We started off kind of slow; the Cats were not moving much at night. Deer season was open so we had to dodge the Deer Runners (we are blessed that the HOUND Culture is alive and well here in Florida as the Deer Hunters for the most part are all running Hounds after the Deer) in the daytime. The first night we hunted we ran one fast and furious for 20 min and up it went. This is sure frustrating as generally a Florida Race will last over an hour. Oh well any Bobcat Race is better than no Race.
We hunted hard for several nights and had several of these Short Races, and then we hung an Old Sow Cat who had some water filled Canals lined with an impenetrable JUNGLE to run in. Oh boy this was a Race!
We struck her fairly hot going into a Block with big drainage ditches on all four sides. Corky and Cimarron swung out ahead of the trailing hounds and jumped her. She made for these deep ditches in the NE corner of the Block with the Hounds screaming at her with every breath. Teds three who had never seem cover this thick were doing a good job of keeping up participating but not able to contribute much at this time.
At this corner she went to dodging and ducking into the ditch then under the heavy vegetation along the banks. The hounds had to literally crawl on their bellies to follow her. Our 16 month old Trinity, 8 month old Kitty, Ted’s Sally and Ole Rivers were made for this kind of work. They would work their way through this mess screaming that the Cat was right in front of their nose but they just could not quite reach her. The other Hounds were either running parallel on the road or swimming in the ditch abreast of the Cat.
This lasted for 30 min and we thought the Race would end right there….WRONG! The Cat slipped into the water and made her way to the East, swimming with just her nose out of the water. She then came up the bank through the worst Bamboo Briars that we have seen. Then she shot across the road headed North into some more Bad country.
Brazos, Cimarron and Ted’s Terry were swinging trying to whack the Cat in the road. Well they did….kind of…..they found where she had come out and crossed but it took them a minute or two to find a place where they could get into the Jungle after her. They did, and were telling us and the Pack to come on.
Well the Pack was having Hell getting out of that corner. Ole Rivers and Corky got hung up in the Bamboo Briars as they came out of the water filled ditch and were literally about to Hang themselves! Ted and I crawled down and rescued them, then did the same for a couple of the Pups. By then the Race was out of hearing, so we loaded the Hounds who had not heard the Race leave….looked at the ALPHA to see which way to go….then Hauled A?? to get there.
This now has the Race at over an hour. When we caught up with the Race and put the rest of the Hounds back in, we were on a dead in road where they had Clear-cut the Pines several months before, leaving lots of thick Swampy Heads, waterways, fresh plowed ground, as well as lots of Log Piles. Dad said to Ted “Well this one is about over as she will go into one of these Piles”.
WRONG for the next hour this cat ran, ducked and dodged between several Heads and Strands. She would use the little water holes to cause a short Check, and then try to slip out. The Young Hounds and big Pups all got to smell Cat and Bark if they wanted to. “This was the kind of Race to train and make Cat Hounds” is what Dad told Ted. We saw the Cat many times and just knew that one of the swinging Hounds would ambush her ending the Race, But no. She kept working and buying time, then out to the Sandy, Limestone covered road and headed South, back the way she had come.
The Hounds had to work hard to get her off the Road. It was dry and the Limestone just does not hold any scent. Corky took her down the road with his head up following the little scent that there was. When she turned off into the woods every Hound could scream as now there was something the Scent could cling to.
The Race had now lasted 2 hours and 30 minutes!
This Block was bad but not like the 1st one. However the Cat knew it well and used every Trick in her bag for the next hour or so. Squatting and ducking, dodging, always moving South. The Hounds were making that ROARing sound where every Hound can smell Cat and are telling the World that this is what they love to do! Ted’s three and our pups had learned to adapt to the BAD cover; they were doing as good a job as Pups were supposed to do but it was the seasoned Hounds….the Old Pros who were going to end this Race.
We were now approaching the 3 and a half hour mark and the Cat was about cross the road in front of us. I turned the Head lights on and we watched the Cat come out of the ditch and cross the road. Ole Rivers was close behind with the Pack right on his heels. Rivers crossed the road barking every breath……then silence. The Pack too screamed as they crossed the road, then they too went silent.
Is she up….has she squatted again…..did they over run her…..did she double back across the road and we missed seeing her?
For 10 minutes or so this was the big question. I walked out were the Hounds were milling and Whooped a time or two trying to get the Cat to move.Then Rivers whined and started muffled barking. I went over and he was marking either an Armadillo or Florida Gopher hole.
This is where the Cat had gone.
Ted and I started calling Hounds, Dad blew the truck horn and in less than 10 minutes we had the Hounds all loaded. Dad told Ted, “Son that was the kind of Race I live for! That was as Hard a Race as any Hound will ever face here in the SE. Your Young Hounds handled it as good as you could ask them to. And the good news is we have the Cat to run again”!
Hope you all enjoy this.
I will try to get the Video Race that I rank as in the Top 5 all time on here when I get good enough service to up load the Videos.
