490 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Jul-? 21, 1881* 



onvmend Cr x ked Lake, Mich., as just the spot f or a sports- 

 man, and a delightful place to camp or hoard. Thenars and 

 pickerel flshi.v is first-class, in fact, for lake fishing cannot 

 be excelled. Passing through a narrow channel from Crooked 

 Lake into Pickerel Lake brings you to a beautiful sheet of 

 ■water and fine pickerel and bass fishing. In rowing to the 

 fishing grounds one passes oVfer many places, where, in ten 

 minutes' time, can be caught with hook and line all the min- 

 nows one can use lor the day. 



The air on and about these lakes is wonderfully cool and 

 bracing, the scenery is beautiful. The angler is never 

 troubled with mosquitoes; in fact, a fisherman's paradise. 



Crooked Lake is six miles from Petoskey, the northern ter- 

 minus of the (.'rand Rapids and Indiana R. R. Rales low, 

 accommodations first-class. 



I have fished in these waters once or twice every year for 

 the past eight years, and always with big success. Shall be 

 pleased to furnish any information desired. G. S. F. 



MORE LIGHT ON THE 'POSSUM PUZZLE. 



DONE INTO POETRY. 



Delaware, Ohio, July, 1881. 

 Kdiior Ft/rest and Stream: 



Thinking I might possibly be able to throw some light on 

 the vexed question of " How to cook dat 'possum," I inter- 

 viewed my ancient colored friend, Uncle Dan'l, with the fol- 

 lowing re"sull. Ilia views, 1 think, settle, the question at 

 once and forever. Age and experience have spoken, and he 

 must, indeed, be hypercritical and hard to please who does 

 not accept this colored" Nestor's dictum. Listen, then, while 



T7MT.K DAH'L SPEAKS. 



" Iz I ebber cooked a 'possum!" 



Yah ! yah ! yah i you'z shoutin, now I 



•' Warfter know the way to boss 1m v" 

 Kim ! any fool nlgga tell yo' how. 



"'Possum up a"- — wat'S flat, honey? 

 " War I (Inks fte beslosf way 1 .'" 



" Cooney In a" ill light, sonny, 



l w sraeiouB— gltOn day! 

 ',' Nebber seed a 'possum cooliln'?-' 



Lawd ! Mass Eat J . wha's you bawn ? 

 '""peps 5 pu -vi.jii j ov d been a lookur, 



W en olo Gab'el blows he's ha wn. 

 'Members when I— wat yo sayln' '.' 

 " V, nut to know the. ras-sy-pee': " 

 Drat dem dogs-how dey'a a bayln' ! 

 Vou J lm you, luff dat wtskcy be ! 



Tell yO' war— dey ain't most muliu 



Welter ■ t r, n wat 'possum am. 

 Yo' Nancy, wat yo' ttoin', cutttn' 



Dat pore little, tn'sunt lam' ! 



Ves, IX gwlne to tell you, shorely : 



poavr ye Lurry du oh; man. 

 llezaleellir i-adderporely ; 



IMus'n't (luster Uncle T)an 

 Bestest may / know to cook 1m, 



Tz, to ketch yo' 'possum fast. 

 Mine dem low wlte trash doau' honk 'lm, 



CJaze dey 'll do it, sltn, or bust! 



T>en you— hole on da, Mass Harry, 



Tell you In free minutes mo'. 

 Den you-" paint got time to tarry ?" 



Vo'ze In a pow'ful hurry, sho' i 



Well, mas, 



Hopes P 

 Den I'll [(■ 



i's.v'l' 



•mus' be. goln', 

 )','morrer night,; 



)'ze yoll know 'lm, 



HOW to ( 



ook da 



L 'possum right 1 



servants, broke out into Open revolt. " The ugly little rat," 

 —so did they revile the royal 'possum— " should not be 

 cooked in thai house, nor touched nor allowed to remain. I 

 had better get my friend Matt or take it to him, or perhaps 

 invite him to dinner. Indeed the latter course was much 

 preferable, but that beast, ugh ! take it away." In vain I 

 begged and pleaded, in vain explained, quoted the Forest 

 and Stream, aud expatiated on the 'possum's dainty diet of 

 persimmons. All was useless -, the lovely prospect was fad- 

 ing away, and on the kitchen tab'e lay the 'possum, and 

 seemed to grin sarcastically at me as I ruefully contemplated 

 him. 



