Historic Country

[Mike Leonard]

Fellow Houndsmen,
I have been enjoying myself the past few days touring around northwest New Mexico. I have been examining some of the old haunts of famous houndsmen of the past such as Elliot Barker ( When Dogs Bark Treed) author and famous cougar hunter and noted southwest outsoorsman. I stood on his favorite trail this morning as the sun was coming up over Vermejo Park and listened to the coyotes in the distance as I listened to the dewclaws rattle on several hundred buffalo walking by. I enjoyed the charm of Cimmaron and Eagle's Nest where Bruce Bull one of the greatest lion hunters spent many years. I was down thru the Pecos where Homer Pickens and Pete Hughes spent many days running their hounds.

Although a lot of this country has been swallowed up by private groups and private interest's ( Ted Turner) there is still a certain charm in this special place in the southwest. As I rolled in this evening thru Toas and across the Jicarilla Apache Reservation, I was still pretty glad to live in the Land of Enchantment,and also glad that come Saturday morning I will be on the back of a good horse with some eager hounds around me looking over some more good country.

[Lil Joes BigGame hounds]

I agree Mike I hunt some of those places you mentioned and also hunt down here in the south western part of the state. Names like Pete Hughes, Montague Stephens, Ben Lily , and the Lee bros. Cross my mind everytime I go out. It realy puts me in awe that they were so much tougher than the normal man. Like ben lilly I hunt off foot but theres no way I could log in the miles that man could. It realy puts me in check on bad runs, but at the end of a good run it makes you feel more like a man than ever.

It is great to live in a place that has so much history,and to hunt it is a real privlidge.

[Big N' Blue]

Good to see your post Mike. We have got everything ready to do er again! LOL Hope you can come by camp this year.

David

[ken]

Mike,

Like you I take pride in our Land of Enchantment... its a really beautiful state... I hope that we can preserve some of our open areas for the youth so they too can run, walk, hunt our hills

great post

Ken

[Grzyadms4x4]

Mike,
New Mexico is a Beautiful state. Unfortunately the only time I have spent in your state is at the Greyhound bus terminals. But driving on I-40, I got to see some very pretty landscapes that made me want to stop the bus so I could go look around some. But I guess they throw you in jail for that. I happened to be going through in the winter, so there was some snow on the cliffs and mountains. It was really nice. One of these days I plan on going next door to roam around in your backyard. So if ya ever see a tall white guy in a blue International swearing at his dogs for running trash. Thats Me! Luckily though I live in AZ and our topography is pretty similar.
I often wonder while I'm walking along the Mogollon Rim or in the Gila wilderness about the people before me who were doing the same thing, enjoying nature and huntin' lion and bear. Sometimes I just wonder about the homesteaders that ranched and farmed the area. The land does have a lot of charm and magic. I feel bad for people that live in the east with all of their land divided and fenced. We are very fortunate to have the millions upon millions of acres of land to just go and roam around in. Heck, if I wanted to I could walk through various forest from Baghdad, Az all the way to the Rio Grande river. It's unfortunate that so many of our youngsters can't or won't go out to these area and see what life is all about. Take Care.

[bearhunter77]

Funny these names were mentioned of Northern New Mexico. I was born in Las Vegas. Dad use to take me fishing all the time in the area. We then moved to Jal, NM where dad and I still couldn't resist the flavor of trout so we would head up to Riudoso to fish in the summers. A few years later we moved to Texas by the Amarillo area in a town called Dumas. It was then that we started fishing Tres Riitos, Eagles Nest Resivior, and the Cimarron river. It was these very mountains and the area that made me fall in love with the outdoors and to this day the passion hasn't ended. I will never forget a little icecream shop dad use to take me to in Eagles nest. Nothing like an icecream after a whole day of fishing. Wonder if it's still there.

[hunt14]

Mike,
good post. When I am out there alone trailing in the cold crisp air following the dogs, I often think about the old timers and almost expect to meet one under the tree when I get there because. I know they are still out their roaming them hills and chasing them lions.

Dave,
havent talked to you in a long while. I am glad to hear that you are ready to get back in the saddle and follow them dogs. Take some good pictures so we can hear all about it. take care
Reagan