Panther Tract
Panther Tract
Wild Boar Hunting in the Mississippi Delta
Hunting wild boar is a keenly held tradition in the Mississippi Delta. Fraught with danger, it challenges the hunter, observer, wildlife enthusiast, and landowner alike. Panther Tract is an insider’s observance of extraordinary hunting, southern hospitality, camaraderie, and the love of dogs, horses, and hair-raising excitement. The over 160 photographs are representative of a “day at the hunt,” starting at dawn and ending well after dark. 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.
Melody Golding’s photographs focus on the Delta landscape and on the people and animals involved in the hunt. Portraits of the hunters, and their interactions with one another and their dogs and horses, fascinate. An award-winning photographer and an expert horsewoman, Golding brings a knowledgeable and critical eye to these images. The stories she collects 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 hunt recipes by Chef John Folse and philosophy on the stewardship of harvesting the hog. A colorful and diverse assemblage of beautiful photographs and tales, this book reveals a treasured regional tradition.
Melody Golding is an author, a photographer, and an artist. The Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History Archives Center acquired her solo documentary exhibit on Hurricane Katrina and her documentary photography and oral history project on wild boar hunting in the Mississippi Delta. Her photographs are on display at the Department of Homeland Security and have been featured in solo exhibitions at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC, and at numerous universities, colleges, and museums. She is author of Katrina: Mississippi Women Remember and Life Between the Levees: America’s Riverboat Pilots, both published by University Press of Mississippi. Learn more about her work at www.melodygolding.com.
