One of my neighbors asked for help in rounding up the cattle on his brother’s spread in the Chilcotin, down by Alexis Creek. His brother had been killed when a horse flipped over and crushed him against a log.
I was always up for an adventure and for seeing new country, so I told him he could count on me. The Chilcotin is about halfway to Vancouver and we considered it to be in the tropics. They could count on the thermometer dropping to sixty below come winter, but it is only a few hours from the Okanagan and they grow peaches down there.
Actually, we considered anything south of Prince St. George a suburb of Vancouver, but the Chilcotin was still a wild country with wild people and cattle.
The ranch was sold and we could round up as many cattle as possible before the new owners took possession. We planned to take the culls to market and haul the better looking stock to my friend’s ranch in the North Peace country. The cattle were wild and some had not seen a man or horse for several generations, at least that was the way it seemed. We didn’t catch all of them, but we sold several truckloads and hauled a truckload of Hereford heifers up north.
It was a nice trip, but we needed several more men on horseback to catch enough cattle to make the trip pay. 
The country was beautiful and we saw lots of animals, especially Grizzlies.
We did some hard riding and tried to anticipate the antics of wild cattle that had spent their lives trying to outwit and outrun Grizzlies, Timber Wolves, and Mountain Lions. It’s not as easy as you might think.
On one of our last days, I saw what looked to be a group of cattle surrounded by wolves. They were close to a thousand yards away. I dismounted after pulling my rifle from its scabbard and got down in the prone position to see if I could help out. My scope revealed a band of mares with cute little mule foals. The mares were standing in an irregular circle with their hindquarters bunched together and the mule foals were standing at their sides.
The mares were showing their teeth and striking at the wolves with their front hooves without much effect. The poor little foals were staring in disbelief and stark terror at the ferocity of the wolves. Their eyes were wide open and they were leaning back away from the mayhem.
I couldn’t get a shot, the wolves were circling and rushing in at the mares. It was only a matter of time, before the wolves pulled all the mares down.
It was a helpless feeling watching the mare trying to defend their foals through my rifle scope and not being able to get a shot.
A wolf jumped up and grabbed a gray mare by the side of the neck and she fell forward to her knees with the forlorn hope that she could defeat this wolf in this dance of death. Suddenly, the most horrendous noise I’ve ever heard came from my left and a mammoth jack ran in and grabbed the wolf by a hind leg, pulled him off the bleeding mare shook him like a dog shaking a squirrel. The jackass then tossed the broken and mortally wounded wolf away like yesterday’s trash and went after the other wolves like a fiend from Hell.
The wolves scattered and the jackass was in hot pursuit. Once they ran into the timber, we had no idea what was happening, but the ear splitting screams were still erupting and the wolves were not making a sound.
In a few minutes, the jackass came out of the timber and started moving his band of mares and foals in the opposite direction.
We rode over to see if the mare could be saved, but she was bleeding profusely and couldn’t stand up. I eased her crossing over with a well placed round. I think she and the little jackass would have tanked me if that were possible.
I often think back to the ferocity and determination displayed by the jackass to singlehandedly defeat a band of wolves. You must remember, these are not the compound semi-domestic wolves that are used to film the so called nature documentaries, these are wolves that kill big game almost every day. Against all odds, the jackass defeated an overwhelming force with an overwhelming desire to protect his family. As Americans, we should use this little jackass and his courage as an example to defeat our enemies both foreign and domestic.
I know the analogies to the Democrat Party are cute, but the Democrat Party has become the International Socialist Party and in no way resembles the Democrats of Andrew Jackson’s era when the jackass was adopted as a party logo.
We are fighting an enemy that wants to weaken the US by every means available. If we are content to wait until the next campaign to resist, the wolves will have pulled down enough livestock to make the US weak and unable to resist. Remember the determination and courage of the little jackass as he fought for his family and that will tell you how hard we must resist this transformation of America.
The wolves are literally trying to pull down America.
Sorry Folks, the above quote in the phone is from Will Rogers
A professional horseman for over 50 years, Skook continues to work with horses. Skook has finished an historical novel, Fifty Thousand Years, that traces a mitochondrial line of DNA from 50,000 years ago to the present. The story follows a line of courageous women, from the Ice Ages to the present, as they meet the challenges of survival with grit and creativity. These are not women who whimper of being victims, they meet the challenges of survival as women who use their abilities without excuses or remorse, these women are winners, they are our ancestors.
