Document text
Forms to be Filled out for Each Interview
FORM A
Circumstances of Interview
STATE NEW YORK
NMI OF WORKER Earl Bowman
ADDRESS
DLTE
SUBJECT
Be West 12th Street
"Bob White's Trained 'Dog -Salmon"
1. Date and time of interview
2. Place of interi;iew
3. Name and address of informant
4. Name and address of i'erson, ii any, who in
touch with informant.
5. Name and aderess of person, if any, accoi,:pan,,ing you
C. Description of rpeal, house, surroundin
FOLKLORE
NEW YORK
(Use as many additional sheets as necessary, for any of the forms,
each bearing the ',proper heading and the number to which the material
refers.)
STATE
NAME OF WORKER New York
ADDRESS
DATE
SUBJECT
FORM C
TEXT OF (UNEDITED)
Earl Bowman
86 West 12th Street
"Bob White's Trained 'Dog -Salmon'"
FOLKLORE
NEW YORK
It was While we were camped up on the Westfork of the
Weiser River that my Uncle Steve Robertson told me about Bob
White's trained 'dog -salmon'.
It was spring and the 'up -run' of the salmon...When
that strange migration of the magnificent fish takes place
and they fight their way hundreds of miles inland up the small
streams to spawn at the place of their own birth.
During these 'runs' the settlers found great sport and
incidentally acquired a splendid addition to their food supply
by spearing the salmon as they flopped over the shallow riffles...
My Uncle Steve and I had hoped to get ourselves a salmon
or two but on this day we had watched the riffles closely but
never a salmon seen.
Out of our lack of success came my Uncle Steve's story
of Bob White's trained 'dog-fight...
"It doesn't look like we're going to get ourselves a
salmon this year, does it, Uncle Steve,' I observed a bit
pessimistically, 'maybe there aren't any doggone salmon coming
up into Idaho this season...."
"Hell yes, they's plenty of 'em comin1,1 my Uncle
Steve said, 'an' we'll also probably git one if we jest watch
clost enough, but I-Gawd if we jest had a good trained 'dog.
salmon' like 'Hector' was they wouldn't be nothin, to it...
All we'd have to do would be jest let 'Hector' round 'em up
ant drive 'en up to th' bank ant that's all there'd be to it
Hell, we could pick 'era right out with our hands an' not have
to do no wadin' or spearin' either for that matterl
"They ain't nothinl like a good trained Idogsalmont
when it comes to huntin' salmon, or for that matter, I-Gawd
any other kind of fish I reckon...
"'Hector' was Bob WhLte's idea ant it come to him kind
of sudden once when him an' /:.am (she was Bob's wife) ant me
was livinl down in Salubria Valley in th' early days of th'
Far West an' practically everybody that was out here was
Pioneers an' had to take advantage of everything they could
or probably perish for its a hell -of -a -job I'm tellin' you to
be a Pioneer in th' Far West in till early days an' have to
depend on jest yourselves for what you git to eat and so forth.
"Natcherally us Pioneers would git kind of tired of
jest havint venison ang bear steaks an' grouse ant pheasants
ant wild geese ant ducks ant fresh trout and so forth fer a
regtlar diet an' sort of crave somethint different for a change
oncet in a while, so when tht spring run of salmon come along
weld spear up a lot of 'em ant smoke 'em into dried salmon or
salt 'em down so we'd have somethint different jest in a
emergency...
"Well, I-Gawd„ it was a hell of a lot of trouble watching
tht riffles and wadint out over tht slipper rocks jest to spear
a danced twenty-five or thirty pound salmon an' then have to
pack him ashore ant pile him up with th' rest of 'em ant then
8o back an' cet another one till we had as many as we fiEgered
weld need for that season.
"Bob, he zot awful tired of it an' he used to cuss a
lot evert time thy salmon ketchint season come around agtin.
'Hell,' he'd say, II reckon we zot to 'zit our spears out Steve
ant co spear up a batch of salmon so Yam can smoke 'em or salt
'em down for future use an' we can have a change in our diet if
we it to cravint it like we always do," he'd say.
"I-Gawd, I don't mind it, I'd say, 'ant as far as that
concerned personally, spear:La' salmon is kind of interestint
ant I enjoy it damned nigh as much as I enjJy huntint deer or
bear either for that matter. Besides, I said, tits all in
a days work ant so what tht hells tht difference whether we're
wadint over tht cussed riffles in tht Weiser River, stabbing
salmon with a spear or a pitchfork, or climbint th' doggone
hills huntin' for a deer or a bear to shoot with a rifle?
