The Red Flannel Rag

barked while he was on a hot trail. He only barked to let Uncle Shirley know when he

had finally treed the coon.

Old Jack was an “open mouth” dog and a very refined hunter. When he hit a hot

coon track, and was running with other hounds, he would wait until the other dogs had

barked for a while, then he wo uld “open” his mouth. The communication between

Uncle Shirley and his dog was uncanny.

He bragged that Old Jack had fooled him only twice. “One time, when he was

younger he treed a possum and barked like it was a coon. I pulled his ears good, and he

never chased another possum. The second time, Old Jack found himself cornered by a

skunk. He barked so I would come and kill the skunk to set him free. The skunk had

him backed up in a fence corner and was spraying him. I took a stick and whacked the

skun k behind the head and knocked it piss windin’. Layton Lam was with me. He

grabbed that skunk and had its skin off before it was dead.”

Alva Hartman often hunted with Uncle Shirley. He was a strong mountain man

and an avid hunter. He called Old Jack, the “old professor.” One night about a dozen

men and their dogs were hunting when the other dogs started barking. The men started

to follow the dogs, but Alva told them to wait. He said, “Don’t budge an inch until you

hear the old professor join in.” A couple of minutes later, Old Jack gave out about three

barks, and they knew for sure the dogs were onto a raccoon track.

Another time, Alva was hunting with Uncle Shirley and Old Jack. They left the

house and before they had gone very far, Old Jack had treed three coons. Alva patted

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