Archives > Sports > Schools
Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
RSS
Share
The old cabin: Plenty of history in our spot for the opening of deer season
BY Luke Clayton, Special to Star Local News
A couple of buddies and I were setting on the front porch of the old cabin, eagerly awaiting Saturday morning and the opener of deer season.
This old structure, situated a mile from the nearest road in the mesquite- and live oak-covered hills of Lampasas County, was a testament to durability and service.
We spent the previous night in the cabin, which was once much more than the occasional home of a few old deer hunters; it was home to who knows how many families that made their living farming, ranching, trapping, hunting and fishing in this ruggedly beautiful part of the country.
After a cordial greeting, our talk about the old cabin continued.
We each have our ideas about this old place. We've been setting here on the porch conjuring up all sorts of scenarios about this ancient dwelling. 'When was it built? Who lived here?'
Our rancher told us the cabin and land we hunt had been in his family for many years.
"We do know that it was built in the late 1800s," he said. "Back in those days, Sears and Roebuck sold what was referred to as box houses. These were basically kits of pre-cut lumber, roofing, windows, doors, etc., that were shipped in to the nearest town by rail. Horse drawn wagons then hauled the kits out to the home sites where the homes were assembled."
Through the years, he had noted a few other box houses in the area.
"There still stands an old school building about a couple miles from here along the main road," the rancher said. "We've always been told that the route to school for children on adjacent ranches was a path through the woods behind the cabin."
The next morning, while setting in a ground blind with my Darton compound bow, my mind began to wander back to yester year.
While staring a hole through the brush looking for deer, I could almost swear I saw those kids of over a hundred years ago walking through the woods to school. Of course, it was just my mind's eye taking me to a place that I could never be, but it was fun thinking about what life might have been like back in those days.
What would they have thought about the strange bow I was hunting with?
With its cams, cables and slick camouflage paint job, they surely would have thought it something that was left by travelers from another world. And why would I have been hunting with a bow? Even the most basic black power rifle of their day would reach out and harvest game farther than the best of today's archery equipment.
And what about the clothes I was wearing?
For all practical purposes, the Cedar Creek Camouflage I was wearing looked like a branch off the cedar brush that I had constructed my ground blind from. How did this man get all those cedar branches on his shirt and pants?
I was shocked back into reality when a nice buck, probably a 2.5 year old, came through the brush and stood broadside at 25 yards. He was close to being a legal shooter, probably had a 13-inch inside spread, but I let him walk. He had the potential to become a real wall hanger in another couple years.
What would those kids of yesteryear, or their parents for that matter, think of me letting such a prime young deer walk, one that was easily within range?
Why didn't he shoot they would surely ask. After all, the buck was young and the meat would make plenty of tender, tasty venison that would have fed the homesteader and his family for several weeks. It would have been a welcome addition to their staple food supply of salt cured bacon, squirrels and rabbits.
That evening, on the front porch of the cabin, I prepared a meal of striper tacos and Spanish rice.
Where in the world did these men get this white textured fish? The streams in the area were teeming with bass, catfish and sunfish, but this was a different type fish. One thing that did look familiar to them was the big, black cast iron skillet the fish fillets were sizzling in. But what about that contraption they were cooking on? Their little stove was hooked to a white bottle by some sort of small hose. It spewed a foul smelling material that flamed when one of the guys touched it with a fire stick of some sort.
The night's chill finally drove us into the confines of the comfortable old cabin.
The fireplace, that had furnished heat and light on many, many dark and cold nights in years past, blazed brightly on one end of the little family room.
How many stockings had been hung over the old mantel through the years, filled with fruits and nuts that were often the only presents that turn-of-the-century homesteader's kids received on Christmas.
The bricks that formed the inside of the fireplace were much larger than the perfectly formed cookie-cutter bricks of today. They were probably made from local clay by a rancher that had learned the brick maker's skill. A century of heat has seasoned those old pieces of clay into perfect conduits that did a nice job transferring heat from the mesquite wood throughout the cabin.
The next morning, we deer hunters arose early and went into the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
What would the dwellers of this place a hundred years ago think of the renovations of their kitchen?
In one corner was a big, white box that keeps food cold. Their old wood-burning cook stove was replaced by a small device with round coils on top that, when a little handle was turned, burned red hot.
I'm betting the smell of fresh-brewed coffee on a crisp fall morning is one thing that has not changed since the construction of the old cabin. We spent a few minutes sipping strong, dark cowboy coffee in front of the glowing embers left from last night's fire; each of us deep in thoughts about what this opening day would bring.
We were visitors to a place that was once inhabited by truly outdoor people. We were privileged to share, at least for a brief period, what is left of their world.
Listen to Outdoors with Luke Clayton at: catfishradio.com. Email Luke at: lukeclayton@prodigy.net with outdoor news from your area.
The following are comments from the readers.
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
You must register with a valid email to post comments.
Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Registered users sign in here:
Become a Registered User
- Return to: Plano West «
- Home «
- Top of Page ^