However, I was resolved, Mid, silencing all opposition, I 

 announced that / would prepare and cook the 'possum rny- 

 felf, aud then, then, when he lay upon the dish done to a 

 turn, browned to the proper color, bathed in a delicious 

 aroma, such as never before had been inhaled by those 

 Northern blue noses, then would I be both revenged and re- 

 warded. So after supper I caused a large kettle o£ water to 

 be boiled, to which I added a quantitvof hard- wood ashes 

 making a Strong lye, and plunged the 'possum in. Now 

 Matt had said that this was the way to take the hair off, and 

 llitft it, would come off at once. It did not, but the skin 

 commenced conn ng off mv hands very rapidly. So, determined 

 to conquer, I put on a pair of light shooting gloves— buck- 

 skin— and at it I went, scraping that 'possum. 



Oli ! the memories of that contest, both hands full of lye 

 and hair, my heart full of rage aud disappointment, the air 

 nearly blue with, well — adjectives. 1 could not smoke for I 

 could not bring my hands near my face to touch pipe or ci- 

 gar, and oh ! how the hair on that beast did stick ! I got it 

 done about midnight, aud, if the 'possum was not parboiled, 

 my hands were, and ihe smell of the lye made me sick. I 

 then cleaned the brute, cut off its head, feet and tail, when 

 it. looked like a little pig, and quite presentable. The next. 

 day I bribed the cook into agneing lo bake il, following my 

 directions, which 1 gave according to Matt. 



On the next evening behold me, seated a' the table, sur- 

 rounded by an admiring— though doubtful — family, whom 

 my determination aud faith had almost converted to the en- 

 thusiastic belief that I had iu the 'possum for which I so 

 impatiently waited. Now was my hour of triumph, now was 

 my faith about to he rewarded. I expressed some com eniptu- 

 ons pity for narrow prejudices, some approbation for those 

 great minds who know and recognize a good thing, even be- 

 fore Ihey see it; and then, aminging liiy napkin, I ordered 

 in Hie 'possum. He came. I recognized .Vlatt's description ; 

 there was the plump, golden btowu body, there the rich 

 gravy trickling down the juicy sides on the brown slices of 

 potatoes. I cut off a slice : the rich aroma rushed out. It 

 seemed a little slraoge; rather strong, so to speak, but I 

 would not yield. With u smile (a trifle" mechanical) I cut off 

 a piece and put it in my mouth. Why, oh. why! did my 

 mind wandt r back to the night before ? Why did I see the 

 kitchen, the table, the lye, the half-scraped, parboiled thing 

 1 hnd worked on so hard ? Why did memory and my nausea 

 rise up together and my heart and stomach fail me? 



About eleven o'clock that night (after a cup of strODg lea 

 and a slice of dry toast) I ventured on a mild cigar, and ex- 

 plained to my wife that, while one should always investigate, 

 the study of natural history should not be carried too 

 far. 



I have heard of an " auld Scotch wife," too fond of moun- 

 tain dew, win, overcome by her poiatioos, sat down upon a 

 rock by the seaside at low water, imd then fell asleep. As 

 the tide rose she was gradually covered, until at last the 

 wavelets rippled upm and splashed her face aud lips She 

 was found in this dangerous predicament, and murmuring iu 

 maudlin tones: "Na, na, nae ane ither drap, ither hot or 

 cauld." 

 And such is my position on the "'possum " question. 



Mark North. 



A MINNESOTA LAWYER'S EXPERIENCE. 



St. Paul, Minn., July Iff. 