Fifty Thousand Years is available in paperback and e-book, it is getting great reviews. You can purchase a copy here; Visit me on Facebook.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Dylantheauthor
You have bought up an interesting analogy; The shell of the republican party now appears to be full of cowards. All I see them interested in is acquiring power and that is all they have interest in and could care less about saving our once great nation.
That picture at top right was me last week. Angel, my 140 lb white Arctic Wolf died while I was at work. She was 21 years and 8 months old, a kinder and more gentle creature has never existed.
ck, it is sad to lose a friend like that. I understand how you feel, I have lost a lot of four legged friends, but no wolves.
Your friend had a long life and it sounds like she had a good friend during that life. Try to remember the best parts and be grateful you were given such a wonderful animal to share your life with.
I have never touched a live wolf, but I have trapped many of them and know they are intelligent and awesome animals that we can only begin to understand. Being a former trapper and guide I have a slightly different attitude about animals, but I respect them for what they are and for what they can do without unnatural emotions or silly feelings clouding my vision.
Feel free to post a pic of your departed friend if you like. Use this thread or the open thread that Curt posts.
I didn’t really think it was possible to domesticate the wolf. I must say I would approach the prospect with trepidation, having seen the animals in action.
I love to listen to them howl at night, while reading a good book in a trap cabin with one of my beloved Catahoulas beside my bunk.
How nice to have had such a friend for 21 years!
I am sorry for your loss. My half huskie / half Sheperd was wild spirited but loyal beyond measure, gentle to my children and protected my grandmother above all else. I love Will Rogers’ views on America and the jackass analogy is a great one. I too have seen what a wild burro will do to protect a herd of horses to wom he has become attached. Great post.
As you might suspect, I think domestic wolves change quite a bit in just a few generations. All of mine have been purebreeds but when the less dominate ones are allowed to breed they become very human friendly fast. Skook, I understand your view of wolves completely, in the wild, man and wolves are competitors. But when they are domesticated they are wonderful and kind creatures. When I give my 11 year old live mice, he plays with them for a little bit and let’s them go unharmed(with me in the background telling Bear,”no,eat the mouse,It’s your job”) but he ignores me. Thanks for the kind thoughts all, Angel had a great and very long life with only 2 uncomfortable days at the end. That’s all any of us can hope for,
ck, you have me intrigued. I have had a peculiar relationship with coyotes and wolves (Timber Wolves). They follow me in the bush and I have taken unfair advantage by snaring them. Many trappers can’t snare them to save their life, but for me it has been uncomfortably easy. The natives say they are my totem and it would be taboo to kill them. I could be in big trouble when I cross over if they are right.
Are these animals trustworthy with livestock, kids, and dogs? Catahoulas are difficult, unless you are a good dog man with lots of property. So I am used to a saltier kind of animal. Are they good watch animals?
I am nervous after seeing them kill black bears for pure sport. They are great sportsmen in the wild. Like I say, my experience has been a lot different, but I am open minded.
Enjoyed the articles on the wolfs, though I was pulling for the Bison. I had a Jenny and a foal in with my goats, guard donkey. Did not know anything about Donkeys, ended up taking them both to the sale barn, they liked to kill goats, not part of their job description.
Backed up to a pen at the stock yard, young female cowgirl working that pen, had solid sides on my trailer, when I opened the rear door, she was gone, up the fence, she did not plan to find out about my Jenny’s attitude, the Jenny only had one against goats apparently, did not bother the cowgirl.
Sarge, I was pulling for the bison, but nature plays no favorites.
This is the write up, but no pictures, bummer. Pictures tell a story in their own right.
Best picture is when the mule is making sure the cat is dead, the dogs are in the back ground sitting on their rear ends watching, probably discussing whether they should help or not.
This is almost unbelievable!
This may be a first… A couple from Montana were out riding on the range, he with his rifle and she (fortunately) with her camera. Their dogs always followed them, but on this occasion, a Mountain Lion decided that he wanted to stalk the dogs (you’ll see the dogs in the background watching). Very, very bad decision.
The hunter got off the mule with his rifle and decided to shoot in the air to scare away the lion, but before he could get off a shot the lion charged in and decided he wanted a piece of those dogs. With that, the mule took off and decided HE wanted a piece of that lion. That’s when all hell broke loose for the lion.
