Unarmed Wilcox County hunter chased turkey gobbler on horseback, then ran the turkey down on foot

Biblical hunter Nimrod.

Spring turkey season is in full swing in Wilcox County, and I’m sure that many local hunters have had a good time trying to bring home one of these elusive sporting birds. Turkey hunters are a lot like most other hunters and fishermen in that they always have their fair share of entertaining hunting stories. I ran across one such story the other day while perusing an old edition of The Wilcox Progressive Era.

It was 88 years ago, in the April 19, 1934 edition of the newspaper, that readers saw an unusual turkey-hunting tale under the headline, “A THRILLING EXPERIENCE.” According to that story, S.J. Ervin of Rock West “proved himself a veritable Nimrod” on April 10, which was the last day of turkey season in 1934. (This year’s turkey season in Wilcox County doesn’t end until May 8.)

On that fateful day in 1934, Ervin had “gone on business into the swamp land of his plantation, riding horseback, and carried no gun. As he was jogging along at a slow gait, a fine turkey gobbler appeared some distance ahead of him. He immediately started in pursuit, running him through brush and briars until his horse gave out.”

At that point, Ervin quickly dismounted and began to chase the turkey on foot, running with all his might before finally capturing the bird. Once he had the turkey in hand, Ervin discovered that the turkey was missing some of the feathers on one of its wings, which prevented the bird from flying very high. Ervin and his horse were almost exhausted when they arrived home, but Ervin was “proud of his catch and enjoyed the thrilling race and the unusual and novel sport.”

After reading the story above, I did a little research, and I believe that S.J. Ervin was actually Samuel James Ervin Jr., who was born on New Year’s Eve in 1902. He would have been 33 years old in April 1934. From the sound of things, he was a remarkable man.

According to newspaper accounts, Ervin was a prominent Wilcox County cattleman and sportsman. In May 1959, he drowned in the Alabama River at Holley’s Ferry when he fell from a houseboat and into the river at night. His body wasn’t recovered until the next day.

His obituary said he was “widely known as an enthusiastic hunter and woodsman… an alumnus of Auburn and a strong supporter of the school’s football team, his interest in the sport taking him to many other games as well as those of his alma mater. He was an active planter and cattleman.”

I thought it was interesting that in 1934 the newspaper described Ervin as a “Nimrod,” a term that has largely fallen out of use. Nimrod was a character in the Bible, a great-grandson of Noah. In Genesis, Nimrod is described as a “mighty hunter before the Lord.”

In the end, I know that many hunters in the reading audience have their own hunting stories to tell. If you’ve got a good one that you’d like to share, please let me know. I’m especially interested in any old tall tales, ghost stories or local legends associated with hunting, so if you know of anything along these lines, please let me hear from you.