 Editor Forest and Stream : 



An old subscriber and an attentive reader of your excellent 

 paper, I have become much interested in the 'possum ques- 

 tion now being so ably debated by your Southern corres- 

 pondents, and if it may be permitted to a resident of this 

 Northern region to intervene iii the discussion of a matter 

 which pertains so peculiarly to more favored climes, and 

 which already shows a decidedly rising temperature, I crave 

 permission to ''give you a breeze" from the Northwest upon 

 the subject, and to cast a feeble ray of "Northern light" 

 upon the argument. 



Let it not be inferred at this point that I desire to be "set 

 down as one who loves his 'possum cold," or who, upon the 

 other hand, fires his intellect and beats his argument with 

 'possum hot, I fight under neither banner. In a word, I 

 simply wish to give ray own sad experience in attempting to 

 prepare, cook and eat a 'possum. 



During the winter of 1879-80, while being shaved, my par- 

 ticular barber, who had, after the manner of his crafl, dis- 

 cussed almost every subject, took a fresh grip, and broke 



out: "You is very fond of huntin', Mr. ." "Why, 



yes, Matt," I replied; "you know I am." "Ever hunt 

 down South, sah?" "No, I never was down South though 

 I should like, of all things, to spend a winter there." "Dar 

 do place fer huntin', sah," said Matt, "an' de 'possum! 

 Shorely you don't know wat's good, sah, twel you've done 

 cat 'possum." 



I had plenty of time, and I liked to start Matt, and seeing 

 that he needed but slight encouragement, I said, "Tell me 

 all about the 'possums, Matt." And he did. Details would 

 be wearisome ; nor could I do his eloquence justice as he 

 descanted ou the 'possum, winding up by saying that he had 

 seen some for sale at a game market on Jackson street ; that 

 they had been sent up from the South, and had been "froze 

 just right." 



It was loo much for me. The picture he drew of the 

 brown, juicy, delicious dish that could be evolved from "dat 

 'possum" captivated my Northern appetite, already shar- 

 pened by a Minnesota winter temperature, and I listened to 

 the voice of the tempter— and fell. I sent the porter for one 

 of " dem 'possums." He brought him to the shop, arousing 

 the wildest enthusiasm in the entire corps of tonsorial artisis, 

 and after receiving full and minute instructions as to its 

 preparation and cooking, I carried home my prize. 



Here my misfortunes began, The little animal so wor- 

 shipped in the barber shop had suddenly become an object of 

 aversion and disgust. Aided and abetted by my wife (usu- 

 ally docile and obedient) the entire family, iucluding the 



auce resulted in the collision b-tween Lewis and our planet. 

 Catching up with the varmint, Lewis turned him loose to 

 wander at hiswil. And never, hardly ever, will he ever 

 believe a dead 'possum. O. G. G. 



Bui rib ridge, Ga. 



From the August ScriOner's just at hand we take these 

 " Aphorisms irom the Quarlers :" 



"'Tai n't easy to find a man dat kin git tuo' 'teulion arter 

 he's he's dead dan de Chrts'mus 'po-suni." 



"Dar's right sharp good sehooiiu' in tie tail of a 'possum : 

 nebber let go a thing long as dar's a chance let'." 



" A good 'possum dog may tell a lie by accident, but you 

 can't proobe it on him ef de tree's holler."' 



" De 'coon puts up de bes' fight, but de 'possum is heap de 

 smarter au' is got de bes' edication." 



ANOTHER 'POSSUM TALE. 



LEWIS ROBB, our barber, six feet in height, one hun- 

 dred and seventy-five pounds, is passionately fond of 

 hunting sly Reynard. To enjoy this fascinating pastime 

 Lewis will mount anything in the shape of horse-flesh. 



Not many moons ago Lewis determined to try the chase. 

 After seeking iu vain to oluain a horse he hired a little active 

 mule from a colored brother. Mounted, his long legs almost 

 touched the ground, as the little mule cantered along with 

 him to the merry green wood. Lewis was in high spirits. 

 The moon, at her full, shone in resplendent glory. His well- 

 trained dogs at his heels bayed joyously over the prospect of 

 a race after the cunning old fox. The little mule pricked up 

 his ears, cut a few playful antics with the long-eared hounds 

 that now and then sniffed at his heels, and nimbly hied away 

 over the long, Jong wire grass. 