Damned if I can see why anybody should complain about gittin,
their feet wet a little," I told Bob.
"Don't think for a minute that I give a damn about
gittinl my feet wet,' Bob said, 'but what I object to is
lugginl a cussed twenty-five or thirty pound salmon back to
tilt' shore ant not have nothini but slippery rocks to walk on
while a body's doin, itl That's What I object to, I-Gawd, ant
that's what I got a ricYt to object to I fier when anybody
considers how danged many ties a man slips an' falls an' has
th' cussed salmon smack him in th' face when it lights on him
while he's chokinl on Weiser River water-- If they was jest
some way to drive th' damn salmon up to th' shore so we wouldn't
have to wade I wouldn't mind it,' 7ob said.
"Well, I-Gawd, that's th' way Bob got to thInkint about
it ant when a man gits to thinkin' about how to cit out of dant
somethin, he don't like to do Ye 7enerally figrers out a way to
git out of it' I've noticed that.
"So, damned if Bob didn't rigger it out...
"I-Gawd th' next tire we went spearin' for salmon instead
of stabbinl a chinook or steelhead as they went floppint by
him Bob kept watchinl an' finally he throwed his spear down an'
grabbed a damned big 'dog -salmon' right behind thl gills, ant
started lugging him to shore...
.5
!Yeah, that's what the cussed idjit done; he jest lugged
that darned 'dog -salmon', it marlin' ant snapping an' squirmin'
ant bitini at him at every step, plumb out of the River to the
mouth of the little creek that run past our cabin and emptied
into th' river cleat to where we :as fishinl.
"Well, I-Gawd, he didn't stop till he; took that doggone
'dog fish' and 3ot him to a old beaver pond that th' beavers
had built sometime an' that wan jest a little way from the house.
"Fact is we'd bu'lt our cabin where we did on account
of that beaver pond. Vihen we'd first arrived there an' Mam
seen it she wanted Bob ant me to build our house clost to the
pond 'cause she had a idea that maybe she'd want to raise some
ducks sometime an' beaver pond wnu17.. be a good place for
'em to swim in if she did raise any.
"When Bob got his cussed 'dog -salmon' up to till beaver
pond he got a long lariat rope an' tied it around the darned
fish's neck ant tied th' other end to a cottonwood tree on till
bank then he thee dc-oneldbg-salmont into th' beaver pond.
"Bob's idea was that if he had him staked out that way
he could drag him in whenever he wanted to ant gentle him by
degrees.
"Man, she was kind of dubious about Bob puttini that
doggone wild, twenty-five or thirty pound 'dog -salmon' in till
little beaver pond 'cause she'd already got some ducks which she
was tryin' to raise some more from and get a good start of tem
an, natcherally that cussed dog -fish was almost sure to ketch
sme of 'em or at least to chase len all over the darned pond.
"So When Mem seen Bob puttin, his dog -salmon in th,
beaver pond she said: "Bob an, you too Steve Robertson,'
?am said, *have you cone r1r,rrb crazy, bringint that cussed live
dog -salmon home ant turning him loose in my duck -pond? Ain't
you got sense enough to know that he's damned nigh sure to chase
my ducks till they won't lave no chance to set or lay eggs or
anything else? I got trouble enou1 watching them duche and
scarin' tht coyotes an, hawks an, things like that away so they
won't ketch 'cm without havin, to worry my doggone head off
about havin, a cussed dog -salmon to worry abort too. I can't
see what th, heck you want with sec!' a critter anyhow. Who ever
heard of anybody wantin, a live dog -salmon barkin, an, yelpint
around th, place an, nippin, anybody ever, time they dip a
bucket of water up out of the pond."
"Don't blame th, cussed thing on me,, I told Yam, 'It
was Bob's idea in th, first place, an, I ain't any fonder of a
damned dog -salmon than anybody else be, an, as far as that's
concerned I can't see what th, heck anybody wants with one any
moren you can Main, so don't blame till damned thing on mei'
"Never you mind, Yam, nor you either Steve Robertson,'
Bob said, "when I git 'Hector' --which is what my new dog -salmon's
name is coin' to be-- when I Eit 'hector, trained an, you see
him herdinl them steel -head an, chinook ant sock -eye salmon up
to th, river bank so we can ketch gem without even gittin, our
feet wet, you'll both bless th' day I got this dog -salmon. You
sure as hell will, yes sir, I-Gawd;" Bob said enthusiastic and
jubilant.
