The Old Bull in the Trailer by Larry

I think it was the summer y'all went to Europe. I was taking care of the place while you were gone anyway.

The keeping heifers were East of the house and on the Vic Place. They were being artificially inseminated. We kept a late castrated steer with them to help identify who was next. Ole Jay  Carol came over, like every other day to help me. And help look for sick. I wasn't good at that. When the steer was interested in one (or more) we'd bring them to the corral and call the vet. (Famous, but I forgot his name.) He'd come the next day and take care of business.

 The bulls had all been put on the west side of the School Section to keep them away. But one old bull knew what was up. The first day I saw him, he was caught up in the fence. He had been excited when he tried to jump it and didn't make it! I was on Doubtful so I drove him back over the fence into the field separating the School Section from the front drive. I then went around by the cattle guard and drove him back through the gate into the School Section.

The next day, the same thing, except he didn't get hung up on the fence this time. I drove him back by the cattle guard and into the School Section again, beating his but with the lariat rope all the way.

I didn't help. I was getting frustrated. I was not supposed to let the bulls get with the heifers. I decided that maybe if I put him in the trailer and drove around a while, maybe he would get disoriented and stay where he belonged a few days. So I drove him into the corral. I got the old wooden 2-horse trailer on the red ford pickup, backed up to the gate in the pen next to the old squeeze chute. Of course he didn't want to get in the trailer either!

I beat him with the rope a while, but no go. By now he had a tough old butt and it didn't phase him much. I grabbed his tail and put a 9 in it. That did the trick. He took a big leap right into the trailer, bounced once and another leap over the front corner of the trailer. He kinda hung there for an eternity, his chest up on the corner of the trailer as it slowly leaned over. I saw the rest of my cow-punching career fading before my eyes. Then crash! The cotton-picker finished climbing out just as the trailer hit it's side, the ball hitch coming off the ball so the truck fell back on it's wheels, thank goodness.

Well that didn't go so well! I got back on my horse, got the rope out. And blistered his butt all the way back to the School Section one more time. Then back to setting up the trailer (I have no recollection of that). And straightening the ball on the pickup, sos no-one would notice. No harm, no foul. I didn't tell ole Jay the whole story next day, just that the bull got out again. Fact is, this maybe the first time I've told this to anyone inside the United States. Certainly never to Uncle Jim!