126 The Natural Historic 



quite dead, yet in a few Hours they will recover and creep 

 about again; and it is a common saying in Carolina, that if 

 a Cat has nine Lives, a Possum has nineteen. Their Feet 

 are very white, soft, smooth, and without Hair, and have five 

 Toes upon each Foot, but the hinder Feet more resemble a 

 Man's Hand, with a Thumb and four Fingers, than the fore- 

 Feet do. Their Flesh is generally fat, white, and well tasted, 

 several Persons eat of them, especially the Indians and Ne- 

 groes, who prefer them before Pork, but their ugly Tails are 

 enough to put one out of Conceit with them. They climb 

 Trees as the Racoons do, and feed on Flesh, Poultry, Roots, 

 and most kinds of Fruits. Their Furr is not esteemed, and 

 therefore made very little use of, only that the Indians spin 

 it into Girdles and Garters. The Fat of this Beast is much 

 of the same E'ature of that of Hogs. The Testicles given 

 with Honey stir up Lust and cause Conception. 



That Animal which the People of Carolina call a Hare, is 

 nothing but a Hedge-Coney, for I never met with or heard 

 of any of the Species of the European Hares being in this 

 Province. The Hedge-Conies never Burrow in the Ground, 

 but continually frequent the Woods and Thickets, and if you 

 start one of them and pursue it, it generally runs up as far 

 as it can into a hollow Tree, in which case the Hunters make 

 a Fire and smoke the Tree, which brings it down, and most 

 commonly smothers it; though I have frequently seen them 

 pursued and taken by Hogs, yet I never observed any taken 

 after that manner, but their Bladders were ready to burst, 

 which the People in that Country would perswade me was a 

 Distemper amongst tliem, whereof they frequently die. Thej 

 hide their Young in some secret place from the discovery of 

 the Bucks, as the European Rahhets do, and arc of the same 



Size 