Soon they are upon the hunting ground. The old veteran 

 of the pack takes a sniff of the ground, and announces by a 

 deep-mouthed bay that be scents the prey. Join in his cry 

 the opening pack, and away they speed, making the welkin 

 ring with music sweeter to the hunter's ear than that of his 

 mistress. Lewis, thanks to the activity of his mule, keeps 

 well up, expecting every moment to rouse sly Reynard from 

 his hiding-place. A half-mile is left behind*! Suddenly the 

 doga fiercely bay something in a log. Lewis rides up to find 

 a large opossum seated in the forks of the fallen tree, growling 

 defiance at bis foes. Encouraged by the presence of their mas- 

 ter the dogs seize and drag the prey to the ground. Visions 

 of " baked 'possum and tater" floated thr/ugh Lewis' brain 

 so vividly thai he. dismounted and rescued the 'possum from 

 the hounds. Knowing the cunning creature's art of feigning 

 death he determined to break his neck ; so, planting a foot 

 on his neck and seizing the tail, he pulled withjnight and 

 main. Satisfied that the brute was dead, he tied him on be- 

 hind, and proceeded on his hunt. He had not gone far be- 

 lore his little mule stopped short, and seemed to reflect for a 

 moment. Then, as though stricken with " St. Vitus " dance, 

 he commenced capering wildly madly and vigorously over 

 the wire grass. "Whoa! whoa! mule! whoa!" yells 

 Lewis, ' ' who-o-o-eh !" But he don't, whoa, but fans the air 

 rapidly with his hind legs, and Lewis shoots out of the sad- 

 dle, over his head, to mother earth, splitting the wire grass 

 with his head, " as boats are sometimes by a wanton whale." 

 Mule sheds the saddle by slipping through the girth, runs 

 a short distance, stops, turns around, and snorts vigor- 

 ously. Lewis, rises, rubbing his bruises, catches the mule, 

 looks around for his saddle, and lo! the opossum is running 

 away with it. The cause of his disaster was apparent. Tired 

 ' of his peculiar confinement, and rousing from his feigned 

 death, the 'possum, in his efforts to get away, commenced 

 1 tickling the mule's flanks with sharp claws, which perform- 



^utarnl l§i$torv 



SOME OF THE BATS OF WESTCHESTER CO., N. Y. 



BATS, through superstition and prejudice, have long 

 been looked upon in anything but a favorable light. 

 Their satanic wings and noiseless flight, their reputation of 

 hopelessly entangling heads of hair, and worst of all as car- 

 riers of C'iniex ieotularis, may be among the causes which 

 place them in disfavor. But to the unprejudiced what class 

 of mammals are more interesting with their little bird-like 

 eyes, long, erect ears, and dog-like faces, enlivened by the 

 sight of their small, needle-like leeth, and spitful, grating 

 squsak when they are disturbed or imposed upon ? To us 

 they are beautiful, regardless of their somewhat clumsy 

 body, their seemingly' unproportioned limbs, and the ques- 

 tionable report that they are introducers of the bed bug. The 

 entrance of this torment into our houses would, we thiuk, be 

 better referred to other sources than the little bat, yet the 

 bats which we have examined may have been uuusually for- 

 tunate in not having these peats upon. them. 



Bats may become a nuisance, by "jeir numbers, as in the 

 case cited by Dr. Harrion Allen, In his Monograph (p. 17 of 

 introduction), where nearly twelve thousand had to be killed 

 before a certain house could become tenantable, ou account 

 of odor, noise, etc. 



Interesting as the bats are, 'they aie the motf, difficult to 

 observe, on account of their nocturnal and secluded habits. 

 This accounts for so little being known regarding their his- 

 tory, period of gestation, and the manner of taking care of 

 their young. 



Wc first see the bats after emerging from their winter 

 quarters, late in March or early in April, depending a good 

 deal on the weather. In some early springs a few may he seen 

 by the first of March, but this is exceptional. They do nut 

 go into winter quarters until the November storms cut off 

 their supply of food ; occasionally they may be seen in mid- 

 winter after a few days of warm weather, just at. sunset or 

 soon after. Bats may he easily aroused from their hibernat- 

 ing sleep. Some boys a few wiuters ago, eager for ad von - 

 Hire, entered the old silver mine situated a. short distance 

 south of this village. This mine was worked just betore dr 

 soon after Ihe Revolutionary war; which, is uncertain. 

 Quite a number of bats were found there, aud the boys, 

 knowing our weakness for them, fried to caleh some ; but as 

 soon as 'they advanced near the bats with their torches, they 

 would fly to a more remote portion of the mine. 



While feeding bats go singly, in pairs or flicks. We re- 

 member one evening in ihe early part of last fall, just before 

 a thunder storm, seeing a hnndred or more feeding over a 

 field to the lee of a clump of woods. The flock was com- 

 po?ed mostly of little brown bats and red bats. The. field 

 being comparatively small, it was a lively scene. 



We have noticed the following species : 



Atahpha (la.nv.rvn) novcl/oraceiisis. (Erxleben) Cones- 

 Red bat ; New York bat. 



This, one of ihe most common bats, may be seen any 

 evening in summer, just afier the sun has set, being the first 

 of the b >ls to make their appearance Even at times they 

 may be seen on Ihe shady side of some wood, half an hour 

 or more before sunset. We have seen ihem flying in cloudy 

 weather at noon time, but this is unusual. During the day 

 they may often be seen suspended from limbs of trees in the 

 fnli'.gf, seeking crevices and holes leas frequently than the 

 other bats-. Their flight Tesembles somewhat that of the 

 larger moths more than the narrow-winged bat. We 

 have made the mistake in the darkness and shot a cecro- 

 pian moth, thinking it to be a bat of this species. We have 

 never taken the pregnant female. Prof, B. G. Wilder (Pop. 

 8ci. Mo., No. 42, p. 651) states that two specimens which he 

 examined each contained three foetuses. AtaUipha (UiMv.nu) 

 cinereus. (Beauvois) Coues. Hoary bat. 



This rare bat we have never seen," although it doubtless oc- 

 curs. Mr. J. A. Allen considers it the rarest species in 

 Massachusetts. (Mammalia, Mam., p. 308.) 



Vespertilw (Yigperitu) fusous. (Beauvois.) Carolina Brown 

 Bat. 



This bat is third in frequency ; some years more common 

 than others. They are the last to make their appearance in 

 the evening. In l act when it gets so dark that objects are 

 blended in one uncertain mass, and the bat hunter finds he is 

 unable to shoot with any precision, the Carolina bats make 

 their appearance as mere dark shadows Hitting here and there, 

 while busily engaged in catching insects. We have to make 

 a snap shot as they dodge in aud out from behind the dark 

 tree tops, and are left in doubt as to the result until in the 

 gloom we may perchance see our little black and tan, seem- 

 ingly as interested in the results as we are, pointing the dead 

 animal. This species is particularly fond of fields well sur- 

 rounded by trees. There three or four will feed until dark- 

 ness hides them; they may feed all night, at least a few years 

 ago while "suggaring " for moth we have seen them as late 

 as one o'clock a. m. 



Vespertilio (Vesper ago) yeortjixmuti. (Cuvier.) Georgian 

 Bat. 



We have no record of this bat, it. probably occurs. Mr, J. 

 A. Allen gives it as "not excessively rare" in Massachusetts. 

 (iiarmno'iaojSJa^.,^. 208.) 



V&pertilh (Yt una ■ftfes I noctiaiyons. (Le Conte.) Silver 

 Black Bat. Silver Haired Bat, 



We have never seen but two specimens of this bat, one 

 male shot June 15, 1881, the other a fe.ma'e killed June 24. 

 1881. In flying they resemble the Carolina bat, but unlike 

 tbem they leave theirhiding places early in the evening. Both 

 the above were the first specimens shot on the respective 

 evenings. The female contained two young, well-developed, 

 and probably would have been delivered in a few days. The 



