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Good Shot !!

    In the spring of 1948 I worked for my brother-in-law, Bill Deerberg as a farm hand. They had a young dog, who went with me to the back acres where I was going with the tractor to take out a fence. In order to get there a creek had to be crossed that had a rock bottom for a crossing. The dog was barking frantically at something in the distance but it couldn't get across the creek. I put the dog on the tractor with me to make the crossing, then drove up the lane about 40 rods with the dog still barking when I saw what looked like another dog. The young dog jumped off the tractor and took off chasing this other animal. It got through the fence, the dog couldn't, but did continue its barking. I finally got there to help the dog over the woven and barbed wire fence and then I crawled over.

     In the meantime, the dog had caught up with this animal, which turned out to be a grey fox. The dog caught ahold of its tail and 'round and 'round they went. As I got closer, the fox stopped, glared at me, and with teeth showing growled at me. All this time the dog was still pulling on the fox's tail. What should I do? I might have felt safe and secure on the tractor, but it was on the other side of the fence. The 20 feet between the fox and me just didn't seem enough for me to get over some barbed wires before the fox could catch up to me! I had to defend myself and to kill the fox was the only way. I reared back and threw the only thing I had, a fence pliers, and hit the fox right between the eyes with the point. The fox dropped over dead! I felt I wanted to do the same after I realized the danger, had my aim not been so accurate.

     Upon examination, we found the fox had been nursing young ones and probably was trying to defend her den. We found it later with no trace of young ones but innumerable pheasant carcasses and other bones. I felt like little David after his bout against Goliath!

              Everett Kruckenberg