AMERICAN S PG RTSM A N'S J OUR MAI, 



TorniK, Four Hollars n, Year. 

 Ten Cents a Copy. 



NEW YORK, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1879. 



For Forest and Stream and Hod and Gun. 

 EGO. 



I CANNOT think as o'hcrs think, 

 Nor feel as others feel, 

 With heads as wise as Socrates, 



And hearts aa cool as steel ; 

 My wisdom Is all womanly, 



My logic only love, 

 And my whole life a cross between 

 The serpent and the dove. 



It seems to me so very strange 



To love and uever show It ; 

 To And a pearl that cannot change 



And not appsar to Know It : 

 To Keep one's kisses for the dead, 



One's Kinducas for the dying. 

 Oh, when such notions flood my head 



They almost set me ciylng. 



Bnt then you know I am not wise. 



For love Is ull my learning ; 

 I Sf e things with the single eyes 



Of truth, that seek no turning. 

 My spide is nothing hut a spade, 



My heart is Jmt a heart, 

 And if you call me an old maid 



I Btiall not even start. 



The wonder to me all day long 



Is how I keep so blithe, 

 Flitting with laughter and with eong 



About Time's busy scyihe. 

 The wise say life's a wilderness ; 



To me it's full of flowers, 

 Toat raise iheir cheery Utile heads 



More biightiy after showers. 



So, when all's said, I greatly fear 



Tnat I shall ne'er improve, 

 Bnt weave my foolish fancies still 



Round ray congenial groove. 

 Experience It, Is worse than waste ; 



No profit from the past ; 

 I must put up with my own taste, 



And die myself— at last! 

 Jersey, Deo., 18T8. A. M. V. 



For Forest and Stream, and Rod and Gun. 



^°°i{ *tid 'H£as8tm( Ranting iij 

 JHefttumrq.—Jjlo. J. 



READER, did you ever participate in a 'coon hunt ? If 

 not, let me introduce you to one that took place in 

 Delaware a couple of years ago. This is not an exceptional 

 one, but one of many that I have taken part in during the 

 last score of years. . 



It was at the close of a beautiful day in November, in the 

 Indian-summer time— that most enjoyable season of the 

 •whole year to a sportsman— I was seated in a comfortable 

 arm-chair in an old-fashioned parlor, enjoying a pipe after a 

 day's partridge shooting, when my friend and sporting 

 companion (Tom) walked in, and, in an abrupt, off-hand 

 manner, said : 



"How would you like to go huntin' to-night ?" 



"What shull we hunt?" I asked. 



" We'll find something to hunt," he replied. "I'll take 

 my old dog Lion, and 'we'll get Sammy's Nee and 

 Romus ; and Bob Brown has a brace or two, and Sam 

 Short has an old cur that's mighty good on 'coons and 

 'possums (and I reckon Sam'll go along), and after we once 

 get started there's plenty of dogs from York Landin' will 

 follow us, and we'll put in a night. I know you'll like it if 

 you're not too tired. You used to enjoy fox huntin', and I 

 know you'll see some fun." 



" When do you expect to return ?" I inquired. 



"Oh, somewhere along about one or two o'clock ; just ac- 

 eordin' to how the dogs run." 



" Well, as I have nothing particular on hand, I guess I'll 

 go," said I. 



I shook the ashes out of my pipe, pulled on my boots, and, 

 donning my shooling-coat and cap, announced myself ready. 



We were to rendezvous at Sam Short's store at Fork 

 Landing, on the Murderkill Creek, and hunt up along the 

 creek toward Coursey's Mill, and thence back aloDg the 

 Otherjsidejoward home, a distance of about four or five 



miles. On each side of the creek was a thick growth of 

 bushes and trees, which formed a dense cripple, and the soil 

 was soft and boggv ! it was a great resort for foxes, raccoons 

 and opossums, and hundreds have been run and killed in 

 this place. It was about six o'clock in the evening when 

 Tom and I started, with a sort of a hazy moonlight, and 

 just cool enough to keep one moving about so as to be com- 

 fortable. 



