Stalked and laid for by a big old sow what had pigs

[Jacktheknife]

Where I live there is a wooded creek, with a flood bottom, 100 yards wide on each side of the creek. And everywhere else is highland pastures.
The wooded creek bottom is divided from the uplands,                              by a thickly wooded slope,  60-70 yards wide.                                         This wooded slope is where Mr. Hog likes to hang out during the day.                 When Hog first appeared on my creek, two or three years ago,                 I was out on the trapline and saw what amounted to a big double litter of 10-12 Hog.  They were just being Hogs,  and as long as I walked along behind them at a respectable range, not staring at them or being sneaky, they were not bothered by the human following.

      I was just studying them, had my .22 but was just watching them.  Seeing what they were into,  what they liked to eat,  and how they moved.
The better to build a good trap and catch a bunch of them, as they are about the best meat there is. Allways remember to wear gloves when you do any Hog butchering. Blood and guts of the Hog are full of evil little critters that will soak through your skin, and it will make you real sick, so... gloves.

        Anyway, I was following about where 20-30% of the herd was visible at any one time. When I could see 30% I stopped and just stood. When I could see 20% of the herd I moved forwards. This way I had a Hog watching party for an hour and a half, when it happened!

      I was just easing along. A wooded flood plain to my right, and a wooded slope to my left. I was walking along the bottom of the slope, where it joined the bottom, headed north west.
A faint trail went along right where I was intending to go,                            right at the bottom of the wooded slope.                                                   And a clump of big trees was spitting distance to the right of the trail 30 yards ahead.  I would have walked right past the clump, and was saved by my not following too close, or to fast.
     I was paitient in my stalk, I was just watching and of course was in no hurry, I was just watching and learning.                                              

     I was just 'eeeasing' along when from behind the clump of big trees...
Her back was to me, and suddenly she turned her head around to the left.              
There she was...!   looking right at me at 30 yards,                                 the biggest Hog there ever was.                                                               It was the moment of truth.                                                                     This Hog was obviously the Old Queen Grandmother Spirit Hog ...            of all time.
It was the most intelligent glance I had ever seen, this old Hog.
The other 160Lb -180 Lb hogs had an eye level of below my knees.
But the Hogzilla I was looking at had an eye level of 5' off the ground,   and mines 5'5'',  as I'm 6'2''!
I saw profound intelligence in those eyes.
As she looked me right in the eyes, like she was reading my mind.       She knew how much money I had in the bank, and how good of a shot I was.   She knew how fast I could run, and how much I could eat.            
 

      I imagined she was thinking :
"Well, hmmm   I can leave one young boar,  and two sows,                                and yes, they will have enough space here."
                                                                                                            This old Hog was so scary that...
... in my memory it is not scary.

     In my memory there is no fear.
I knew not to show fear.                                                                        I just knew it in an instant.
 No fear, and do not show aggression either.                                             I mean are you kidding!
Just stand and look, take a step back and just stand, gun over my left bent elbow. No threat, and no fear, no threa/////

       I was so programed to not showing fear, as I write this 2 years after it happened, I can honestly say that:  'I had no fear.'                                                                      I don't have a memory of being scared,                                                because I snapped into the 'do not show fear,                                             and do not show aggression.                                                                  That it was automatic, I remember no fear,                                          because I did not have any time to think any thing but,                              'no fear and no aggression'
     'Just think about something else.'

She would have jumped out of behind that clump of trees and ate my head before I could have said hi. if she had of wanted to.
Me and my .22 .

     She was waiting for me to walk past that clump of big trees.
She knew I was coming and could not figure out why I was going so slowly. I just was too patient for her, and it saved my life.

     'Jack" my Dad said,  "your  grandfather was 5-6 years old back at the turn of the century."
"Everybody liveds on a farm back then,  and one day while everybody was  out working,   this old Sow what had pigs attacked your grandad,
and went to feeding on his leg."
They heard him screamming and got him out of there,  but his leg was hurt pretty bad. That old cane you have in your truck, that one I saw in there today! Is your old grandads, my father,  and that is how his leg came to be hurt.
 And when he got old, and got dibeadease and lost his leg,                        that was the leg he lost!

                                 "Be careful with them Hog!"    


                                                           J. Knife

[Ditchdigger]

When they get that big,they're king of the woods. I personally have taken baby pigs out of the nest,while the sow would run off. After they have been wild for 5 or 6 gen. they learn to fear man,and will run off and leave there babies to anything bigger than them. My wife and I raised 3 of the little stripped rascals,and there's no greater form of entertainment . The  old sow was probably trying to figure what you were. Never trail a wounded hog into a thicket though,because they will attack when in pain.  Digger

[Jacktheknife]

Hey Ditch, I read this again and realized that I forgot to say thanks for the 'don't ever trail a wounded Hog into a thicket' tip.
I sure won't, and that reminds me:

           I was given a fine Walker hound, old Tom, after I got out of the hospital. Tom was 6 and a Lipper bread hound. I only had Tom for three months cause he died of heartworm treatment, and it's been a year and a half, still I will never be able to forget old Tom.
I still love old Tom like I had known him his whole life.
We went across the road where there are thousands of acres. Hog are taking over the americas and ten mile creek is no exception.
I had old Essey with me and we were walking along.
I figured I had done about as much recovering inside a house I was gona do, and itwas time to kill a Hog.

We were walking along when Tom flushed a herd of about 10 Hog.
They were in a thicket and I was in shock as they ran across the wash to the next thicket. I had never killed a Hog and was used to shooting things a lot smaller  like squirells.
Hog are like shooting a volkswagon running through the woods and are not much of a problem to hit.
Just then old Tom said Owwwww! and another Hog started for the other thicket across the grassland...

Without a thought from me old Essey came up to my shoulder, the sights snaped into alignment and old Essey spoke... Boom!                               and the Hog turned and ran back into the thicket from whence it had come.
I circled the thicket once... twice... and was starting another circle when Tom said Owwwwww!!!
" Here he is boss!   and a bigun too!
However I am a coon dog and I'm used to dealing with 15-20 pound coon.
This thing is the biggest critter I have ever seen and if it gets up and wants to fight you are on your own!     ... I'm outta here!


 So my point is that old Tom was a smart hound. He was born knowing not to trail a wounded Hog into a thicket.  We draged the female 170 pounder home butchered her and ate her. I thought I had another good hound. But Tom died and it broke my heart, again.  Maybe some people are not meant to have hounds as they get too attached to them.
It just hurts too much when they loose them.

                                                                       

                                                                          Knife