"Well, jest don't train him on none of my ducks,' Mara
said, disgusted, 'cause if I ever ketch him chasing my ducks
I'll take a stick of wood an' knock his doggone teeth out* jest
remember that,' Also, I don't think anybody's in their right
mind that talks about training a cussed dog -salmon --like anybody'd
train a sheep dog or a possum -hound for instance,"
"If a sheep -dog herds sheep,' Bob said, 1I-Gawd a dog
salmon ought to have sense enough to herd salmon, an' as far as
anybody being in their right mind," Bob said, 'jest leave th'
training of 'Hector' up to me an' I'll show you whether he can't
be trained or nott"
"Well, I-Gawd, that was one time Bob White fooled Mam
ang me both-- It wasn't like his idea of cross -breeding he
skunks with she -chuck -wallahs, or vice versey an' raisin' self
skinning skunks. No, sir, I-Gawd, he sure made a success of
training 'Hector' his dog -salmon,
"Danged if it wasn't only a few days till whenever Bob
would go down to th' beaver pond an' whistle, or holler, 'Here,
Hector, Here Hector,' damned if that fool dog -salmon would
come a splashing and playing like a hound pup that thinks he's
going to git a rabbit's head, or some chicken offals, or a chunk
of corn bread or something' Yes, sir, I-Gawd it wasn't no time
till Hector knowed his name an' knowed enough to come when Bob
called him. He sure as hell was a smart dog -salmon,
"course Bob always give him a frog —there was lots of
little bull -frogs around the edges of tht beaver pond —ant Bob
usually had some in his pockets when he'd call Hector, an'
Hector sure as hell was fond of them little half-grown bull -frogs.
"In spite of what Mam said about Hector chasint her ducks,
when she wasn't around Bob trained tht cussed dog -salmon to
round 'em up ant drive 'em to shore, so it wasn't long till when
Bob would call Hector ant give him a frog ant yell, Go 'way
round 'em, Hooki Bring 'em in Heck-- Go git 'em, Old Boy',
I-Gawd Hectortd splash out after them damned ducks and 'fore
they knowed it he have 'em all drove ashorei...
"But, Bob had to quit usint Main's ducks to train Hector
on, 'cause he got to bitint off a foot of any danged duck that
didn't head straight in and I-Gawd that was awful-- He'd bite
off a duck's foot ant natcherally it would scare hell out of
tht duck ant it would start to swii toward tht shore but on
account of only havint one foot to paddle with, I-Gawd it would
jest paddle itself around and around in a circle until all it
would do would be to jest spin around and around ant never git
anywherei Yeah, Bob had to quit trainint Hector on Mamts ducks,
"But, 'fore Lector had bit off many of Main's ducks feet
he'd cot tht idea about roundint things up when Bob would tell
him to, so it didn't really matter much --he'd round up anything
Bob would tell him too, so Bob cot to takint him down to tht
river and have him round up salmon--
..9..
"Yes, sir, I-Gawd that's what he'd dol Bob would jest
lead Hector down till little creek to till Weiser and when he got
out in th' deep water he'd yell, 'Bring 'em in Heck! Go git 'em
Heck-- Head tem ini Head 'em in!' ant I-Gawd old Hectorld
round up a bunch of steel -head and sock -eye and chinook salmon
an' nip hell out of their tails till he'd have 'em all drove
right up to th' bank where Bob an' meld be waitinl--
"Bob was plumb tickled an/ proud of his trained dog
salmon... An' he probably had a right to be 'cause as far as I
know Hector was till ohly damned trained dog -salmon anybody'd
ever heard of. At least he was th, only damned one I'd ever
beard of or seen either for that matterJ
"Well, sir, Bob was jest gittint Hector trained to jest
bring in sock -eye or steel -head, or chinook salmon ant leave
till rest go, accordin' to whichever kind Bob ant me wanted to
ketch that day ant then hector got th' hydrophoby an 'course
that settled it...
"I-Gawd it was awful an' it was plumb foolish th' way
Hector got it. It was on account of a German...least that's
what he said he was....comint into th/ Crane Creek country ant
startin' to raise wheat.