Tom had secured his brother's docs (Hee and Romus), 

 and with Lion we had a pretty good team of our own, and 

 when we reached the Fork we found about a dozen of the 

 boys assembled, and twelve or fifteen dogs of the hound and 

 cur species. 



As usual, there were half a dozen darkies in the company; 

 for who ever heard of a 'coon hunt without a darkey being 

 engaged iu it ? I was pretty well known to all the white 

 men of the company, but Bob Brown was the only sable 

 gentleman with whom I was acquainted, and he was looked 

 upon by all the olher darkies as the greatest 'coon and 

 'possum hunter in the country, and was high authority in 

 all that related to clogs and hunting. Like all the other 

 darkies in tliis section, Bob had managed to get a family of 

 little ones around him, and although he worked hard and 

 tried to get along, yet between his family and his dogs he 

 was always behind hand and poor. 



After a half hour's chatter among the colored folks as to the 

 merits of the various dogs, we started down toward the 

 creek. Bob, being in advance (having assumed the com- 

 mand of the party), gave orders to his followers not to 

 crowd "too close on de dogs till dey struck de trail. Gib 

 'em plenty o' room, an' don't tramp 'round much, for fear it 

 mought bother 'em." The dogs ran to and fro with their 

 noses close to the ground, every now and then throwing up 

 their heads and uttering low whines, while Bob encouraged 

 them with a " Wboop-ah ! hunt 'em out, dogs." 



In a few moments a sharp 3'elp from the leader, which 

 was responded to by two or three of the others, announced 

 that the trail had been struck. 



" Dar goes ole Dudley," shouted Bob ; "he nebcr lies — 

 you bin bet on him shuah; an' dar poes Mr. Arnton's Lion, 

 1' dttr goes Mr. Short's dog — Hi-hi 1" 

 These announcements were made as each dog gave tongue 

 successively, and in a few moments it seemed as though 

 every dog in the pack had struck the trail and were trying 

 which could make the most noise. The soil of the ciipple 

 being soft and boggy, we could hear the dogs splashing and 

 floundering through the mud and water, and all the while 

 keeping up such a noise that it awoke the crows that were 

 roosting in the trees, and they took flight in search of mote 

 quiet quarters. 



"I'm gwang up to Carpenter's Bridge," said one darkey; 

 "for dat 'coon is shuah to cross hit an' take up 'cross Mr. 

 Arnton's field. Ef 1 only "aad a boat—" 



" What you want wid a boat ? You couldn't folly dat 

 'ccon. De dogs 'ud run 'im clean out'n sight 'fore you could 

 row a boat fifty yards," said old Alec. 



"Hark!" said another sou of Africa, " what's dat ? Didn't 

 ye yere dat? He's treed. Didn't ye yere ole Dudley bark?" 

 And while they were all intently listening for Dudley's 

 bark, in the hope that he had brought the 'coon to tree, a 

 long, sharp yelp, clear as a trumpet, away off up the creek, 

 which told loo plainly that the dog had not treed, but that 

 the faithful Dudley was still upon his trail, and the whole lot 

 of us hurried along the creek toward Carpenter's Bridge, 

 which we crossed, and scattered over the field. Several 

 more of the dogs had found the trail again, and were running 

 in full cry. 



In a half hour we reached a pine woods of about fifty 

 acres, which stood upon a rise of ground overlooking the 

 creek, while below us the cripple was more dense than ever, 

 and there the whole puck of dogs seemed concentrated, and 

 such a racket and noise as they kept up I had not heard for 

 a long time. 



" We've got him now," said Bob ; " he's on de island an' 

 runnin' in a" circle, an' ef he don't swim de crick he'll tree 

 pooty soon." 



