UNCLE DINKS' TURKEY HUNT. 



VIRGINIUS. 



" Yes, sir, captain, I'm mighty fond of 

 huntin'," said "Uncle Dinks" (M. A. 

 Barner), of Clarksville, Va., to Virginius. 

 " I've killed a little the rise of 1,700 turkeys 

 in my life, and as many geese, deer, quails, 

 and such like, as most men. 



" 'Twas 'long in the fall of '62 I got a 

 furlough to come home from the war to 

 get married. On my wedding day my 

 brother and I took an early start for my 

 ' sugar boss's ' house. We hadn't gone 

 more'n 5 miles before we flushed as nice a 

 flock of turkeys as you ever want to see. I 

 said to my brother, ' I must have some of 

 them turkeys.' He told me 'twould never 

 do to fool with the turkeys, as the preacher 

 and all would be waiting, but I out-reasoned 

 him. I told him I could get married next 

 day, most any day, but a flock of turkeys 

 like them were a heap harder to find than 

 wives. So I gets my gun and old dog, 

 comes back, flushed my turkeys, and 

 hunted the balance of the day — forgot about 

 gettin' married till the turkeys give out. 

 When I got to the ole gal's house, it was 

 smack dark, and I was to have married at 



noon. She was mad as the d . The 



preacher was mad, everybody on the place 

 was mad but Dinks, and I had more 

 turkeys than you could shake a stick at. 

 I told the ole gal 'tworn't no use to get 

 mad; gals was plentiful in them days, and 

 boys was hard to get, as they were all in the 

 army. She didn't look at it that way, for, 

 though it's been 36 years since she got mad, 

 she ain't never got in a good humor yet." 



Uncle Dinks is an " amusin' ole cuss," a 

 good-hearted sportsman and guide. He is 

 the owner of a little tavern in Clarksville, 

 and every fall entertains quite a number of 

 sportsmen from Northern and Western 

 cities. Game here is abundant, such as 

 deer, hares, squirrels, grouse, and foxes. 



Sportsmen will always find Uncle Dinks 



in an accommodating mood, as he usually 

 accompanies his guests to the game haunts, 

 marks it for them, gives them a fair show, 

 and, if they miss, Uncle Dinks doesn't. 



In sight of his tavern is an island near the 

 middle of Roanoke river. Pointing to this 

 one day, Uncle Dinks said, " Ce otain, 

 speaking of folks playing practical jokes, I 

 saw on that island once a thing I'll never 

 forget. It was late in the fall, when the 

 geese were feeding in the bottoms, and just 

 beyond that skirt of woods you see yonder 

 lived a gal. A prettier creetur had never 

 been seen in these parts. There was a fel- 

 low from New Orleans, and one from some 

 place in Delaware, in love with her. They 

 both met there once in hunting season, and 

 decided to kill some geese. 'Twas one of 

 the coldest days I ever knew, for the river 

 not to be frozen over. 'Twas 'long toward 

 sunset when I heard a call from the ferry, 

 and, going down opposite the island, I spied 

 this New Orleans fellow motioning me to 

 come to him. I sent a boat, and had him 

 brought ashore. He said his friend (and 

 rival) must have been capsized going 

 through the rapids. He had left him to go 

 farther down the river, that morning, to 

 shoot geese, and he hadn't seen him since. 



" I done the proper thing by a brother 

 sportsman, uncorked my vial, and tried 

 to warm him up. Seeing he was so 

 wrought up over the probable mishap of his 

 companion, I made a fire from a brush heap, 

 while I whooped from river bank to hill 

 top, and searched ditches and marshes in 

 vain for the Delaware man. At last we 

 went to the mansion, prepared to tell how 

 the Delaware man had perished. I was 

 telling the story when the lost one made his 

 appearance. He had unloaded his unsus- 

 pecting New Orleans rival, and the lunch, 

 on the island, and had then returned to chat 

 with the girl, undisturbed, all day long." 



RECREATION COTTAGE, PLEASANT LAKE. 

 Summer home of Melville Vedder, Dolgeville, N. Y. 



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