RECREATION. 



XXIX 



A LOUISIANA POSSUM HUNT. 



When I left El Paso, Texas, to spend the 

 Christmas holidays at my Louisiana home 

 it was with the determination to crowd as 

 much fun as possible into my brief visit. 

 When, therefore, on the day after my ar- 

 rival, I met a little darky leading 2 dogs, 1 

 was perfectly willing to credit his declara- 

 tion that "Dem houn's are des shuh 'nough 

 bad arter possum." 



That same night my 2 brothers and I, the 

 darky and the dogs went possum hunting ; 

 Gabe carrying an ax and an armful of light- 

 wood splinters. Within a mile from town 

 the dogs opened up. Gabe said they were 

 after a coon. 



"How do you know?" I asked.. 



"Huh ! By de way dey bark," he replied. 



A coon it must have been ; anyway, it led 

 the hounds clear out of hearing. We built 

 a fire, sat down on a log and waited. In 

 about an hour the dogs returned, and we 

 struck out again. Soon they treed. We 

 chopped open a hollow tree and found only 

 a rabbit. 



It was past 12 and we were 4 miles from 

 home. Tired and angry, we started back, 

 and had gone half way when the dogs gave 

 tongue again. 



"Whoop 'em up, boys !" cried Gabe. 

 "Dar's possum dar shuh ; yes, sar, dar 

 shuh is r 



Away we all went through the thick un- 

 derbrush, Gabe's smoking lightwood torch 

 revealing impeding objects just in time for 

 us to run into them. I vowed to myself 

 that if the dogs fooled us asain they 

 should at least catch the limber end of a 

 gad. 



However, they led us to a possum, and 

 it was ; a small tree, too. We shook him 

 down — as plump a ring-tailed rascal as I 

 ever saw. Gabe's mouth fairly watered as 

 he said: 



"Dat dar possum shuhly gwine be good 

 eatin'." 



I had a mind to test that point myself, so 

 when Gabe left us I slipped something 

 white and shining into his hand and took 

 possession of the game. 



"You am shuh a gem'men, ef you does 

 libe in Texas, where dey skulps folks," was 

 his acknowledgment as he trudged home- 

 ward. 



Brer Possum, served with sweet pota- 

 toes, a la Aunt Dinah, proved fully worthy 

 of Gabe's encomium. 



I. J. Brush, El Paso, Tex« 



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