THE EARLESS SOW
by Jason Dunn
My buddy Chris is the kind of feller that gets head off in whatever he's doing and hog hunting is one of them. The kind of guy that always has his own gear and one of the reasons I like hunting with him. I had given Chris a few pups off an old dog of mine and he was bent on having his own hog dogs so he rode up to Arkansas from Mississippi one fine morning to work them in my bay pen. We had a fine visit, his 6 month old pups were baying good in the pen on a 30 lb shoat. Satisfied, that evening he headed home and I headed to check some traps.
The first trap I came up on had two 60-70 pound pigs, a little black boar and a sow with no ears. My first thought was we could cut one loose and let the pups trail it so I called Chris, he turned around and was back at the house in just a few minutes. We loaded up his pups and I took my old gyp too and we headed to the trap. Now Chris has seen me catch a couple pigs and has shot a couple but had never stuck one or handled a live one. Of course I had told him every horror story I knew about hog hunting wrecks so he was quite cautious when it came down to the deed which made all this so much more entertaining.
The dogs were baying outside the trap and wanted a piece of them hogs bad, so I told Chris when I lifted the trap door "grab a leg, pull one out and we will have a good race for them pups". Well, he tried several times. I could tell his heart wasn't into it so told him quit acting like an old woman and grab that pig. Finally he holds the door and I jerked the little sow out and like a rocket she was gone with puppies and an old dog hot on her trail. I turned around to Chris. He was on top of the trap to keep from getting killed ha ha and I said "You're gonna have to finish this, I got Brother and them pups need you".
We started our way to the direction the dogs went. That little hog flat out burned them pups and the old gyp. They caught up to her about 1000 yards right in the middle of a pine thicket. We could hear them bayed up solid . I told Chris "go ahead go kill that pig for them puppies and do it with your knife". I had Brother, my three year old son at the time trying to navigate the briars with him it was hard but he is a better man for it now at the ripe ole age of 5 ha ha.
When me and Brother finally got there, the pig is down in a wallow surrounded by pups and my old gyp. It was beautiful. I said to Chris "why haven't you got her already". His reply was "I can't get a hold of her". I call "B.S now grab her when she turn". Well this went on for a few more minutes so I razz him again, "GRAB that !@UT#&*@ PIG!!!!" Chris looks at me and I will never forget the look on his face pointing that knife at me he say "I'm a little scared right now so back off".
Right at that moment the sow jumps out the wallow to have a go at Chris, sending him flying backwards through the briars. Somewhere in all this he looses his knife and the sow breaks again with the dogs in tow. I laughed so hard I almost died but now Chris has a wounded pride and is madder than a ole wet hen. I said "we can't no further if them pups are to get that hog under their belt you gonna have to get it done" so off he went. Me and Brother sat there listening and talking about how Brother would have killed that hog already cause he's tough, when we hear them bayed up again about 100 yards away and a few minutes later silence and then I hear "wooooooooweeee, I got her". I yelled back "Hawwwwwwwww bring her home".
It took awhile for him to get her out. Of course I would have helped but I had Brother and couldn't leave him ha ha. I shake his hand, pat him on the back. For a guy that just drugg 70 lb of dead weight through a thicket he is buzzing. I said "Well how did you do it" and he says "You ain't gonna believe me". I said "Try me". He said "I just kept throwing my knife at her till it stuck. I lobbed it and after the thing went in like butter". I looked at the sow and sure enough around the top of her shoulder blade was a stab wound. When we skinned her the very top of her heart was pierced.
Chris has gotten a few more hogs since then and has learned how to grab them but I love to remind him of that earless sow that gave him such a hard time.