Excerpt: Family Memories

Truth Stranger Than Fiction

Death by Chicken

Great Great Uncle John was pecked to death by a chicken, at least according to his death certificate. You have to understand my maternal family is so country it is proud to be backwards. The Travis family was feuding, again. The woman of the house was a sister of two of the men outside. They had been shooting at each other for two days. Uncle John ventured outside because the cows HAD to be milked. He was shot, just grazed on the head, actually. The family inside was too afraid to go and retrieve him until after the cover of dark. He lay there from early morning, about seven, to evening, about nine. During that time the chickens, who were what is now called free range but then just considered to expensive to fence them in, had a field day with Uncle John. The coroner was another relative who did not want to take sides, as was the sheriff. Therefore the death certificate says Uncle John was pecked to death.