You might remember my great Uncle Enoch.

He was the only survivor of a test firing of the infamous double barreled cannon in the early years of the Civil War and later shot a horse out from under General Sherman during the battle of Waynesboro in 1864.

Uncle Enoch lived a long and colorful 107 years.

He had seven toes on his left foot and only three on his right. During his stint in the army his digital imbalance manifested itself in his inability to traverse terrain in a straight line.

After the war Enoch, having been granted a small Confederate pension, bought a few acres of land and a mule of disagreeable temperament. He had never farmed so his neighbors quietly questioned the wisdom of his agricultural endeavors.

Their doubts were well founded.

One day Enoch was attempting to convince the ornery animal to pull a plow when the mule suddenly flung his back end into the air and attempted to kick Enoch. He managed to dodge the assault but when the mule came down one of its hooves landed directly on top of his left foot instantly severing three of the seven toes.

It was weeks before Enoch was able to walk but when he did, with only four toes remaining on his left foot and the original three on his right, he was, for the first time in his life, able to walk somewhat normally.

He deemed the incident to be miracle and in his thankfulness immediately vowed to give up liquor.

Unfortunately, quitting alcohol didn’t make him any less unintelligent.

Enoch was not a ladies man, but, having gained a bit of wartime notoriety, he was not totally devoid of female companionship.

One year he met a woman named Annie when he was in Savannah with some of his kinsmen. They had walked to the coast to bring back salt and coffee.

She was up from the Everglades of Florida, rough as an armadillo’s backside and meaner than a copperhead. She wore overalls and brogan boots. She’d brought a load of alligator meat to Savannah to be sold in the markets.

For reasons known only to God, Enoch was smitten.

He immediately asked the woman if she would allow him to court her.

“You can if you can find your way to my swamp,” she grunted around a wad of tobacco in her jaw, then added, “I’m a lady. Don’t bring your sorry self without a gift in hand.”

As soon as possible Enoch set out for Florida.

He made it all the way to Annie’s home without incident. When he spotted her shanty on the edge of the glades he paused to take in the sight. There she sat in a cane bottomed chair on the porch, corn cob pipe clenched in her teeth, skinning a possum.

Suddenly he remembered that he’d forgotten to bring a gift. He began to panic but before he could ponder the problem, out of nowhere he was attacked by a Florida black panther.

He fought with all his might against the whirlwind of claws and teeth. One minute the panther had the upper hand, then Enoch gained control and pinned the animal to the ground. The animal wriggled free and the fight was on again.

For what felt like forty days and forty nights Enoch and the panther battled while Annie just sat and watched. The struggle rolled into Annie’s yard where he was finally able to grab a horsehair rope and hogtie the beast.

Struggling for air and lying flat on his back Enoch looked up to see Annie smiling down at him.

“I wish you’d brung me a dog. I ain’t partial to cats,” she said. “But, it is a thoughty gift so I reckon we can commence proper courtin’ and sparkin’ now.”

“Another miracle,” Enoch thought. He immediately swore to quit cussing.

Annie set about patching up Enoch’s wounds and thus began an improbable relationship that lasted many years.

She kept the panther. He gave it a wide berth.

When Enoch returned to Georgia the clan gathered around to hear all about his trip.

Not the least bit gifted in conversational skills he answered most of the inquiries with a muttered “yup” or “nah.” But then one of the ladies asked him what Annie looked liked.

Enoch beamed as if picturing his beloved.

“Well, she ain’t all that ugly and some of her teeth ain’t quit her yet.”

Romantic attraction. Who can explain it?

Enoch continued to travel to Florida to see Annie and never again had to fight any wild creatures to win her affection.

That’s the true tale as I know it.

Don Lively is a retired police officer and freelance writer. He lives in Shell Bluff. Email Don at Livelycolo@aol.com