FAMILY STORIES

My Dad had a nephew that was about the same age as him (Jake Woods).  Jake and Dad had many adventures together before and after they were married.  One time Dad had a sow that needed some help delivering the pigs.  It appeared that the only way to save the patient was to operate and perform a C-section.  Well, Dad operated on the sow with Jake as the assisting surgeon.  I was not present for the procedure, but I imagine it started with the tradition sterilization of the knife by wiping it on the pants leg.  The closing was done with brand new fishing line.  The operation was a complete success.  However, the patient (sow) and all the pigs died.

In the Shiloh/Snake Nation community, Dad had the reputation of being good with a knife when it came to castrating hogs.  This meant that I had to come along sometimes to help hold the patients while the surgery was performed.  The smaller pigs I held by the hind legs and their heads would just hang between my legs during the procedure.  The larger ones sometimes required two people to hold while the surgery was done.  One held the front legs and put their knee on the neck and the other one held the back legs.  The hog would be on his side sort of.  The procedure was an outpatient sort of thing.  Just daub a little medicine on the incision if you had it or just forget it.  Sure, they squealed a lot as they were cut, but; hey, they couldn’t sue anybody.  They tell me some people would cook and eat the testicles, our family never got that hungry or developed a taste for them.