04/09/2026
I have finally been able to get the hounds to the woods, and it was a wonderful experience,I'm still feeling a little shaky with my balance but the work outs I'm doing help I'm getting my confidence back. My old hunting buddy Larry Mosley and I hunted the Platte River close to Jackson Reservoir a couple of weeks ago, before we dropped the tailgate two racc**ns crossed the road in front of us, neither one of us wanted to kill any game tonight, and we both knew that this time of year momma rac**ns have babies somewhere or they are getting ready to have babies so we just drove up a little way's and turned the dog's out on the creek flowing into a big cattail slough, it takes an exceptional hound to catch a racc**n on the ground in a slough as big as this one,we were just hoping that the hounds would put enough pressure on a racc**n to chase it out of the cattails up one of the many cottonwood trees along the creek bank.
My old buddy Larry started teasing me about my hounds from the time we left Aurora were I live all the way out to the river, I've hunted with Larry for over fifty years so I was used to his playful banter.
Lewis he said my dogs are going to run circles around those big long eared dogs of yours, man you haven't hunted them in a couple of years, all you do is road them for exercise and run drag's with them, and look at old Joker what's an old dog like that going to do tonight? Man you should have left them dogs at home and you could see real hounds in action tonight .I just smiled and thought to myself we will soon find out. We dropped the tailgate letting all the hounds loose, they seemed to not be interested in hunting for just a few minutes as we walked them away from the truck, then just like that I heard one of the most beautiful sounds, one of Larry's black and Tan's wanted to tell the world there was a racc**n in the cattails. Hey Lewis what do you think about that?
I thought his hound old Beau opened up first, I was wondering which way old Joker, Tina and Smokey were in all this, Larry's female also started opening up. Then way out in the middle of the slough I heard Tina, Smokey and then Joker the old dog he said I should have left in the kennel I was thinking my hounds are way ahead of them.Larry's hounds were catching up, my hounds were driving the track and the way they were opening I knew it was a very hot track, I kept thinking I don't want them to catch it on the ground for a couple of reasons, I didn't want to kill a racc**n tonight, and if they caught it in the slough we wouldn't be able to get to it, a man would sink up to his chest and he wouldn't be able to just walk out.
All the hounds were pushing the track together now, I had to admit that old Beau dog was a pretty good
hound, but he wasn't a bluetick. Larry's been a black and tan man for well over fifty years, he has bought his stock from big game hunters in Utah and New Mexico, he used to hunt with another black and tan man Mr Al Edwards before he passed Al Edwards used to hunt and buy hounds in Wyoming and Utah.
The hounds were really pounding that track, hound music I haven't heard in a long time, then just like that they stopped for a couple of minutes by one of the many old wooden bridges that cross the property, old reliable Tina opened with her beautiful locate voice any one could call, then all the hounds together.
I don't think I've been this happy in a long time, my hounds actually treeing game after a long layoff and to me something just as important we didn't kill any racc**ns.
We drove home that night and think Mr Mosley was a little humbled, well I always get him back. That's my buddy I'm so thankful to have friends like that. Also Robert Shaw, Greg Hudley men I have hunted and fished with for well over fifty years.
