3 So SPORTING ADVENTURES 



has rather a rat-like appearance, a resemblance which is in- 

 creased by its long-, round, and prehensile cauda. 



The darkies are the great enemies of this little creature also, 

 and hunt it through woods, brakes, and briars, with mongrel 

 dogs that have been trained to the chase. Persimmon thickets 

 are favourite places for a meet, as the animal is very fond 

 of this acrid fruit, and frequents its vicinity during the 

 night. When the dogs have started the wily 'possum they 

 run it up a tree or sapling, and there they remain and yelp 

 until the coloured Nimrods arrive on the scene in a state of 

 breathless excitement. When the 'possum's position is known, 

 some one climbs to its retreat and knocks or shakes it down, 

 when the dogs finish it in a few moments. Its flesh is highly 

 prized by the negroes, and they would travel far to obtain it. 

 There is much fun to be gleaned from one of their hunts, as 

 they get wild over the baying of the dogs, and indulge in the 

 most grotesque remarks about their capture. 



Squirrels may be counted by the millions in the West and 

 South-west, there being some twelve or fourteen species of the 

 Sciurns, about the same number of the Spermopkiles or ground- 

 squirrels, four of the Pteromys or flying squirrels, four of the 

 Tamias or striped squirrels, and two species of prairie dogs 

 the common and the short-tailed. Add to these the Arctomys 

 or ground-hog, and the showtl (Aplodontia leporina), and it 

 will be seen that small game is abundant enough. 



Although these creatures seem to be created for the 

 special purpose of feeding the larger carnivora, yet they 

 form no small portion of the food of the wandering Indians. 

 I have spent some pleasant hours in shooting them with 

 arrows, and my captures were eagerly sought by hungry 

 warriors or by chiefs with fierce-sounding names. The red 

 men coax the little animals out of their burrows by chirping 

 with the lips, and as soon as they appear at the entrance to 

 learn what the strange sound signifies, an arrow is sent twang- 

 ing into their skull with a force that sends it through from 

 side to side. 



To hunt wood squirrels successfully, small curs or terriers 

 ought to be used, for the moment they tree one of the nimble 



