hunting partner Pt 1

[Tikaani]

Born in the mid sixties, in the mining town of Livengood deep in the interior of Alaska, he learned from his father at an early age to trap and hunt, not for enjoyment but out of necessity.  His family relied on what he and his brothers brought home from their lines to support the day to day needs of living in Alaska.  Come November first every year his father pulled him from school in Fairbanks and brought him home to run his lines. Until April, his school house was the trap lines that wound through the endless creeks around the Sawtooth mountains.  What did he learn on the lines that the school house could never have taught him?  Maybe that when a wolf travels down your line and there is no place to set a leghold or a dragline, put bright tape on your marten sets, it is unnatural and out of place to them, the next time he comes down the trail he will undoubtedly leave the trail and parallel it, and that is where you set your snares.  Or maybe that once a wolf is trapped using one scent, the odds of catching another from that pack is almost nil, they have been educated and will not soon forget that smell.  There is more but that is not important now. 

At the age of fifteen, he and his brother, just a year older, paid a bush pilot to fly them into the Brooks Range, to hunt grizzly bear.  They happened upon some hunters that were having a tough go at it, when asked where their parents were, they just said at home, and left.  The look on those grown men watching two kids go off to hunt bear was priceless.  But even at that age they understood the importance of an animals life, and to respect it.  Once, he shot a squirrel for no particular reason, his father, a man not to be taken lightly, told him to skin it, clean it and eat it, now. A lesson he remembered the rest of his life, his care of game meat today borders on obsession.

After high school, he became a .....

To be continued

John   

[wv_yoter]

Pretty good John.

[iahntr]

    

[DirtyDog]

John,

I enjoy the reading and am looking forward to the next writing.

Thanks
DD

[alscalls]

 

[Silencer]

   cant wait till part 2.

[vvarmitr]

After high school, he became a .....

To be continued

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaccccccccckkkkkkk!     
Why do you do that? 

On w/ the story.