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Hunting deer in early America was cheap!
I saw the 1957 film "Old Yeller". I saw the older boy in the film, Travis Coates. He had a smaller brother named Arliss.
Travis, about age 12, went hunting one day on the old Texas homestead set sometime back in the latter half of the 1800's. His mother and his brother had stayed home at the cabin while his father was away driving cows for some cash. I think Old Yeller the dog stayed home as well.
Now young Travis rode his mule, Jumper, out into the field. He had his trusty single-shot muzzle-loader.
Travis took his big buck and Jumper carried his quarry back home. Travis skinned and cleaned the animal all by his lonesome. He must have quartered and butchered the deer as well. The venison was hung up under the overhang. I am not sure how the meat was preserved back in those days without an electric freezer or if they even had meat lockers.
How much MONEY did this hunting trip cost Travis and his family? Some hay and water for Jumper? Whatever a single loading (ball, patch, wad, powder, percussion cap) cost for a muzzle-loading rifle?
The point is, Travis had no motor vehicle or gas to buy. No lodging fees. No guide fees. No butcher fees. No game tag fees. No hunting license fees. No hunter safety training fees. A rock or tree branch may have sufficed for target practice. Once the gun and the knife were purchased they could be used over again indefinitely. His father or uncle must have taught Travis everything he needed to know about hunting for survival in the boondocks.
Nowadays, American boys very seldom go hunt for meat for the family. They eat factory-farmed beef loaded with chemicals and other nasty things and costing much more pound per pound than Travis' deer. Boy, long missed is the innocent and simple life of the Old West.
We have long lost those old-fashioned values of thrift and industry.
Travis, about age 12, went hunting one day on the old Texas homestead set sometime back in the latter half of the 1800's. His mother and his brother had stayed home at the cabin while his father was away driving cows for some cash. I think Old Yeller the dog stayed home as well.
Now young Travis rode his mule, Jumper, out into the field. He had his trusty single-shot muzzle-loader.
Travis took his big buck and Jumper carried his quarry back home. Travis skinned and cleaned the animal all by his lonesome. He must have quartered and butchered the deer as well. The venison was hung up under the overhang. I am not sure how the meat was preserved back in those days without an electric freezer or if they even had meat lockers.
How much MONEY did this hunting trip cost Travis and his family? Some hay and water for Jumper? Whatever a single loading (ball, patch, wad, powder, percussion cap) cost for a muzzle-loading rifle?
The point is, Travis had no motor vehicle or gas to buy. No lodging fees. No guide fees. No butcher fees. No game tag fees. No hunting license fees. No hunter safety training fees. A rock or tree branch may have sufficed for target practice. Once the gun and the knife were purchased they could be used over again indefinitely. His father or uncle must have taught Travis everything he needed to know about hunting for survival in the boondocks.
Nowadays, American boys very seldom go hunt for meat for the family. They eat factory-farmed beef loaded with chemicals and other nasty things and costing much more pound per pound than Travis' deer. Boy, long missed is the innocent and simple life of the Old West.
We have long lost those old-fashioned values of thrift and industry.
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