The dogs and darkeys were all mixed up together, each 

 darkey encouraging his favorite animal with such expression 

 as " lit on,-Komus;" "Seek 'im, Liou ;" "Good dog, Hec;' 

 but Dudley seemed to be the favorite, for at least half a 

 dozen — white and black — were urging him on. The 'coon 

 by this time was nearly run down, and we knew by this 

 short, quick tongueing of Dudley that the trail was very 

 hot, and before he had run a hundred yards further he took 

 to a tree, and the rapid barking of the keen and faithful 

 Dudley proclaimed the fact. 



Yes, there he was, away up among the branches of a large 

 yellow poplar. Two or three colored individuals took off 

 their coats and made a great fuss and show of climbing the 

 tree; but a little white boy, not more than sixteen years of 

 age, without any waste of time in preliminary arrangements, 

 stHi I'd up and soon caught the lower branches, and in a 

 short time was up the tree and in a position lo shake out the 

 'coon. 



" Look out below 1" he snouted, and, after a few vigorous 

 shakes, down Came the 'COOn, and he hud soircety touched 

 the ground bafore Tom'* dog (Lion) had bim by the throat, 

 lie f "light for a.few seconds^ but, the other dogs joining in 

 the fray, he was soon killed. 

 " Da"t was a pooty good run, sir," said Bob, walking up to 



find a 'pofsum to-night. I 

 iy ebenin' an' seen a good 



where I was standing. " What do you think of 'coon hunt- 

 in', sir ?" 



I told him I was very much pleased at what I had seen, 

 but that I didn't know much about Ihe business, snd ex- 

 pressed my surprise at the fact, that they could distinguish 

 the tongueing of the various dogs so as to announce which 

 particular one was running the trail by the sound of his yelp. 

 " Why, dafs easy 'rivrff," said Bob, Willi a grin ; " 1 kin 

 tell de tongue ob ebery dog from yere to Feltcn if 1 only 

 yearn him once. I'se follered huntin' eber sence I were a 

 chile, sir, an' allers tuk great d'light in it ; why, me an Mr. 

 Sammy Arnton slept outjin de woods many a night when we 

 was boys an' follered huntin' reg'lar, an' I kin tell a dogs 

 woice jist as sartain as 1 kin tell dat's Mr. Sam Short lalkin 

 dis minnit, I'se monst'ous fond o' huntin', an' many a time 

 I'se hulked com all day an' 'coon an' 'possum hunted all 

 niaht sir." 



The dogs, having by this time recovered their wind, were 

 sniffing around, and now and then would strike the old trail 

 of the 'coon, but would not run far after Ihey found what it 

 was. Some of the party proposed to go on unci get up an- 

 other 'conn, as it wns only nine O'clock, but that, was ovcr- 

 tuled by Bob, who said: 



"I think, gentlemen, we kit 

 was up along by IJussy's yis'c _, 



many tracks', an' I yearn dat Mr. Isaac Arnton's boys ketch 

 two big fellers ober on yan side ob de big uhiteoak a couple 

 o' nights ago. I haiu't bed no 'possum dis fall, an' I'd jist 

 like to try ciese yere puppies o'mine." 

 So it was settled that we should go and hunt up a 'possum. 

 The darkeys kept up a continual chaffing and chattering, 

 and their rnerrv laughter could be heard a mile away. Some 

 were telling wonderful stories of former bunting excursions j 

 how tbey would calch half a dozen 'coons of a niaht, or a 

 dozen 'possums, while others were descanline upon Ihe mei its 

 of some famous dogs which had lived and nourished in that 

 section of the country. From 'coons and 'possums Ihcy got 

 to talking of foxes, and then all joined in. It was amusing 

 to listen to them, and to a elranger who had never heard 

 such jargon it was really laughable. 



" How 'bout dat ole fox dat you an' Mr. Pan Tumhleson 

 run all night one time, an' den he gib ye de slip, Bob?" asked 

 old Alec. 



