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 mext 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 
7 
