Hogs at Cold Harbor

I loved Night at the Museum, except for Lincoln's British accent and Custer's inaccurate uniform.

Never saw a window on a dead horse, either.
 
(Smacking sound) Yep.

Honestly, that long thing looks like a man-made structure of some kind--a wall? And there's definitely a white triangular sign ("Dump bodies here"?????) on it and a tree in front of it.

And those other things could be piles of dirt or rocks or......dead horses......but I'm pretty sure they're not cars. :smile:
 
The shapes are boulders. While the photographer probably placed the rifle on the body, I doubt he moved it from where it fell.

And yes, the free-ranging hog was not just a southern thing. In those days, it didn't make much sense to keep hogs penned up when there was plenty for them to eat in the nearby forests and you didn't have to feed them all summer. In the more remote areas, it was likely that not all were rounded up and those that weren't turned feral.

The hog is a strange animal; it doesn't stop growing until it dies -- often from its own excess weight. And no fence ever built can keep a grown hog in or out of anything it really wants; but all it really wants is food -- if it's eating well outside of your garden, it will stay out.

As Border mentioned, a hog, like a cat and few other animals, will go feral almost immediately when turned loose. Few animals are smarter than a hog.
 
Even in my dad's time people let their hogs run loose in West Texas......and of course, without wild hogs, we wouldn't have Old Yeller (although why Disney used little javelina looking things is beyond me).
 
I just remembered that the body of one of the men killed in John Brown's raid was tossed into Hog Alley there in Harper's Ferry as an act of disdain, so the hogs could tear up his body....and that people gathered to observe the damage the next day.
 
I have to ask, are wild hogs good eating? and if yes do you need a non resident license to shoot them?

I reply with a resounding YES. I have a feeling that's the way pork is supposed to taste. (Once again, a reason to miss my ex-son-in-law the hunter)......I would be sure it was well-done. Trichinosis isn't really a problem anymore in farm-raised pork because they don't eat garbage...but you have no such assurances from a wild pig. And the laws would vary from state to state, I'm sure.....but I bet some of our hunters will show up and answer. Are you talking specifically about Virginia or other states?
 
That, Will, may be why my daughter kept referring to the wild hog as "road kill"......but we enjoyed her portion as well as our own! And it could have been neighborhood dogs or coons....who knows how long? I sort of think hogs would have dragged the body around more (which fits with the descriptions of the guy at Harpers Ferry and also the Great Hanging in Gainesville, where as I've written before, one girl saw her father's arm being dragged down the street by a hog and identified it as his by the shirt sleeve, which she'd made herself)
 
Let's hope we never do.

How do you know George's uniform was inaccurate? I mean, he designed his own.......and with his tastes!
Well, primarily I was thinking of the hat, which was basically a $30 cowboy hat that they sent some prop guy down to the local western wear store to buy. It isn't any kind of mid-19th century hat. It looks like the one I wore in western pleasure classes around 1983, except mine was baby blue.
 
Even in my dad's time people let their hogs run loose in West Texas......and of course, without wild hogs, we wouldn't have Old Yeller (although why Disney used little javelina looking things is beyond me).
I bet they couldn't find any Hollywood wranglers brave enough to handle the real thing.
 
Well, primarily I was thinking of the hat, which was basically a $30 cowboy hat that they sent some prop guy down to the local western wear store to buy. It isn't any kind of mid-19th century hat. It looks like the one I wore in western pleasure classes around 1983, except mine was baby blue.

Or like the one a museum would put on a mannequin when they don't think anyone will notice the difference! (Just kidding.....now I do remember thinking they could get a better one)
 
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