I was only there one night as a guest of a delta waterfowl rep that hunted there. Something happened with that guy just after that hunt, but no one could tell me what it was. So I never got to go back. I did not know at the time the structure was the actual Smith County Coon Club building. Cool to know. Sad to hear the building is gone. I agree, I imagine there were a lot of stories, memories, great hounds, and relaxed times associated with that building.

I had many of good times at the Smith County Coon club. Me and my grandfather where there the first Saturday of every month. I still hunt blueticks and some of my most prized possessions are the trophy's that my grandfather won there.

I married into a family of hunters, one of them being a man who had raised blueticks most of his life. All in all, I bet I spent more time with my wife's dad and uncles chasing after critters than I did chasing after her. A few years after we got married and moved to Texas from Mississippi, I got a bluetick puppy from her uncle and raised him to be a dang good coon hound. Spent many years thereafter hunting him with a neighbor's dad who enjoyed hearing a good race as much as I did. I got out of it when my hound died and the kids had gotten older, but would sure enjoy hearing a good race now. Too bad so many deer hunters are ready to shoot any dog they see. I'm sure very few of them know that deer are considered "trash" to every houndsman except those who use them to run deer. But I know too there's more exciting than hearing a pack of hounds running a deer your way with shotgun or rifle in hand.

Being a houndsman runs in my blood since my grandfather owned them and ran foxes in East Texas back in the 30's and 40's. That too wasn't about killing animals but listening to a group of fine hounds work a good and long track.

Framed photo my wife gave me after Smokey had passed.




My grandfather's fox hounds circa. 1943 in Smith County. You might be hard pressed to find hounds that look like some of these today with such small heads and long legs. Built to move a track fast and and keep after it. My now 91-year-old uncle is shown holding his favorite hound. No deer in East Texas back in those days.

I got to hunt a little in the 50s in New Mexico on the Mimbres River with a guy names Roger Snow. He was a local blacksmith and he and my dad were good friends and I got to go about 3 or 4 times. What memories. We only treed a few coons, but running through the undergrowth and water are some fine memories. Mr. Snow even killed a mountain lion on one of his hunts and when he brought by our house to see, draped over the fender of his old Dodge pickup, the wow factor for a 10 yr. old was high. I remember the lion's paws were bigger than our hand. Good memories, thanks for sharing.

Texas Dan there are still a lot of those running dogs down in South Texas but they are using them on cats. The generally cross a little Bluetick or Treeing Walker in them to put a little more "tree" in them. Down there, the cat hunters bob their tails so that they don't get infected from batting on the dense brush.
Adios,
Gary

When I was growing up in the 60's my uncle and lots of other family members did coon hunting with dogs.
They were mobile and covered lots of area but did use one members garage/workshop to make dog cages and anything else they needed.
Many great nights sitting around a small fire waiting on dogs to bay.

Thanks for the post Gary.

One of my wife's late uncles used hounds to chase cats back in the day when we were dating in Mississippi. I can still remember his favorite hound's name - Night Watchman. As I'm sure you know, it takes a lot of land to run foxes and cats. I suspect most of the cat and fox chasing done these days happens inside a penned area. It wasn't needed back in those days in Mississippi when it was common for hunters to use hounds to chase deer. And if you owned a "straight" hound that wouldn't chase deer, you were very likely to find him sometime later should he take a track into the next county.

In this day when it's all about chasing after big antlers, I'm not at all ashamed to say I once loved using hounds to chase wild game. After all, my ancestry is more than 80% English.

Nothing to be ashamed of my Friend. ALL of the greatest hunters that I have ever known (deer, elk, turkey, predator hunters) were or still are houndsmen. If ANYONE books a guided western hunt ask the outfitter if any of his guides are houndsmen. I promise you that they will know the game and area hunted better than the other guides.
I still chase coons and cats around here and take the same dogs out west for lions. Not sure how many years I have left in me as it is a young man's game.
Adios,
Gary

If I listen closely, I can still hear in my mind them dogs treeing