The Life and Adventures of Nat Love: Better Known in the Cattle Country as "Deadwood Dick"Love, Nat
History
The Life and Adventures of Nat Love: Better Known in the Cattle Country as "Deadwood Dick"
Love, Nat
African American cowboys -- West (U.S.) -- Biography; Cowboys -- West (U.S.) -- Biography; Love, Nat, 1854-1921; West (U.S.) -- Biography
About this time we planned a rabbit hunt, after the small cotton tail
rabbits, which were plentiful in the surrounding country. Getting all
the boys together and securing the track hounds of the neighborhood we
were off. It was not long before the dogs caught track of something and
away they went with all the boys behind. Now at that time it was not
customary for us boys of the plantation to wear shoes and pants, the
principal reason being that we did not have either shoes or pants to
wear. So you can perhaps imagine the sight presented by a score or more
of boys of all ages chasing behind the hounds, with our shirt tails
flying through bushes, thorns and brambles, up hill and down hill, many
of us bleeding like stabbed pigs, but we were too much interested to pay
any attention to a little blood. We wanted the rabbits, and everything
else was of secondary importance, even the calls of the younger boys who
got tired and fell behind. Onward we went over rocks, through fields,
over fences, until we could hear the dogs no more, then tired out we had
to stop. I told the boys to sit down, that I thought the dogs would come
this way again. It was not long before I thought I heard something and
told the boys to hush and have their rocks ready to kill the rabbit. It
never occurred to me that it would be anything but a rabbit. The bay of
the dogs came nearer, then over the fence jumped a big red fox right in
front of me. He stopped and we looked in each others eyes. It was hard
to tell which of us was the most surprised, however, I was the first to
run away, and run I did. I ran like a black tailed deer. Many times I
thought I felt him nibble at my shirt tails, and his eyes grew in my
imagination as large as wagon wheels and Mr. Fox, himself, seemed to
grow as big as an elephant. When at last I dropped from sheer exhaustion
and could summon courage to look behind me, I could see nothing. It was
then I realized I was not so game as I thought I was and the knowledge
was not pleasant by any means. Not far from our house there was a horse
ranch, owned by a Mr. Williams. He had two sons about my own age and I
would often go and see them on Sundays. As I was very fond of riding
horses most of the horses on the ranch were very wild. So one day the
oldest boy and I made a plan to break the young colts. The only chance
we had of doing so was on Sunday, when the family went to church, as we
did not think Mr. Williams would approve of our plan. Mr. Williams' boy
said he would give me ten cents for every colt I broke. That was
perfectly satisfactory to me. The money was made of shin plaster those
days (paper). The next Sunday I started to break horses. We did not dare
to put the bridle on them as we were afraid the boss might surprise us
and we would not be quick enough to get it off. Our mode of procedure
was to drive one at a time in the barn, get it in a stall, then after
much difficulty I would manage to get on its back. Then the door was
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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