Wild Idea: Buffalo and Family in a Difficult Land

Fifteen

251 Fifteen T HERE IS A 320-ACRE PORTION OF PASTURE THAT WAS A wheatfieldforaperiod of perhapstwodecadesbefore wemoved to the Cheyenne River Ranch. In one of the first rounds of a government program to take wheat land out of production, this parcel had been plowed up and planted back to grass. Whoever owned that little piece of pasture at the time got paid for not growing wheat. The idea was to reduce the acres of land devoted to wheat in order to raise the price for everybody else. The secondary purpose of the program was to give wildlife—the ground nesting birds, deer, antelope , and other critters—a safe place to live and raise their young. The 320 acres on the Cheyenne River Ranch was retired from the government program years before we bought the place, but it is still the best place to find sharp-tailed grouse. Erney conditioned the dogs at least three days a week during the month of August. I got up early enough to help him harness them to the roading chains. They set out with the joy of Malamutes and by the time Oscar was tamed down from his time in the molting chamber, the young dogs were pulling hard for five miles without a rest and even Hank and Tootsie were as fit as athletes . I watched Erney take them up the hill that leads to the flat ground on top. He moved slowly because he didn’t trust himself to steer the ATV at a pace any faster than a crawl. It was the perfect speed for roading dogs, and as soon as he got to the first pasture he turned slowly into the open gate. I tried to be around when they returned so I could help him unharness the dogs but it wasn’t long 252 P A R T F I V E before Erney could unsnap the harnesses using a locking wrench without my help. Some days he would swing through the O’Neill place and cause a commotion with Gus, Ace, and the growing flock of chickens. Erney would give the dogs a break in the thin shade of the elm trees. It was usually well before seven o’clock in the morning, so Jilian and Colton were often not at work yet. They would help Erney water the dogs and reassure the chickens that the strangers were not chicken eaters. Gus and Ace always wanted to go with the pack and occasionally they showed up at our house along with the rest. They were not in the shape of the professionals and their tongues lolled like wet laundry on a clothesline. All the dogs would jump into the stock tank and stand neck deep with silly, pleased-dog smiles on their faces. Gus and Ace were like high school freshmen who had been allowed to practice with the varsity. By the first of September I was taking the setters out to the 320 acres and putting a polish on their training. I walked with them individually to make sure that they remembered to pay attention to where I was, to come when called, and to freeze in place when they smelled a grouse. Their job was to find the birds and stand stock still until I was able to get to them. In years gone by, Erney and I would both gently restrain the dog and praise him when he stood still and let the grouse fly away without chasing. But Erney did not want to come out with me. He still had trouble getting into a pickup, he couldn’t walk over rough ground, and he probably couldn’t hold a dog if it decided to chase the bird. “I’m just not much good, Dan’l.” We had pulled Oscar out of his molting chamber on August 1 as usual. The ancients called this taming process “reclaiming,” which happens after the falcon has grown a new set of feathers. During the months of molting, falcons are fed high-quality food and left alone so that the new feathers grow in perfectly. The birds get wild when they are not around people, and it takes a week or two to get them back in the swing of things. We had not hunted with Oscar for almost two years and he was a bit of a handful when we brought him out. 253 After...