" Sumfin quare 'bout dat feller." said Bob ; " we run him 

 from 'bout nine o'clock cl'ar on to day, an' by golly ! de 

 dogs lost 'im down in Mr. Jester's field an' nebei tuk him up 

 ag'in. Some o' de puppies run de back lnot ob him, but de 

 ole ones hed more sense— dey Stop jist on yan side ob de ole 

 sweet gum, wbar de fox wanish." 



" I 'spect he run in bis den," suggested one of the darkeys. 

 Bob turned the whites of his eyes upon this individual 

 wilh alooR of contemptuous pity, as though he fell ashamed 

 at such a display of ignorance, aud also that anybody in that 

 country who bad ever heard of him would not give him 

 credit for knowing when a fox had been run " to earth," 

 and, in his most sarcastic tones, replied : 



"Den, yer granny I Go home, boy, an' go to bed. I knows 

 what I'se talkin' 'bout." 



"What 'bout dat fox ?" asked two or three. "We've 

 heerd a good bit o' talk 'bout him, but neber yearn de per- 

 tickrsob how it was." 



"Well, yer see," said Bob, "Mr. Dan Tumbleson an' 

 Mr. Sammy Arnton an' some more huntsmen au' me beam 

 a good bit'bout dis fox, how de dogs run 'im, an' all on a 

 suddint lose him, so we made up to gib 'im a trial. We got 

 ole Dudley an' Mr. Arnlon's two dags (Hec an' Homes), arc' 

 Mr. Tumbleson's Trailer an' my lour rJOgs an' started arter 

 him on jist sich a night as this, ou'y it mought o' b'en a 

 tectle mite mo' cl'ar. De dogs hadn't b'en huntin' much, 

 'kase it wur airly in de season, an' kept foolm' 'long arter 

 'possums aD' rabbits till we licked 'em right smart two or 

 tree times to git 'em down to work, an' at last ole Jowler 

 struck a trail 'way down 'mong dem sassyfrax bushes in Mr. 

 Dudley tuk it up, an' 

 you neber yearn, 

 ras nuffin' at all to 

 dat music. Away dey went down de branch, red hot, till 

 dey strucK de crick ; de fox swum it, an' when de dogs lose 

 'im at de edge o' de water dey run de back foot ob bim a 

 little— dem puppies did — hut ole Dudley he tuk right 'cross 

 de crick an' struck de trail atiMn on t'other side an' run 'im 

 up along dat little bottom in Mr. Brown's field ; but de fox 

 doubled an' come back an' kind o' fro wed de young dogs off, 

 but Mr. Arnton's Hec an' ole Dudley dey stuck to him, an' 

 he run up an' down dat crick — fust on one side, den on 

 t'other — an' you neber yearn de like, till I thought he must 

 be nigh giv' out. Den he tuk up ober dat ole sedge-patch in 

 Mr. Frazier's field an' out t'wards de meetin'-house. We 

 follered dem till near day, an' jist when we all thought de 

 dogs had 'im shuah, by golly dey lose bim, and de fox WaOfsh, 

 Nobody neber kuow'd what eome o' him. Dem dogs run'd 

 dat fox so much dat dey got so dey kuow'd Mm. an' w hen- 

 eber dey got alii tie on yan side ob dat ole sweet purr dry 

 jist kuow'd it wur no use folly mg ob im, an' e'ey gib Mm up." 

 These Delaware dink' ys ale nuiurully siipeiMiiiou.-,. «„d 

 they all, wilh one aicord, agreed thai lUU »a>!i visit, r from 

 the spirit world. Hut ti e LiU'll was, a- 1 Iwtrind from I rnu- 

 linson, whowalelud ihe niuvMut-iilfrot the U i, thai he hail a 

 deuiu ihegum tree spoken ol by Bob, and be would iuii a few 

 yards beyond it, then climb iku fence and tun back along Iho 



strucK a trail way uown moug uem .-awvua.v 

 Emery's field, an' in less'n a minnit Dudley t 

 den de hull pack j'ined in, an' sich music you 

 Talk 'bout brass bands an' sich like, dey was r 



