cowhunter
Well-known member
It was foggy when I blew past the cowpens. I was to meet this man at a set of pens between hewhaw junction and ockichobee, off 441. I was a little late when I seen him flagin me down and no lights on my tagalong horse trailer. A fruit truck was tryin to get around and blow his airhorn to. I got there to a frindly howdy! And a, foggy aint it? He was a well thought out man. He had a truck that had narry a beer can in it and a box of crispy cream donuts and a thermos full of hot coffee. He was pushin 40 and me 22. We paled up right off on them donuts and steamin coffee. I had been sent to meet this man we was to ride out the pairs of 200 mama cows. Heifers, left with there mamas and mamas and bull calfs back in the hold up. We looked out at them, bunched in the hold up yesterday evenin. This won't be hard, he said as we siped or coffee. No, just kind of lame. My buddys are ropein all day at peacock. I said. Hital pay. Yea, he said. We'll get a good easy day. These cattle had to go. The land had been sold to a yankee developer. I noticed somethin in the pens about the same time the man did. It was 3 doe deer and a little scronny six point buck. The does run out the gat but the buck was tryin to jump. I got the gate closed while we watched him tryin to jump out. What u won't to do with him ? Said the man? Let's rope him and cut his nuts out and earmark em. Was my young answer. Well, he got caught up in it and we set out to do it. He saw my lefthand rope and said I'll head. Pull him around that post in the middle of the pen if he goes crazy. The man slicked horned him before I could get my loop and right off had his hands full! I missed the little mean bastard twice and the mans horse had been caught several times. I finely got the deer down around the post. Never got a heal. The deer was jadeded but still kickin and fightin plenty hard. Somebody was openin the gate and sure cussin up a storm. A regular hell raisin that u could tell, he was use to people scurry, when it went to doin it. We was sure caught, me and the man. Like 2 foxes in the hen house. I tryed to lie as the man just stood there on his horse. Lookin kind of out of sorts. I got mad and told the realistate man I wernt goin to take no more cussin before it got to the ash wippin and he seen me gettin a little green eyed. He said you country shits, get out of here. Your fired. I felt about 2 ins tall. I had done an lost a easy day job for me and this man. I got the rope off the jaded deer and was tryin to turn him loose on the mean yankee but he was gone to his car. The man was loadin his horse when I saw how bad his fingers were. They were his pointer and his bird fingers. Just hangin on. I tryed to haul him to oakichobee to the hospital but he said he could make it. Many times I kicked my self for bein a kid and puttin him up to this. He lost both fingers I was later told. Close to 30 years have gone by and I've told that story only a little. Still fealin the guilt of bein a wild youngin, baitin a grown man into a risky deed. When trey was about 7, me and him deleavered a load of cowpen lumber to bassanger. A town close to ockichobee. I had been by them same pen a hundred times, but never seen no reason to stop. To many bad fealins I recon. At least the land stayed in cattle. As we got close, I seen a man with a few youngins. He threw up his had and waved at me. I was just right to stop and figered I'd give out a business card and talk to this old cracker. He was a sure nice feller. While we talked about the owners and how he looked after the cattle for them. Them youngin were his grandboys and were sure were some little sports. They soon had my curdog out and were playin with him. Trey, bein a youngin was starin at his 2 lost fingers and this man said, son, never rope a deer. And went on with the story about how it went down rite here in this cowpen. I was cringin, not wontin to hear how I cowarsed this man into loosein 2 fingers and a days wage from him. Hell, it was longer than that, with him mindein. But it never come. The man was lookin at me and he new. We never spoke about it while I was there. He said he was a preacher at a little church in bashinger and give us a invite. I told him I had found god in a juke joint in west fla while workin as a bouncer there. I sent trey to get him a card. I really wonted to spill my guts about the guilt I felt for his bad luck that day but trey came racein back with 2 cards and a purple cotton bag with a bottle of crown royal wiskey in it. That made me look bad. I said somebody had just give me that and I weren't lien. He said just don't be given to it son. I said I knew the difference. He said I figered u did. I'll never forget the long stare we gave each other while we shook hands.lookin in his old weathered blue eyes kind of made a peace about it. Sence I got sick I've tryed to get a hold of him. Seakin somethin he had. Some kind of healin he could pray for me. To ask god for a few more years. but I've had no luck findin him. I have got the few more years though. And maybe a few more. Maybe. Oh well.
