from the journal of:
John Curto
3, March 2021 - All the plans have been laid for this hunt in advance by the hunt Captain, Denis Murati and myself, up to and including a scout of the territory to be covered the week before.
We are well armed and provisioned but our party is small in number. Besides Captain Murati there was another Hunter whom I have had the good fortune to have hunted with before, Steve Sells.
On this trip we had the luxury of a camp tender by the name of Bill Rogers who had with him his faithful companion, Anderson our de facto camp dog.
We numbered four in all in this land only barely familiar to Captain Murati.
4, March 2021 - We arrived safely to the camp site chosen on our previous scout and set up camp without incident.
A stew of fresh beef was shared among us and retired to our tents anticipating the next days hunt!
5, March 2021- The night was cold and sleep was elusive for me.
We stoked the coals into a fire, made a hearty breakfast and planned to scout the area more vigorously in search of our quarry.
Unfortunately, we made off with a late start.
Steve Sells and I swept through some creek bottoms that wound through a small canyon while Captain Murati explored another branch of the same canyon.
Steve and I discovered a narrow in the canyon that would make for a likely ambush point and we decided to return with the Captain at dusk and try our luck there as the rest of the day seemed to bare no sign of our quarry but instead proved that there were other travelers in the area using the wagon roads to make their way to and from the settlements.
6, March 2021 - Our ambush was unsuccessful and the party got separated in the dark but all returned to the camp by the grace of God.
Bill Rogers had a hot meal waiting for us and we all ate heartily, enjoyed libations around the warmth of the fire before each man found his way to his blankets and into the best sleep to be had.
Today we will try another territory in search of our elusive quarry in hopes that covering more ground will produce game.
7, March 2021 – We enjoyed coffee around the morning fire from Bill’s huge copper coffee pot and although success in our hunt in the form of game was elusive a grand time among friends was the real reward.
As is the way of things, a local traveler passed on news of where he had seen Javelina just as we were breaking camp!
Another hunt may be in order!!
