In 1953 one of my older brothers wrecked his nice lookin 48 Chevy 4 door sedan. Had been to town and put big tires all around on it. He was headed home-just a quarter mile east of town when he hit loose gravel. The car got away from'm and flipped. The rear bumper got high enough to "snag" the old open wire telepone wire-draggin it down to the ground. After it was finished rolling over and over the folks living right by the wreck came runnin outta their house screamin. Are you dead? Are you dead? He crawled out of the upside down car and promised the lady he wasn't. Well anyhow, Pap went and retrieved the old chevy and drug it home. AFter strippin out everything that was good, motor,trans rearend etc-pap parked it beside the old gasoline tank on stilts. After it set there for a spell folks decided they might as well use it for something worthwhile. 100 straight run whiterock baby chicks arrived in a few days. Everything was hunkeydorey -chicks grow'n big and doin just fine---! But---they started pick'n at each other and even draw'n blood. After paint'n all the remaining windows red, and putt'n something er tother in the water they continued to thrive. Then Mr. Black Panther came upon the scene in the middle of the night. We'd been see'n that big black dude for awhile right outside the house. He never bothered anything-stock was always shut up-but he sure did this night. Pap just happened to be close to window when a big commotion was goin on out by the gasoline tank--on the stilts. He just happened to look and see this big cat makin his exit, rather quickly, and run south in the edge of the back yard-alongside the garden. We went on out to the "chicken house" and found that exactly 100 chicks were dead-bit through the head. Only the 3 "extras" they sent for good measure, were left alive. The moral of the story is------? I don't know-i'm the story teller, you guys figger out the rest. It is true tho and happend just as I've told'ya. That big old cat had a den about a quarter mile southeast of our house. Ole jeep and I would go and crawl down in the big old den hole on different occasionns. Never saw'm over there at that place. Spose if'n we'd seed'm ya'll wouldn't be read'n this. I'd be skippin on those streets of pure gold! Matt. 24:44

-- hoot (hoot@pcinetwork.com), January 04, 2001

Answers

Your a hoot Hoot.Yo momma shoulda wooped you for crawlin in that panther hole!!!I'll hear more stories one day while I skip with you ,but I hope it's not to soon for either of us.There's a lot that needs perfectin yet.Micah 6:8...teri

-- teri (mrs_smurf2000@yahoo.ca), January 05, 2001.

Hoot,

Your sure right that that panther would have had you! Where were you raised up at? I was raised in the Maris Des Cygnes Valley (river of swans, pretty eh?) near Waverly, KS. I recall when one of my five brothers, Bob, was out checking his traps in the winter, mom always made someone else go with him, just in case. Well, since I was the youngest, and Bob needed to go, I wound up going sometimes. Once, when we were sliding down the iced edge of one of the ravines in the area to check the trap down at the bottom, near the creek, we slid right into a bobcat in his trap, and that cat was NOT happy. About 10 feet down the 15 foot drop, we heard him but way too late then. It was all we could do to get scooted just out of reach of that cat with nothing more than tears to our coveralls, and a good scratch on Bobs leg above the boot.

There were panthers in the area too, but I only got close enough to one to here it yawl like the "stuck pig" we've heard about, and I high tailed it back to bridge, where my car was parked with my fishing gear. I do seem to recall that I fished the next day instead.

-- Marty (Mrs.Puck@Excite.com), January 05, 2001.

love your stories hoot - keep'um coming.

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), January 05, 2001.