As the lion approached the dogs, the mule snatched him up by the tail and started whirling him around. Banging its head on the ground on every pass. Then he dropped it, stomped on it and held it to the ground by the throat. The mule then got down on his knees and bit the thing all over a couple of dozen times to make sure it was dead, then whipped it into the air again, walked back over to the couple (that were stunned in silence) and stood there ready to continue his ride as if nothing had just happened.
Fortunately, even though the hunter didn’t get off a shot, his wife got off these four pictures.
Sarge, that is one of the funniest stories ever. I love mules. It’s a good thing they tolerate people.
Maybe one of the guys will help you with the photos. I am a novice and just barely function around here.
@Skookum:
Liar!
Seriously, though, I never knew mules/jackasses could be so protective like that.
JG, I have always considered the Jackass to be a burro manadero or breeding burro or one that still packs his cobbygocks. Of course all wild burros are fully functional; unless, they have escaped from a ranch after being gelded.
A mule is the offspring from a horse mare and a jackass. Mules are almost always sterile because of being a hybrid, but there are a few exceptions. There is no reason to keep a mule as a stallion because of being sterile. It doesn’t seem to affect their willingness to engage when their family unit is threatened. The old proverb “Never abuse a mule” probably makes more sense to everyone, after reading the post and the commentary.
Why can’t we get a new party logo? Like a Lion grasping a bleeding donkey between its teeth, and a gleam in his eyes. yeah I know to offensive, Peta would be all over it, children everywhere would be ruined for life, the lawsuits would never end.
Skook, I can’t speak for wild wolves but I’ve had 8 domestic ones. Every one has been totally submissive to all humans and have been very intrigued by children. Bear, my 11 year old is like the pied piper for small kids, he gets a 5 mile walk every day, he’s known every kid and dog in the neighborhood since they were in diapers or puppies. I guarantee he would gladly take on a grizzley and die to protect any kid in the neighborhood. As for guard dogs, they’re worthless. If I was at home and anyone threatened me, Bear would kill them without a thought. If I wasn’t at home, he’d wag his tail as they took all my stuff. As for livestock, Bear has no intrest in horses, cattle, ostriches,emus or any of the other animals in our neighborhood, but if he knew they were our critters, he would defend them to the death.
ck, now I am even more intrigued. Please give a link to the kennel or breeding line that you use. Bear sounds like my Catahoulas, but they don’t care if I am at home or not, they still own everything from cats to birds to horses to tools. With a bark that sounds like they weigh 250 pounds and a growl like a bear.
I have a customer with the white wolves, but they don’t like men and they don’t trust me. They watch me the whole time. They are awesome animals.
Skook, I know a few wolf breeders that have tried to raise coyotes. They’re like foxes, too stupid to be domesticated. Now mountain lions are a different story.
@Ole Sarge: Best way to get pictures into a comment is to upload them to a photosharing service like flikr or photobucket.
Skook, here’s my breeders website, funny she breeds catahoulas also
@Curt:
Thanks, but I don’t use any of those, got so many blocks they probably would not work anyway.
Ole Sarge
@ck:
Is there and email address for this site, could send it to that?
Ole Sarge
@Skookum:
If there is an email address I can probably send it to that, that is how I got it. Normally I would not worry about the pictures, but these with the write up, really makes the thing with the pics, his wife was a great photographer.
Living in Texas and laving livestock, knew donkey’s were good guard animals, most people that own cows have a donkey. Just never realized they were half as mean as these photos show. Guess that is why the cowgirl cleared the walls of the pen she was running at the sale barn, knew what she was looking at.
Old Sarge, I think she has an email address somewhere on the site, if not she answers her phone. She’s a sweetheart, works 50 to 60 hrs a week, taking care of other peoples horses so she can breed her dogs.
@Skookum:
Had a dog that was Pit, Red Bone Hound and catahula, she was big on catching things, even caught a tea bag my wife pitched at the trash. Guess she did not like that as she never tried it again.
Wasn’t to much she wouldn’t catch. The Catahula was suppose to make her more into catching, Pits tend to kill it.
Funniest thing she ever did was to chase this guy cow herd, not a dumb herd as they played her game for a while and ran, after a bit, they stopped, looked sorta like they were considering this, then they turned around and chased her for a while. Needless to say, she was not stupid so she ran the other way.
