On the Horizon: Panther Tract

Panther Tract: Wild Boar Hunting in the Mississippi Delta by Melody Golding (Katrina: Mississippi Women Remember) features over 150 color photographs and tales that magnify the tradition-rich lore of dogs, horses, and hunters pursuing wild boar.Golding presents readers with an insider’s observance of extraordinary hunting, southern hospitality, camaraderie, and the love of dogs, horses, and hair raising excitement.

The photographs in the book are representative of a “day at the hunt,” starting at dawn and ending well after dark. Subjects include the Mississippi Delta landscape and  the people and animals involved in the hunt. Portraits of the hunters, and their interactions with one another and their dogs and horses, fascinate.

The tales center on vivid hunting experiences, both at Panther Tract—a large wilderness paradise in Yazoo County, owned by legendary southern gentleman Howard Brent—and in other locations in the Mississippi Delta. The narratives come from men, women, doctors, lawyers, judges, businessmen, politicians, farmers, sharecroppers’ sons, and even a Hollywood screenwriter.

The stories collected here range from traditional often humorous hunting tales to more serious accounts of the history of hog hunting in America. Hank Burdine, a Mississippi native and hunter who has written for many statewide publications, lends a broad vision to the history, statistics, and lore of hunting wild hogs. An appendix features boar recipes by Chef John Folse.

Panther Tract will be available in April from UPM. Click through for images from the book.