Bear Hunting is Gung Ho, Part I

Oooh…With a name like Zilda, she has to be good…

To let you heathens know, Bear Hunting is not the same as other Hunting. It’s not often done alone, it’s done in groups. It’s a networking thing. It’s everyone chipping in. It’s everyone working together. Mind you, this is Hunting with Dogs. If you don’t have Dogs, you better have a back. It’s also desired to be trustworthy and a Man about things. It’s also hard to get into a good group of Bear Hunters. The best way to meet Bear Hunters is to Bear Hunt.

Saturday started Thursday night when I called a fellar I had only heard of and asked if me and Twister could go hunting with him, something almost unheard of. We talked for a few, and he said to call him the next night. Friday night he told me when and where to meet them. It was a polite thing, but we had to show we had something to bring to the plate. We weren’t there to tag along we were there to Hunt. It was a big group, about a dozen or so, among us we had a little over thirty Dogs. The ice broke after a little and everything was OK. Everyone was good folk. Two of the boys were from Jackson County and had Hunted with Twister and the other boys I hunted with from Macon before. One had been present the day Twister killed his Bear over on Burning Town. I mentioned I had one of Jimmy C’s Dogs, and was mine now. The boy asked if it was Squeaky. It’s a small world amongst Men ad Dogs.

My contact pulled up in an old Toyota pick up converted into a flat bed with a home made box on the back. Ideal for Bear Hunting. He had about a dozen Dogs, Walkers and mixed breeds. It was a funny sight, but everyone of those dogs were getting along. We’ll call it the Twelve Piece Box. One of his Dogs caught the eye. He said she was part Kemmer Cur and Walker, she wasn’t much bigger than a Fiest. It was said she had ran a Bear from th head of Cathey’s Creek almost into Brevard before and was on it’s heels all the way.

We hunted both Jackson and Transylvania County. This time I managed to get Squeaky off the lead at least. It had gotten late in he day, about noon, a track was going to be hard to get. It was dry and the warmest of the day. We let the Twelve Piece Box loose along with my two running up a creek to let them strike a track on their own. And, they did.
On the other side of the dividing ridge behind us the Law was out searching for someone missing since the 20th of October with Cadaver Dogs. I’m glad the race didn’t head that way. It wasn’t too clear what happened, but the dogs were on a Bear, and the race broke. We didn’t get the Bear. It’s a little harder than the early part of the season, they are getting spread out. It was hasty, and if we had had time to get off in that country with the Dogs, than we may have gotten the Bear. None the less, the fellar with the Twelve Piece Box seemed to run things and he was thinking ahead of the Bear. He was a good fellar and we liked him.

Allot came from the day. This is just part of it.
The Appalachianist