"In them days they wasn't no sech a thing as mad -dogs
or mad coyotes or hydrophoby in Idaho or any of till rest of th'
northwest part of th' Far West. It jest hadn't developed or
something.
-10
"But there was a hell of a lot of them cussed little
critters called tgo-downst--- May be you never seen any of
'em and don't know jest what they was like? Well, they was
a sort of ground squirrel, kind of like a prairie dog or a
'picket -pin' but not exactly like either one of them... Tht
reason we called 'em 'go -downs' was 'cause they was never
around but three months out of the year --from April till thg
first, or about tht first of July-. Then they'd 'go -down'
aglin ant never be seen till tht next year in April. What
thl hell they went 'down' (in their holes) for in July an'
staid down for tht next nine months damned if I knowed nor
don't reckon nobody else did either.
"But that's tht way it was-- Thl trouble was that for
tht three months they was out they could raise more hell with
a wheat crop than anythin else could in a *hole dear. Yeah,
tht countr*4 was full of 'em ant it was danged nigh impossible
to raise any kind of grain crop except corn ant then anybody
had to watch it day ant night to keep them damned things from
eatint it.
"Well, that German, (Von Bauer or somethint like that
was his name) got so damned mad at them 'go -downs' eating his
wheat that he sent back east somewhere an got somebody to send
him some hydrophoby germs ant then he caught some of them ego-.
downs' ant vaccinated tem with th' cussed hydrophoby germs ang
turned tam loose. Natcherally, his idea, was to give gem a
start of hydrophoby, ant natcherally also they'd pass it on
-11
from one 'go -down' to another till all of 'em would git it
and die ant then he could riase his damned wheat in peace
"Well, I-Gawd, it worked, too damned well/
"The go -downs he vaccinated with hydrophoby went mad
ant bit other go -downs ant they vent mad and bit others and
they went mad ant bit others ant pretty soon tht whole damned
country was full of mad 'go -downs' bitint each other or any
damned thing they could snap at-- So, natcherally they bit
tht coyotes that viroul catch tem an, then tht coyotes would
go mad an' bite other cootes an' tne-:Id pass it on ant in
addition to tht damned country beint full of mad go -downs it
was also full of mad coyotes
"Yeah, that's what that goddamn fool ?Von what -ever
his name was,' started in tht Weiser river country...
"Ant that also was how Lob -..hite happened to lose
Hector, t:If onl; cussed trained dog -salmon anybody ever
heard about I reckon.
"One of the mad coyotes come up to thl beaver pond
one night ant hector tackled him-. They had a hell of a fight
ant Hector finally killed tht damned coyote we found him
dead on tht edge of tht beaver pond tht next =mint but fore
Hector finally killed him th, cussed coyote must a -bit him.
Yeah, I guess that to what he done 'cause in about ten days
poor old Hector went mad as hellJ
"I-Gawd it was awful to see that poor damned dog -salmon
havint fits ant frothint at tht mouth and splashint around in
that beaver -pond in agony like anything does when its got
-12-
hydrophoby. But that's till wa: it was... He sure as hell
had it,
"Well, it danced nizh busted Bob White's heart.
'Course Liam ant me wanted to kill Hector an' put him out of
his misery but Bob wouldn't hear to it-- 'No, I-Gawd,' Bob
said, 'Maybe Hector'll git over it...let's 3ive him a chance
anyhow...Jest everybody keep away from him so they won't Eit
bit by him, I-Gawd, an' let him play out his hand to th' end,'
Bob said.
"So, tat's th' way we done ant n:robably it was a good
thing, 'cause th' very next night Hector gnawed th' rope Bob
had him staked out in the beaver pond AL th, in two ant swum
over thl little beaver damn down into thl creek an' on down
to th' Weiser River-- Ant I-Gawd that's th' last we ever saw
of Hector, ant as far as I know, if he didn't die he might of
swum plumb out of th' damned country ant maybe is swimminl yet,
"Yeah, I-Gawd, that's th, way it was, but if we jest
had Hector, Bob Whites trained dog -salmon, now he'd go out in
that deep water an' round up a steel head, or a chinook or a
sock -eye salmon ant drive 'em right up to th' shore ant all
we'd have to do would be to ketch 'em-- Yeah, I-Gawd, Hector
was a hell of a smart dog -salmon; he sure as hell was...."