The Lindsey Coyote Calls

by Mary Belle Jones

In December 1953, our twin sons were born 7 weeks premature. When Tom and Richard cried, the sound was weak, like a small animal in distress. As a result, when they cried, the coyotes would come right up to the house. If Punk was at home he would say, "let them cry for a minute". Then he would take his gun and get on top of the house for a good aim at the coyotes. If it was night time he would take a big flash light along with the gun. I didn't like his using the babies as a coyote call but I also didn't like the coyotes coming up to the house. We had two other small children, Skeet 32 months and RayMona 17 months old, who liked to play outside in the yard. Coyotes and rattlesnakes were my constant worry in those days. That changed when they and their little sister Mozelle, "Mozy", two years younger than the twins, were all teenagers.

Needless to say all three of our sons were bitten by the hunting bug. They inherited it from all sides of the family. Even though she was protecting her family, not hunting, their great great grandmother Lindsey shot a mountain lion out of a tree at night, hitting him right between the eyes. Her husband had lost an arm to a hunting accident. Their father, Punk, grew up on the Clear Fork of the Brazos river, hunting wild hogs, coons, skunks, coyotes etc. Punk's father and grandfathers were hunters as were my father and grandfathers.

As the boys grew up they were doing well trapping coyotes but decided it would be more thrilling and sport man like to use a call. They were with their Dad in the feed store in Pecos when they spotted some calls. They each bought one. When they got home and had unloaded the feed, they came in the house to show them to me. They were A.L. Lindsey calls. I told the boys that A.L. Lindsey was my uncle. I jumped a notch in their eyes that day.