Ole’ Pet and the Wild Dogs  

 

As I have stated in other pieces I have written (especially in my book Okefenokee Tales) , my dad spent his childhood out on the edge of the Okefenokee Swamp. It appears to have been a  perfect place for a young boy to learn and grow. However, my dad's parents died within 6 months of each other when he was about 13. Dad had to then move to town and live with an aunt who was widowed, had at least 2 children of her own... one a special needs child. It was a very poor and hard way to grow into adulthood in the 1940's.

 

One of the stories my dad told me from his earlier years on the swamp involved the family mule named Ole' Pet. My grandfather was a watchtower man who worked for the forestry department. For a time they lived at Black Hammock out on the northwest side of the swamp. One day, he had given my dad the task of plowing corn with the mule while he was up looking out over the swamp for a fire. Lightening starts frequent fires out there so he was often kept busy checking for them and reporting them.

 

As my dad began plowing the old mule did well. But after a bit she began to act up each time he approached the far end of the field. She would obey, but grudgingly. After 2-3 times of this my grandfather came down the tower ladder calling for my dad to stop immediately.

 

Turns out, he had glanced around to check on how dad was doing... and spotted a pack of wild dogs creeping up through the woods to ambush Ole' Pet and dad. Dad returned to the tower with the mule and my grandfather sent him up to the house to bring his double barreled shotgun. I am not sure what became of the dogs, but that was the day my grandfather taught my dad how to fire the shotgun. My dad was too small to shoulder it well, so grandpa taught him how to back up against a tree and brace himself so he could fire it.

 

After that day, any time dad plowed, he carried the gun to the field and kept it leaning against a tree or stump nearby.