The life of a child on the Wyoming prairies in the 1940’s was a free and happy life, but there was usually work to keep a boy or girl from becoming lazy. In spring and summer, the garden needed planting. Mother was responsible for this project. She stretched strings and stakes along the plowed garden spot in straight rows. Then Don ran the hoe along that line to dig the trench. The girls followed behind carefully dropping seeds. Mother covered the seeds with just the right amount of soil for the seed being planted, very lightly for lettuce and radishes, heavier for corn and beans.
Bucky found this procedure very interesting. He made a general nuisance of himself. He’d follow Don down the rows and fill the trench with dirt before the girls could drop the seeds. “Bucky! Get out of my way!” became a familiar shout from the garden. He responded to the shouter with a gentle nudge or a friendly lick from his pink tongue. A gently swat on the rump by Mother sent Bucky scurrying away. He stood at a distance and watched for a few minutes then returned to the action. This time, his snoopy nose examined the seeds. A pink tongue sneaked out and a seed was gone. A harder swat from Mother sent him running to the edge of the garden again where he’d watch with a look of hurt.
When his curiosity got the better of him again, back he came to inspect the planting process. This time, his tiny hoofs got tangles in the cord stretched across and pulled out the stakes.
“That does it,” said Mother, “Don, lock him up!”
“But Mom!” “What if Warden Benson stops by?”
“That’s too bad, we’re going to get this garden planted!”
A downhearted boy led his pesky pet to the pen and put him inside. He had to look away to avoid the sad eye of Bucky who did not understand why he couldn’t be where his family was. He stood at the fence and stretched to see what was going on in the garden patch. When the day’s work was completed, Don released his pet. He thoughtfully stared down the road breathing a prayer of thanksgiving that a green truck with a Wyoming Game and Fish sign had not appeared that day.
Once the garden was planted and began to come up, Don had a new job—to keep rabbits, birds, and other pests out of the garden and away from the new plants.
Magpies, large noisy black and white predators loved to swoop down on newly planted fields and pick up seeds with their sharp beaks before they had the chance to sprout into view.
Rabbits would invade the garden when the new plants began to come up. In a very short time, an entire garden could be destroyed.
Don’s job was to scare away these pests. His favorite way to do this was with his BB gun. If he heard a magpie, he’d grab his gun and run, cocking it as he went. He’d take aim at a big bird and pull the trigger. He cheered every time he saw a feather fly. That meant he made a hit!
Rabbits were a little harder to catch because they often did their raiding in the morning or late at night. Don would hide behind the chicken house with his little gun in the hope of catching a rabbit in action. Bucky liked to sit with Don on these late night or early morning watches. Boy and antelope developed an even closer bond during these hours alone. Bucky helped Don stay away and Don gave Bucky the special attention he seemed to crave.
Mother was concerned about her son spending so much time rabbit watching. She worried that he was not getting enough rest. So, after several days of this, she insisted he get a good night’s sleep. “For one night, we’ll not worry about the garden,” she said.
The next morning, Don went out to check on the garden. What he saw was very upsetting. The new lettuce was almost gone, even the radishes and carrots had been badly chewed.
Don ran to the bard to tell Father about the rabbit damage. He didn’t want to be the one to tell Mother. Father came to assess the damage.
“Son, this was not done by a rabbit, look at the tracks.”
“Oh no! Bucky couldn’t have done this!”
“Was he in his pen last night?”
“No, he met me at the door when I came out this morning.”
“Well, I’m afraid he’s the culprit and we’ll have to tell your mother, then decide what to do. It’s a cinch we’ll have to replant the lettuce.”
Together, Father and son reported the damage to Mother. She exploded in anger and frustration, “That antelope has got to go! I can’t let him eat our food supply. Either lock him up or take him back on the prairie and turn him loose!”
The girls began to howl in protest. Tears came to Don’s eyes as he looked at his angry mother and remembered Warden Benson’s words, “The law says he must be free. Don’t let your love for this animal blind you from the fact that he is wild.” Don knew he had no choice, he simply had to take Bucky back to the Rawhide. “I can’t do that,” he thought.
“Now, Rose, calm down. I think we can handle this another way,” said Father, interrupting his son’s thoughts. “Don can replant the lettuce this morning. After I’ve checked the cattle, we can build a fence around the garden. There’s still enough chicken wire left to do that.”
The rest of the morning was not a happy one for Don. He hated to see his mother so angry with his beloved pet, yet he was glad Dad had worked it out for him to keep Bucky. He meekly did the replanting all by himself as he tried to think of ways to get his pet back in Mother’s good grace.
By evening, a tall makeshift fence was in place around the garden. Don watched with his BB gun to see if the rabbits could get through. Bucky laid beside Don. He seemed to say, “I’m sorry.” Don rubbed his ears. “How can I stay mad at you? But can’t you stay out of trouble?”
Early the next morning, as Father was heading for the barn, he was surprised to see his son asleep on the ground behind the chicken house with his antelope and gun right beside him. “That boy really is something!”
“Don – You’d better get up and see if you can sneak in the house without your mother seeing you. She’ll have a fit if she learns you slept out here.” Don rubbed his eyes and looked around. Quietly, he slipped through the front door and into his room, crawled into bed, pulled the covers over his head and appeared to be fast asleep when Mother called him for breakfast.
The fence seemed to have taken care of the rabbits, but magpies were still a nuisance. Finally, a scarecrow with Father’s old clothes and a little straw for stuffing became a sentinel to keep those pesky birds away. The girls had a great time dressing him.
With the fence and scarecrow to protect her garden, Mother relaxed. She even forgave Bucky for his midnight raid when the new lettuce crop began to make its appearance I the rich Wyoming soil. She was soon able to laugh and explain the tall fence around her garden to visitors. Bucky was definitely making an impact of family life at the Snow Ranch. Nobody could stay mad at for very long.
Fireside Stories 