catch the addeled ones so we had a good hunt real regular. Them mexican's would cook then in kind of a spicy stew called moely. It was sure good over rice. And we all looked foward to it. One time, little cusin had to work late so me and trey and the dog went. It was gettin real dry and when we made our loop, only about 3 miles or so, we stoped by a cypress slew that generly run but was just a water hole in a dryed up creek bed now. This place was known as the catfish hole because u could generly catch a mess there, anytime. It wernt real big, only about 12 foot across but about 20 ft long. It was a old gator hole so it was deep though. We has not seen any sign of a gater, or big gater there in years. Many a small one had been kilt to eat but nothin to worry about so we always watered the horse and little dog there. It had got dry enough to walk around and when I was a teen age boy, there was a gater cave on the back side. I wonted trey to see it so we sliped around the edge. There were little frogs, fresh from tadpoles jumpin everywhere. He wonted to catch a few to take home for mama. He always brought her somethin from or trips, bein a lizard, a bug, a flint aira head or a lucky rabbits foot. I told him to hold off and let's check this gator cave. When we got to the cave, I seen the water role. I started backin trey up and tryin to not scair him. There were about 30 little gators around the cave when I felt it was safe to grab this baby and run. The little dog had come over there and kind of saved us because he was barkin and tryin to catch a little 12 in gator and that wood sure keep the sow from comein to us. I got trey on big red and started chunkin sticks at the dog, tryin to get him to quit the little gators, knowin at anytime the mama gator would kill him. Trey loved little andy and soon with some bad scoldin and a slingshot marble in the belly, he quit the gator bayin. He came over to our side. Trey never new what happened. He was worry about gettin mama some frogs. We waited by the slew as the horse drank and I told him about the gator. He was none to enterested. He wonted his mama to have a few frogs. I was just about to hand him down to catch a few at the horses feet when big red's ears perked. Here was the gator, comein out of the cave about 30 ft from us. She thought we had left and was goin back to the slew. She was everybit of 10 ft and was fat and black. She has seen us but was comited. I got the horse back and this time trey had seen it all and was sure shook. He was worryed about his little dog and I tied off the reins and drug the stupid little rat out of the water he was coolin his self in. I handed up little andy with my heart racein ninty to nothin as I noticed trey cryin. He had seen the danger and that was a good thing. It would be somethin we wood talk about and bring up as it got easyer to speak of. He said; daddy, wear not goin to tell mama, are we? I said, I think not. Not just yet any how. He said ok, that's good. But can I tell little cusin? Sure, he won't tell mama. Tell him it was a big coco reo,a river lizard. As soon as we got our rabits delivered, he was all excited, tellin little cusin in there one little language of spainish and english that they only new. It still makes a shiver run up my spine when I think about this mishap. The lord was watchin us and a valueble lesson was learned to my 5 year old boy and I was able to make the right moves to save us, by the grace of god!
Take care and God Bless. :wink:
