230 PEPAOTON 



in Washington for "eighteen cents a month," and 

 their grandmother took care of them. 



Then I thought I would pump her about the 

 natural history of the place. 



" What was there in these woods, — what kind 

 of animals, — any ? " 



" Oh yes, sah, when we first come here to live in 

 dese bottoms de possums and foxes and things were 

 so thick you could hardly go out-o'-doors." A fox 

 had come along one day right where her mother 

 was washing, and they used to catch the chickens 

 "dreadful." 



" Were there any snakes 1 " 



"Yes, sah; black snakes, moccasins, and doctors." 



The doctor, she said, was a powerful ugly cus- 

 tomer; it would get right hold of your leg as you 

 were passing along, and whip and sting you to 

 death. I hoped I should not meet any "doctors." 



I asked her if they caught any rabbits. 



" Oh yes, we catches dem in ' gums. ' " 



" What are gums ? " I asked. 



" See dat down dare ? Dat 's a ' gum. ' " 



I saw a rude box-trap made of rough boards. It 

 seems these traps, and many other things, such as 

 beehives, and tubs, etc., are frequently made in 

 the South from a hollow gum-tree; hence the name 

 gum has come to have a wide application. 



The ducks flew quite briskly that night; I could 

 hear the whistle of their wings as I stood upon the 

 shore indulging myself in listening. The ear loves 

 a good field as well as the eye, and the night is the 



