The Opossums 



economic status in relation to the interests of mankind, there 

 can be little doubt that the pile containing the matter, animate and 

 inanimate, whose destruction is an advantage to us would be 

 notably the larger." 



The Negroes of the Southern States feel that the possum 

 was especially created for their benefit and delight. They say, 

 perhaps with truth, that no white man can ever fully appreciate 

 the delicious joy of a moonlight possum hunt, or the delicate 

 flavour of roasted possum. There are plenty of white people 

 who do enjoy hunting possums by the light of the moon, and 

 eating their game the next day; but the varying degrees of 

 happiness are not to be measured, and the exquisite enjoyment 

 that the possum yields the darkey may only be guessed at. 

 There is considerable similarity between a possum hunt and a 

 coon hunt, so far as method is concerned. The Negroes like 

 best to go in parties with two or three cur dogs along. Besides these 

 there must be an axe, at least one antiquated fowling-piece and 

 a sack for carrying the game. When the dogs start off on a 

 hot trail, the darkies follow as best they may, stumbling along 

 over rocks and stumps among the shadows. The possum 

 frightened by the racket behind him soon takes to a tree for 

 safety and flattens himself down on a branch or snuggles up in 

 a crutch, trusting to remain unobserved. 



But the Negroes flourishing their pitch-pine torches endeavour 

 to locate their game by the glitter of its eyes in the flickering 

 light, and if the tree is too big to cut down and difficult to 

 climb, the rusty old firearm is brought into play. But as a 

 general thing they much prefer capturing their possum alive if 

 possible, either knocking him from his perch with a pole or chopping 

 down the tree. 



As soon as he strikes the ground, dogs and niggers fall up- 

 on him in one struggling, yelling heap, the dogs eager to kill 

 the possum and their masters to get it away from them un- 

 injured, and it is most astonishing how much rough handling an 

 opossum can put up with without serious injury. 



Sometimes he is carried home swinging by his tail from the 

 end of a stick which has been split and snapped onto that 

 member in such a manner as to hold him perfectly helpless. 



The darkies' idea in taking him home alive, is to fatten for 

 a few weeks in captivity, joyfully overlooking the mere question 