Bit more on Pits, they are great family dogs, but they need a strong hand at dealing with them. Don’t mean beating them just firm and after a bit they sorta figure this out and tend to act in an acceptable manner.
On the other hand if you wish to chew your kid out or paddle them, better find some where to secure they Pit as they won’t approve, not at all. They love kids and are very protective of them.
@ck:
Thanks, what is her phone number? When is the best time to call?
Ole Sarge,
best time 6:30 to 10:30 cst.
@Curt:
CK,
Found an email address and sent them in that way. Hope it does not leave someone confused and befuddled as to what it is all about.
@Ole Sarge:
My current “best friend” is an Aussie Shepard/Pitbull mix. You are dead on about the Pit part of him and needing a strong hand to deal with him. He is mostly well-behaved when I am home, not so much when I’m at work. He also loves kids and smaller dogs.
The Aussie Shepard part is the most interesting. That dog is always trying to herd something, from cats and kids to me when I take him for his evening “runwalk”. Loki is a great dog, however, I’m still trying to figure out if I was prescient when naming him as a pup or if his behaviour is the result of the name I gave him.
Johngault, you are exactly right. DNA tells us that all dogs are wolves . If you want to own a large and powerful dog,, you have to be the big dog. A dog that dosen’t respect his master is dangerous to the public at large.
@ck:
I got it emailed so that should do it, hopefully. What do you think, won’t get lost in the shuffle will it?
@johngalt:
It would be evil to wish my dog that I mentioned off on you, the one that caught the tea bag, but if any dog ever deserved that name, that dog would be in the contest. She used to do things she know she should not do and then look over her shoulder and give the biggest Pit grin she could come up with, infuriating.
She had a terror, loud noises and thunder. Had a bang up storm, she ate through the bedroom door so she could get into the bedroom and then into the bathroom and then crawl in under the toilet, the rear of the toilet. Had a bunch of splinters in her teeth. I have one of those airline shipping crates, the larger one, she bit the door and bent the wire on the front of it.
She wasn’t mean, but very loki like, mischievous. She lived for 12 years. Not sure I miss her to be honest, but I don’t dump dogs just because they are annoying.
My wife, the former liberal, again a strong and steady hand. This was her first exposure to dogs, she was not entirely happy with the whole thing, but going forward she has a pretty good idea how to deal with dogs.
We presently have 6, a fat one eyed pit, got run over by the UPS truck, a Carolina dog, you can google him and find out what he is. We recently found another stray to drag home, he is a brown dog, probably 60 or so lbs, 7 or 8 months old and 3 livestock guard dogs, one is a Anatolian and 2 are Great Pyranese/ Anatolian crosses. These are the only three I paid money for. Had a Rough Collie, UPS ran over her also, killed her. They are barely on my tolerable side, remember them folks well from the Waco fiasco.
ck, I broke my cable and I am on a borrowed computer. I checked out the website and it looks very interesting at some point in the future, when I buy a new ranch. I usually use the Catahoula and the Cat Pit cross for stock dogs. A good dog is worth three men on horseback with cattle. The Cat is usually a header with cattle and they will shred ears and noses for belligerent or wild range cattle, the pit is often a heeler, but will grab a nose or an ear when the time is right. It’s risky business, but they love the work. My two year old Cat follows me like a shadow when I work at home. If I mow the grass he lays in the yard and watches me.
I am going to be out of commission until I find an Apple store.
@ck:
Also applies to Bulls and other big critters. Of course I have not been run over by one of my bulls yet so this could be amended down the road.
Had a 300+ lb buck goat that at times thought he was in charge, hot shot settled that issue. Ya gotta win or get rid of the critter.
@skookum 2:
If you do online stores, then I can recommend New Egg.com. I have reached the point that all I do is on line for most of my stuff.
What sort of cable is this? Is it apple only or some sort of generic cable?
I can probably get the cable locally for you and send it up if you are to remote to deal with it quickly. Your nickle.
Sarge, thanks for the offer. I am working in Calgary right now and I am sure they have the power cables in the store. I travel a lot and often plug in several times a day. They look a little light for that kind of heavy usage. I am pretty sure the copper separated within the cable. Nothing serious, but I am down as far as writing new articles.
If this is the AC input cable, it should be available at most stores that sell assorted electronic equipment. I assume it is the common one used on all computers using Intel, so common I have a pile of them from assorted computers.