Message #554699

[Semmes]

TShelly,
I have no knowledge of that story you heard and definately am not an old timer....
But I can relate a bit to it and tell one I know is true cause I seen it happen.

I used to hunt with couple guys, in Angola pretty regular. One is good friend and he owned two mellmans, a mother and daughter.

This was bout 7-8 or so years ago. If y'all remember this Mississippi River got real high and it was real danger of it topping the levee in places.

We had sand boils along it from MS down to the coast. Was highest ive ever seen it in my 46 yrs.

Was close to topping in BR.

Well Angola state pen is in a horseshoe in the river on purpose so the iates is surrounded on three sides by water. And they was makin emergency plans of evacuation just in case.

we ran one night and all the spots in river bottom we usually ran were way under water so we thought may be some easy pickin with hogs pushed up. We bayed a good group on the levee right next to the river. Caught a few out of the group. We had them two mellmans and some cur dogs. Well we got all split up running around as the ones we caught was all at same time. Once they were takin care of and had chance to check garmins to see where the dogs were. Only two were missing. The mellmans. We could hear em baying. They showed over 100yds straight ahead in Mississippi River with the current pushing like u wouldn't believe. We stood there and called for over and hour and them dogs were baying in that river. We didn't know if they were swimming whole time or moving from snag to snag, which eould have literally been tree tops. But they were singing the whole time. We called and called and they finally came back. I font know if the hogs swam em back in or our calls did it.... But I site thought we'd never see them two dogs again...

Just thought I'd tell that story.

About the barking... Them two dogs did used to pissses off alot cause the cur dogs we hunted with em just were not on same page. They quit honoring the mellmans bays most hunts cause maybe it wasnt got enough for em and or the mellmans maybe jumped a track or sumthing but lot times we have curs honestly working something out closer and silent and have to leave them to keep up with the mellmans that was getn out of range. And then loose communication with the curs and be mile or two away with sporadic communication and one curs may show bayed but we be heading opposite direction tryn keep up with the mellmans and just leave cur and it just didn't work out that great.

Like apples and oranges....

But I can say those two dogs made for some long nights and would literally put ten miles between you and them if you lolly gaged 

I can appreciate them but it did get to where I didn't even want to go anymore with those dogs. Lol