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Jake was an exceedingly powerful swimmer who demonstrated his swimming abilities in remarkable ways. An incident that stands out in my mind is the time he was swept downstream in flood stage. In winter the placid Mattole became a churning brown torrent, with tree trunks and huge branches shooting down it faster than a man could run. One day, after a series of hard winter storms, I walked down to view the dramatic spectacle of the high water. A path that formerly had taken us onto the rocky river bar, now disappeared beneath muddy, lapping floodwaters. Awestruck at how fast the turbulent water was racing by, I tossed out a stick to see how rapidly it would be carried past. Jake, who was standing behind me, thought the stick was thrown for him and without hesitation he leaped in after it. Instantly Jake was swept off by the current and within two or three seconds had disappeared from sight. There was nothing for me to do but stand in place, wondering if I would ever find Jake’s body, while the minutes crawled by like eternities. About ten minutes later there came Jake racing up the riverbank, dodging through the dense brush and half-submerged willows on his way back to me. It was one of many times Jake pulled off such feats. He seemed to go through life surrounded by a magic charm.
When he was about five, Jake tested his skills as a stock-dog on the working ranches of the Mattole Valley.....
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Driving cattle on the Clark Ranch
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