Cooper Land and Cattle

Chapter 1 - Cooper Land and Livestock

Maggie liked to do the afternoon calf check, she often helped out the Coopers by riding their pastures also. She knew that Will often rode her pastures at night so to thank him she made sure she took the day checks. Maggie often imagined that this was the way that their fathers had worked together. It was funny that only two generations ago they had been like the Hatfields and the McCoys. Maggie had grown up knowing that something had bonded William Isaiah Cooper Sr. to her father Garrett Driscoll but they never talked about it. Maggie just knew that if she needed anything, Bill, as they called him, would be there for her. William Isaiah Cooper Jr., just plain "Will", had just been Maggie's best friend since birth. There had always been talk about them having first been friends in the hospital since they were only twelve hours apart.

The afternoon check proceeded with little other than the adrenaline rush that some cows gave when they protect their calves by playing chicken with Maggie. She had long ago found that if you let the cow buffalo you into thinking she was going to take you, that she would. She was quiet and calm but assertive in the fact that the baby needed to be named, tagged,weighed, iodized, and given a booster for their rumen. Cooper's named all their calves, it was a tradition. Maggie kept a baby book in the truck just for reference when she ran out of short names. Maggie liked the idea of naming the calves but kept with the traditional numbering system that her father had started for her herd.

As Maggie came around the hill she noticed a problem. One of the black baldy cows was acting strangely. She watched as the cow ran to the fence and then behind a tree. Then she turned around to repeat the process. Maggie unfortunately saw the problem, there was blood everywhere. The cow had the normal blood from birth but there was blood on her face, legs, and stomach also. Maggie grabbed the rifle she kept behind the seat. Something told her this would not be a pleasant afternoon. Maggie slipped out of the truck with the rifle in front of her. She eased up to the tree hoping she would not find what she already knew was there. A dead calf, half eaten by whatever had attacked it's mother. Maggie was not happy and while she was mad she would not allow herself to get sick. She looked around to find prints, anything that would give her the realization of what she was dealing with. Of course the cow was not helping matters, Ethel, the cow, was frantic. Why was she not just staying with the dead calf? Something else was different. Maggie watched the cow while she looked for prints. It was then that she found the reason that the mother cow had lost the first calf. Down by the fence a little white head popped up. "Twins, poor girl - that's why." she thought to herself. This was going to require a little help. Will would need to see the wounds on the dead calf and Ethel. Jack would want to see the sight where the calf was taken down. As Maggie walked back to the truck her heart was lifted a little for Ethel. Ethel had been given a terrible choice but she had at least saved one of the calves. Maggie radioed back to the ranch, "Jack, you at the desk today?"

The crackly radio came back, "Just finishing up some lunch, what do you need?"

"I need a tracker, a horse-trailer, a horse, and a vet."

"What you got?"

Maggie explained the situation and Jack assured her, that help was on the way. There was nothing for her to do but sit and wait. Jack Merrett was the third musketeer, though he did not share the same birthday, he was only a few months ahead of Will and Maggie. Maggie could at least tag the new calf and get the log book up to date, but she thought that poor Ethel had been through enough stress, so she would just wait. Soon,the truck and trailer came up the hill. As the truck got closer she knew that Jack and Will had come to save her. They pulled up behind her truck and both got out. They both could see the situation and went straight to work. Jack looked at the kill site and got a direction, then went to get his horse. "It looks like a coyote, maybe a Mom with her pups, they will all have to be put down. If she taught them to take a newborn calf while the mother is down birthing; there will be nothing but problems as they grow up. "