Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/401545
S P O R T I N G C L A S S I C S 5 2 Michael Altizer a m b l i n g s R Squirrel hunting is a wonderful way for a fledgling hunter to learn his craft, whether still in single digits or well advanced in years. "T he child is father to the man." When I first read these words from Zane Grey's Tales of an Angler's El Dorado, New Zealand, it stopped me in my literary tracks. He had perhaps borrowed the thought from William Wordsworth's poem "My Heart Leaps Up," and it took me a few moments to fully absorb what they were both saying. Wait a moment, I thought. What is he saying? What does he mean? But on further reflection I realized that, of course, he is absolutely right. For the man grows and evolves from the child, and without the child there can be no man at all. Or growth. And so it with hunting. At least it is with me. T he very first game animal that I ever encountered was the gray squirrel. Dad would get home from the coal mine in the evening, have his supper, and then retrieve his over-and-under Marlin 12 gauge and big hunting vest from the corner of the pantry and head up Grassy Spur or Brewster Hollow or Stoney Ridge. Sometimes he'd return with a rabbit or two, and on rare occasion even a grouse. But he always managed to bring home squirrels. Oh my, they were delicious the way Mom cooked them. She would first parboil them in chicken broth until they were exquisitely tender, then dredge them in finely-sifted S P O R T I N G C L A S S I C S 2 7