I always enjoy a good local story and try to share a few of those here on TAP as I stumble onto them. One such tale is the story of the “Varmint of Burke’s Garden” that dates back to the 1950s in Tazewell County, Virginia. The reason this story jumped out at me was due to the fact that I once knew a varmint from Burke’s Garden back in my (very brief, thank God) loan collecting days. The scallywag (I try to use that word whenever I get the chance, I just like the sound of it) had gone severely delinquent on his truck loan and made off with an old Chevy he had kept hidden for a good while by using a “Farm Use” tag. We finally tracked him down and recovered the truck after much chase and trickery. We went so far as to have a guy hide under some leaves behind a tree stump to jump in the truck and take off with it while we had his attention diverted. The plan worked to perfection and that is enough about that varmint, this story is about THE Varmint of Burke’s Garden…

The Burke’s Garden Varmint was a wild creature that roamed Burke’s Garden back in the 1950s that decimated the local livestock numbers. He is said to have killed well over 400 sheep in his nearly year-long reign of terror. Local residents were at a loss to stop the predator and were unsure as to what it was that was doing so much damage (estimated at over $32,000 worth in total). Traps and other attempts to stop the killer were futile.

The Tazewell County Board of Supervisors decided to contract with an experienced big-game hunter from Arizona, Clell Lee, to track down the menace. Lee arrived to a lukewarm reception from the local community but went about his business of finding out what had been the source of so much destruction. He soon discovered a track located inside a block of ice that indicated it was the work of a large coyote. The finding was quite surprising to local residents as there hadn’t been a coyote sighting in the area before.

Lee’s trained dogs soon picked up the scent of the coyote and the hunt began. Lee, along with the sheriff and other local residents, headed out to find the animal and put an end its killing spree. The first night ended without finding the coyote but Lee insisted they start back out again the next morning at daybreak. The decision was somewhat controversial as the following morning was a Sunday and local citizens had always held that was a day of rest and going to church, not suitable for hunting.

The dogs soon found the scent of the coyote that morning and gave chase in a hunt that lasted for several hours. Finally, in a scene fitting for an old western movie, the coyote was found and shot dead in the Joe Moss Cemetery by a Burke’s Garden resident named Alfred Jones. As you might expect, the coyote wasn’t given a proper burial despite meeting his Waterloo in a cemetery. The Varmint was found to weigh in at 35 pounds and 4 ½ feet in length with fangs extending for a full inch.

The coyote was then hung from a tree just outside the local courthouse where it was held on display for a good while with an estimated 7,500 people coming to view its body. A celebration dinner was held in Clell Lee’s honor and he was quite the local celebrity. The Burke’s Garden Varmint was stuffed and now resides on display inside the Crab Orchard Museum in Tazewell, Virginia.

As for that other varmint from Burke’s Garden, I saw him not too long ago and he is alive and well – not that I want him shot or anything. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to hear that he was still creating mischief in the area…