Stories from the Amazon - Crazy Bull part 2

If you read the previous story about Crazy Bull Part 1, then you might have a little idea of how this one goes...  We raised rodeo bulls at our farm in northern Brazil. I taught horseback riding lessons and my husband rode bulls, did bull fighting and stock contracted and we even put on a couple of rodeos (but that's another story). Some bulls worked out and bucked good but others were crazy and only wanted to kill the one crazy enough to try to ride them. With one string of bucking bulls we had, you really could only go out in the pasture on horseback if you wanted to come back alive. It was a daunting way to earn a living.

One particular bull was a very big and mean to the bone Charlois/Brahman cross (kinda like the other one from story Part 1) They maybe even came from the same farm, who knows... They both didn't buck very well and tried to mush you into the ground if you fell off them wrong, or even if you fell off them right too. We decided that this one should also go to the butcher. Unfortunately, this bull had the uncanny 6th sense that something was wrong the day we tried to corral him into the pen. Instead of following the other bulls into the arena, he headed off the opposite direction, down the road that ran through the middle of our 300 acre ranch.

The road went about halfway through the property and ended at a creek, where we had our swimming hole. Past the creek was about 100 acres or so of beautiful virgin jungle, never cut down by man. Huge, towering trees, monkeys swinging in the tops of the trees, jaguars, multitudes of snakes, birds, butterflies and other creatures. There was a path through this jungle that went to the end of our property and behind us lived a little old man. He lived by himself on his probably squatted land where he raised his own food and occasionally he would come through our path to get the the highway to go to town. He was a sweet, friendly old man. Sometimes I'd ride my horse there to check on him and see if he had any cacao fruit that I could eat. We didn't have any cacao on our farm and it's so very delicious to eat the fruit part. In case you don't know, the seeds are then dried and processed into chocolate.

Before the road got to the creek, there was a little field, very surprising field in the middle of the jungle. It had been there since we bought the ranch. Trees never grew there, just wild tall grass. I rode my horse back there many times, exploring and discovered that there was a path into the next door neighbor's back pasture. The fence was long since rusted and fallen apart. Occasionally I'd ride back there too and I probably knew those back fields better than anyone of the other neighbors.

Well, this rank bull ran down the road and discovered the field and the way into the neighbor's land. For a week, the guys would take the horses and try to herd the bull back up to the front of the property where the rest of the herd and the arena and barn were. The instant the bull spotted anyone on horseback, he would dive into the thick jungle and there was no way to get him out. This went on for a whole week. I kept telling them they should take the dog and he would get the bull out of the jungle.

I raised Australian Cattle Dogs who were bred to work. I had a dog trainer friend who had trained my dogs to work cattle and he could get those dogs to do pretty much anything. It was amazing to watch them work, especially the rank bulls we had. The dogs could be sent far out into the pasture and herd the bulls all the way into the corral and we didn't have to do the work. The reward for their labor was a nice swim in the water tank. They loved it. Max and Melita were the dogs' names.  But my husband didn't like Max and Max didn't much care for him either and also wouldn't listen to him, so the hubby refused to take the dog.

Finally after a week of not getting the bull, my horses were getting exhausted and the guys were also getting pretty tired. The dog trained came out for a training session and I asked him if he would go out the next day with the dog and the guys. He agreed and the next day all the guys, about 5 of them including the dog trainer, took the horses and Max.  At about dark, which in the Amazon is 6 pm, the guys came wearily back with the horses and no dog and no bull. And boy was I hopping mad! I told them we were going out again at the crack of dawn and we  were going to get my dog and shoot that bull and at that point I didn't even care if we got the meat from the bull. They told me what had happened and why they lost my dog. Apparently Max had gotten the bull out of the jungle in less than 5 minutes and they shot the bull but the bullet didn't kill the bull and he took off running into the deep jungle. Max, who had never heard a gun, got spooked and also took off into the jungle.

At the crack of dawn, the horses were saddled and a plan was made. We decided to split up. Husband and two guys were going to go the back way and see if the bull was in the back part of the fields and the dog trainer and I were going to go by way of the side of the highway and see if we could find Max. We went along whistling and calling for him. Finally two ranches down (probably at least two kilometers) we found Max at the neighbors house. He was sure glad to see me too. We were up on top of a hill at a place where one fence ended at another fence. We decided to wait for the other guys up there. As we were looking down the hill into the herd of the neighbor's cattle, we saw the ornery bull, grazing happily with the cows. The dog trainer had the gun and decided to ride down real quiet like and see if he could get a good shot at the bull. I opted to stay at the top of the hill with my horse and Max and wave down the other guys when they showed up.

The trainer rode down very quietly and I watched him lift the rifle and take careful aim but nothing happened. No shot fired. And the bull bolted again. Only the jungle was pretty far from him and the dog trainer stayed really still with his horse and the bull settled down to graze again. Once again the same exact thing happened and the bull bolted again. By this time the other guys showed up and they were galloping around trying to prevent the bull from getting to the jungle. To my great horror, all of a sudden the bull starts coming up the hill to where I'm standing. I started making a plan, knowing that a fence meant absolutely nothing to that rank creature. I decided the horse could fend for it's own if needed and I'd grab Max and run out of the path of the bull. He kept coming, closer and closer. With the four guys hot on his tail. Full speed in my direction! When he was about 100 feet or less from me and the fence, the dog trainer took another shot and this time the gun fired the bullet and it went in at a place that actually worked and the mean bull fell to his knees just a few feet away. It was terrifying and horrifying all at the same time. I felt sorry for him but relieved that he was finally done fighting. We called the butcher who came right away and picked him up. The horses got a week of rest and extra rations and the dog was appreciated by all forever after that!

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