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Years ago my precious Uncle Willie Wilson,
who is now in heaven, taught me a about respect, he taught me much more but this I remember well! He would get up early in the morning before day break and I would help him get his bath ready, just before
a hunt.
As I was turning this big tin tug over and wiping it clean I seen a spider, I immediately went to squash the little
pest. Luckily for the spider, my uncle had just turned and seen me. I said “so long spider!” Just then he grabbed
my arm. “No No” he said “that would have been our first kill today! We need bigger game”
“Besides I don’t want you killing spiders especially if you find them in your tub! What you do is pick
them up with a tissue paper, very gently, and put them outside, alive.
Another time the meat man came by, his name was Joe Watson Senior of Smithers, his two sons made the NHL Hockey league,
more then likely my Uncle prayed good luck to Joe Sr. The reason Joe would come
by, was, he had a pile of Cow’s feet, cut from the knee down, and give them to Uncle Willie. No one had use for them.
They would sit and chat, I loved old Joe, he was funny! I was just a little kid. He talk to Willie about some of the funny
things in the last butcher of a cow, and that the cow required eight shots instead of one, right between the eye’s.
Joe would say every time he went to pull the trigger the cow would move. Uncle would say you had to brace them down real good.
Joe would laugh and say well here are his feet. I would say, EEEYYH I’m not eating that! Uncle would say build a fire
outside on the ground. I was gone, ready to bill a fire. I loved building fires outside.
First Uncle would burn all the fur off the feet, and then scrap the black sot off the most horrible looking sight I’ve
ever seen. I was not eating that! Then he would clean the leg real good and put it into a large cooking vessel. You keep that
fire going he would say. As he turned, and went to do other chores, around the house.
I would sit there for what seemed like hours (3 to be exact) looking at that poor cow and wondering about how it wasn’t
the cow’s time, that’s why it took eight shots to put him down. Finally Uncle came out of the house with two
plates and salt and pepper. He laid one of the legs on a big platter and gently pulled the skin back and there lay some of
the most tender meat pieces, the marrow, the juiciest, most flavorful succulent meat, I’ve ever tasted. I was in heaven;
no one in the village ate as well as me and Uncle Willie that day! I Love my Uncle Willie! God be with you Uncle Willie, my
loving Dad, Uncle, my spirit protector, I will join you some day! From your baby boy Bobbie Edward Sebastian (Robert) now
54. Uncle Willie did this with Moose and deer, the only thing we
left of those animals was the hooves and bones, which we used for our dance regalia! Eat your hearts out, world! RES.
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