Baxter Black: Jumper

Betty said her dad had a bull that kept jumpin' the fence. She wondered if I knew any surefire cures for fence jumpin' bulls. I asked her what they'd tried already.

"Well," she said, "One of Fred's friends (Fred was her dad) suggested tyin' a chain to the ring in his nose. So Dad did, a ten-foot log chain. Didn't faze him! That bull could stand flat-footed and jump a five-wire fence!

"Dad improved on the idea by wiring a ten pound window weight to the end of the chain."

"How did that work?" I asked.

"No better," she answered, "But it made him easier to track! Dad revised the idea by replacing the window weight with a gunny sack. The bull still jumped the fence but the sack hung up in the bob wire. At least they could find him the next mornin.'"

Maybe, I thought to myself, we're hangin' the weight a little far forward. "So," I asked Betty, "What kinda bull is it?"

"Purebred Angus. Modern breeding, big and tall. I don't know his registered name but Dad calls him Jumper."

"Did you try one of those old fashion yokes?" I asked, remembering how we kept the milk cow from poking her head too far through a fence.

"That would sure make our cows uncomfortable when he went to breed one," she pointed out. "In all fairness, the neighbors don't object too much. He's a pretty good bull."

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