Cowiche Archery

My relatives were there!

So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them,

 "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.

And the fear of you and the dread and terror of you shall be upon every beast of the land, every bird of the air, all that creeps upon the ground, and upon all the fish of the sea; they are delivered into your hand.

Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you; and as I gave you the green vegetables and plants, I give you everything."

Genesis 9:1-3

My family, going back to Doc and Rollie Burnham in 1927 have hunted Deer and Elk for food. I am sure my forefathers, going back to Jamestown,  did as well.  I don't think there were any Super markets then.  If they had not hunted, they would not have eaten.

My forefathers were at the First Thanksgiving feast in America.  John Rolfs was one of them. One of my relatives was with George Washington at Valley Forge.   Many fought in the Civil War.  They all hunted and foraged for food.

Today, I live on a very meager social security disability benefit that barely pays my rent and utilities.  Not being able to pay $8 a pound for hamburger, I hunt and fish and occasionally sell a Longbow or quiver for spending money.

I was 14 years old before I knew there was any other source of meat then what we took hunting and fishing.

Now, my forefathers, if you knew them at all, taught respect for all things wild.

If you went out hunting for any other reason than to feed yourself and your family, you received a quick and painful rebuke.

These men, my Hero's, lived through the Great Depression, they lived on what the land produced. They were grateful for EVERY provision.

Modern "Hunting" sadly, is for the most part not so. It is about killing for killing sake at the worst and at it's best, a competition to see who can garner bragging rights for hanging the largest trophy on the wall.  I know, I have guided those kind of men and women many times.  After field processing their game and packing it out of the mountains, we would take it to the local butcher to be cut and wrapped for them only to find out later they never picked it up!  All they wanted were the antlers.

Our Game Department has sold 5 to 7 doe permits over the counter to anybody that wanted them for the last 12 years that I know of.  The result, the Game Department of Montana made a lot of money and the once abudant wildlife in my home area is now depleted.

For me and many others here in Montana, hunting is a way of putting good, healthy , God given food on the table.

Just because "someone else" kills your food for you and brings it to a nearby market, and because you can afford $17.00 a pound Filet Mignon, doesn't make you any less of a meat eater than I am.  If you pay someone to kill your food for you, your still the killer.

The difference is, you think food comes from the Super Market, I know it comes from God.