Post by pegleg on Feb 27, 2010 10:41:28 GMT -6
Shoeless John's Wrong Way Foot
Quite a few years back I was takein some vacation time off from the ranch I worked at. A buddy of mine called and asked if I could help him with a job he had to do. Chad is a cowhunter and works cattle for ranchers around the area. He was puttin together a crew to gather woods cows for a rancher over on the west coast of Fla. around Gulf Hammock. The guy had put 250 yearlins out on a lease and hadn't gathered them in three years. The cattle promised to be wild as freakin rabbits. The lease land was 1200 acres but it was next to a timber companies property that was over 3000 acres. The cattle had crossed over the fence when someone decided to steal posts from a section of fence line. Our job was to go find the cattle and get them penned so the rancher could move em.
One of the guys on our crew was an old guy named John. Everyone knew him as shoeless John cause none of us had ever seen him wear boots or shoes. He had long hair and a full beard and only got a bath when it rained. He wasn't much to look at but he was a hell of a cowhunter and totally fearless with wild cattle. The second day we were in the woods the dogs had found a small bunch of cows and we hatched a plan to circle em and drive them to the pens. I got off my horse to tighten my saddle and John was sittin on his horse holdin my horses reins. We had fallen behind the rest of the crew a bit and we heard Chad holler to come in a hurry the dogs had cattle bayed up. John threw my reins to me and took off thru the woods whippein and ridein. I got mounted and took off to catch up. I came bustin threw some brush and there was ole John layin on the ground next to a pine tree. I got my horse stopped and came back and started teasein him about gettin un horsed. He said help me get up so I can catch my horse. I dismounted and walked over to him to see how to help him. Thats when I saw his foot was at a funny angle. I got him up and he leaned against the tree and we looked down at his left foot. The foot was aimed backwards. His horse had run him into that pine tree and broke his lower leg and turned that foot clean around in the wrong direction. John looked at me and said "Damn, its gonna be hard walkin with my foot aimed backwards". I couldn't stand to look at that mess any more. I was gettin light headed. If that happed to me I'd have been screamin. I told John I'd go get the crew and we'd get him to a hospital. I mounted up and caught his horse and brought it over to him. I told him to hold the horse so he wouldn't wander off and I took off to find the rest of the crew. I followed the sound of the dogs barkin and found the crew. I told em about John and I led them back to where I left him.
When we got back to where I left John he and his horse were both gone. We looked all around the area but no John. Chad said lets go back towards the cowpens and see if we run up on him. We got all the way back to the pens and John was sittin on the tailgate of one of the trucks. I looked at his foot and it was aimed back in the right direction. That tough son-of-a-gun had twisted his leg back around and somehow got mounted back on his horse and rode out of the woods. That was one tough hombre. We took him to the hospital in Crystal River and dropped him off then went back to the woods. The doctors had to put steel plates and screws in his leg and put a big cast on him. That was the first time in months John got a good bath. Me and Chad went to see him the next evening and he actually smelled good. Ole John is gone now. He was killed by a water buffalo at an exotic animal ranch he was workin at. Sometimes bein fearless don't work out.
Quite a few years back I was takein some vacation time off from the ranch I worked at. A buddy of mine called and asked if I could help him with a job he had to do. Chad is a cowhunter and works cattle for ranchers around the area. He was puttin together a crew to gather woods cows for a rancher over on the west coast of Fla. around Gulf Hammock. The guy had put 250 yearlins out on a lease and hadn't gathered them in three years. The cattle promised to be wild as freakin rabbits. The lease land was 1200 acres but it was next to a timber companies property that was over 3000 acres. The cattle had crossed over the fence when someone decided to steal posts from a section of fence line. Our job was to go find the cattle and get them penned so the rancher could move em.
One of the guys on our crew was an old guy named John. Everyone knew him as shoeless John cause none of us had ever seen him wear boots or shoes. He had long hair and a full beard and only got a bath when it rained. He wasn't much to look at but he was a hell of a cowhunter and totally fearless with wild cattle. The second day we were in the woods the dogs had found a small bunch of cows and we hatched a plan to circle em and drive them to the pens. I got off my horse to tighten my saddle and John was sittin on his horse holdin my horses reins. We had fallen behind the rest of the crew a bit and we heard Chad holler to come in a hurry the dogs had cattle bayed up. John threw my reins to me and took off thru the woods whippein and ridein. I got mounted and took off to catch up. I came bustin threw some brush and there was ole John layin on the ground next to a pine tree. I got my horse stopped and came back and started teasein him about gettin un horsed. He said help me get up so I can catch my horse. I dismounted and walked over to him to see how to help him. Thats when I saw his foot was at a funny angle. I got him up and he leaned against the tree and we looked down at his left foot. The foot was aimed backwards. His horse had run him into that pine tree and broke his lower leg and turned that foot clean around in the wrong direction. John looked at me and said "Damn, its gonna be hard walkin with my foot aimed backwards". I couldn't stand to look at that mess any more. I was gettin light headed. If that happed to me I'd have been screamin. I told John I'd go get the crew and we'd get him to a hospital. I mounted up and caught his horse and brought it over to him. I told him to hold the horse so he wouldn't wander off and I took off to find the rest of the crew. I followed the sound of the dogs barkin and found the crew. I told em about John and I led them back to where I left him.
When we got back to where I left John he and his horse were both gone. We looked all around the area but no John. Chad said lets go back towards the cowpens and see if we run up on him. We got all the way back to the pens and John was sittin on the tailgate of one of the trucks. I looked at his foot and it was aimed back in the right direction. That tough son-of-a-gun had twisted his leg back around and somehow got mounted back on his horse and rode out of the woods. That was one tough hombre. We took him to the hospital in Crystal River and dropped him off then went back to the woods. The doctors had to put steel plates and screws in his leg and put a big cast on him. That was the first time in months John got a good bath. Me and Chad went to see him the next evening and he actually smelled good. Ole John is gone now. He was killed by a water buffalo at an exotic animal ranch he was workin at. Sometimes bein fearless don't work out.
