Roscoe Riddle was an original. I don't remember where he was originally from, but he had lived around Ohio City, Colorado for about 300 years when we started hanging around there in '68. He had been a hard rock miner, lumber jack, cowboy, ladies man (at least until his teeth were gone), and his last job was leaning on a shovel and watching "hippie” chicks for the county.

Roscoe had always been a man of means by no means, but he knew how to feed his kids. One winter in the early "60's they put him in the county jail for poaching "Rabbits" as he put it. Now you need to understand that Buck-Doe combination was a cowboy code word for deer, and having been caught feeding his kids and anyone else around who was hungry, the county decided "you just can't have people helping themselves", so they put him in jail.

After a few weeks his wife came to the jail and told the sheriff that they didn't have any food at home and could he help her get on food stamps so she could feed the kids and anyone else who was hungry. So the sheriff let Roscoe out of jail so he could go "Rabbit Hunting" to save the county a bundle of food stamps. I don't think Roscoe ever went to trial, and I'm pretty sure they decided to just let old Roscoe feed his kids and anyone else who was hungry.

So just remember if you decide to "hunt rabbits", be sure it's to feed your kids and anyone else who is hungry.

Rocky Mountain Hunting Maps is neither advocating poaching nor any other illegal activity. Of course if you do decide to hunt rabbits....

Life's an adventure. Get a map. Edwin Watters