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A telegram came in. It read: "Hog-Beef died this morning." To you it would have meant nothing; to Fellow it overcrowded his brain. A long time ago up on an Ozark farm, a slender boy was a guest at a heavily laden table such as was common in those days, and the host looking at the boy, asked him which he would have, "some hog or some beef?" The temptation was too great and he replied, "some hog and some beef." Ever since, to his friends, he has been "Hog-Beef." It had been 40 years since they had been together but at that time there was cemented a friendship that decades had not loosened. His wife, who has never seen Fellow, sent the telegram. She knew him well! Fellow knew that Hog-Beef had told her and those around, the story, over and over, with its many sides, of the time, when he, Southy, and Tom Baughmen would take the hounds up on Big Dry Fork and turn them loose. There they would sit on a big limes-stone outcrop, waiting until the trail would be picked up. Under that big Ozark moon would be 4 boys waiting with all of the excitement of an expectant father for the drive to start. They knew that, barring some incident, it would be Ole Belle who would make the "jump". How intently they would strain their ears, for Belle was a great ranger and might be some miles away before she would open up. But she always did. Then would come the distant bay, not so certain at first, but just to let them know that there was some scent in the wind and to call in re-inforcements. There would be some anxious moments of suspense. How cold would the trail be? Belle would circle a little and let them know that maybe with a little patience she would work it up. The other hounds would be on their toes helping where they could, then would come the full mouthing and the regular do-me-sol-do's, and the race would be on. Toogooloo with his rolling voice and eagerness to fall in, would open up, and Moanin' Annie would be right along the side of him and then the full pack would be in high as they drove the nimble-footed Reynard up the draw. Up on the outcrop would be the four boys so filled with excitement and ecstasy they could hardly contain themselves. It would seem as though something would burst in their chests as the caroling of the pack would grow more and more in volume and Ole Belle never missing a note as she would carry the obligato and the rest of the pack came in on the full chorus. No!! There are no words that can describe what these races meant to four boys, in that long, long ago. Today it still makes Fellow's blood run faster and makes little "goose-pimples" come out all over, when he thinks of the times up on Big Dry Fork. Yes, he knows that Hog-Beef told about them, time and time again; of him, Southey, Tow, the fox and Belle. He can hear him say now, "That fox climbed on the rail fence, ran down it for about a hundred yards, and then doubled back and stayed on it to the far end and then jumped into Old Big Dry and went on down in it, we saw 'im ourselves, in the moonlight! But he couldn't fool Ole Belle, she was on to all of his tricks!" So regardless of the many moons that have waned since those days, it was important to Hog-Beef's wife that Fellow should know that he had gone. One of those boys became a natonally-known civil engineer; another, from time to time, meets with govenors in advisory capacities up the Minnesota way. But Hog-Beef led a more simple life and stayed in the Ozarks...and, sometimes when lifes problems become so perplexing, Fellow wishes that he had stayed there, too. But, Hog-Beef, now that you have gone over the Great Divide, and down the long, long trail that leads to the Happy Hunting Grounds, just somehow or other, Fellow feels that Ole Belle was there to meet you. |
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