8cT. io, igbo,! 
In Old Vxrginia^IU. 
■•Yoi; have a visitor m ihe kitchen who has been 
-wah.ng tor you, so '^--^^^--^^^17' •'u'fs Sd 
know and"?iU 'keep you ,taik:ng tor half t.c rnornmg 
" ^^.^slm ^r^" Ellen to give him h.s break- 
U he\s noc Uke,- to grow at ai^nnpa.en -^^ 
.ft n.s oia nat. "nuye you is wed, |>un^ ,eded 
,.^"!o'^;^^^t^nc:^rrrt^ a«d ^.^.d a 
cgar as an admtionax P'^otf tion ^^^^ 
°' "rorS, Suh," .aid he, -I done heah -^y^^ 
on a v,.>t .0 my '"'--i'" ."J" ' m.gKy Ion oVtantm' 
x,auys raw-au m^'l"^. , t o t an' Hadn't Recht 
an ..ad Deen aom'-ajow"" ^S"^ « * "3,^ ei yo' did.|„ 
rjo o/a'posrumTn„"".'d n.. an; de .oy. to: ■ 
ginny, an possum is sho' i^t ^^^^^^ 
me tne tuU beneht ot uis pipe, so x it. 
T--sr^;?tnJk";ss^ni:^^^^^^^ 
^"■^Yesfl do want to go P<^?sum^ Ipting Uncle Bet, 
and am glad you came over ^^^,^J<i,/;^^,^,^^'\^{tle/' 
cgar, ana we will smoke and talk it ON^er ^ 
•bieeaged to yo', buh ^ f '^•^ "Ji^g t carefully 
de-s a tin' seegyar, buh, dis is, ho.aing 
good" .^r. = ;>y,cab.„ doah- an' 
short session desirable, and our arrangements for ttic 
hunt were speedily perfected. . , , 
Xhe old man took his departure assuring Jfe that he 
would "be on han' wid de boy an' de dawgs at des good 
"^M^ith knowledge enough of ^he sport of possum 
ing with enthusiastic devotees to know that it thoroughly 
tefted a sportsman's staying qualities and bore a ^ery 
strong resemblance to hard work I loafed through the 
day and took a long nap in the afternoon. , 
Shortly after the lamps were lighted the hunters ami 
dogs were heard coming up through the gfo^^ There 
wal shouting and blowing of horns, mingled with the 
dear l^gle calls of the hounds, which was speed.ly 
answered from the barn lot by the two house dogs. 
The noise grew in volume, as every negro and everj 
dog tried to make himself heard above all the rest, and 
finally reached a climax when the farm manager stepped 
out on his porch and split the air with three or four 
rebel yells in quick succession. j t, . 
I expected to find a dozen or more men and boys 
when I joined them a few moments later but found 
Uncle Bob's party to consist only of himself and two 
boys, Morgan and Jeff by name, and three large black 
and tan hounds. . r ■ 
They were in high glee over the success of their ar- 
rival, and . seemed to think that the row they had suc- 
ceeded in kicking up r<^fle.cted great c*idit on all con- 
cerned. 
The start was made from the overseer's house, he ac- 
companying us, making it a party of five. 
Only the three hounds were allowed to go, the other 
dogs being safely tied lip, as they would only interfere 
with the trained dogs. 
No weapons were carried, unless two axes could be 
so classed, but a lantern was included in the outfit at 
rav special request 
We made for the thick timber down along the river, 
and the dogs were set to work with a "Hi dahr ^ boys, 
git 'long wid yo'- an' preceed to hump yo'self's," from 
Uncle Bob. 
Reaching the Hver where it was , spanned by a foot 
log we sent Morgan across first with the lantern to light 
the way. Half way over he slipped, and with a fright- 
ened yell fell into the river. 
The light was extinguished, so we could only' judge 
what was taking place by the sounds. 
There was a terrible commotion in the water — cough- 
ing, snorting and blowing — then we heard sounds that 
indicated an arrival at the opposite bank of the river 
by the unfortunate boy. "Is yo' wet?" the old man called 
out. 
" 'Cose I'se wet, pappy," was the reply in a querulous 
tone, "an' I mo's drown-ded too." 
Owing to our light being out we concluded it was 
best to take no chances, so all got down and "cooned" 
the log. 
Arriving on the other side we found Morgan shivering 
in his wet clothes, and concluded to build a fire and dry 
him off. 
But just as we started in to gather wood for that 
purpose one of the dogs struck a trail near by, and in a 
moment we were all in full cry after him, down through 
the dark woods. 
The other dogs quickly took up the trail, and led the 
yelling crowd of hunters at top speed. 
The pace was too hot for a tenderfoot, and I soon 
fell behind, but enthusiastic and excited, continued to 
't^n as best I could through thfe tJiick woods after my 
companions, guided by the noise, tmtil I came to grief. 
A vine caught my foot and threw me over a fallen 
tree, knoclcing all the enthusiasm' and most of the breath 
out of rati'. 
When I finally regained my fe«t and found my hat I 
tould hfcar nothing but the faint baying of the dogs in 
the distance. 
Taking the direction as well as I could, I made a fresh 
start. 
Aftfer I had fallen over or run into everything at all 
prominent on my route, and was becoming both ex- 
hausted and discouraged, I noticed a change in the 
voices of the dogs, and pausing a moment to listen found 
ihat they had treed. 
Encouraged by this fact I made another run, and with- 
out serious mishap soon came up with them. 
Men and dogs were gathered around a slim oak tree, 
not over a foot in diameter, and tlie excitement of both 
had reached the highest pitch. 
They had, ' appatcintlj^ forgotten me, and seemed 
surprised when I joined them. "Hit a possum," Uncle 
Bob was saying in reply to a question, "an' a- fat one, 
too, lem-me tell yo':" 
The tree was favorable to climb, and Morgan was soon 
swarming up for the purpose of shaking out the possum. 
Meanwhile I sought information as to how Uncle Bob 
knew it was a "possum" and "fat." 
"Knew by de way de dawgs run de trail dat it vv^as 
possum, 'stid of coon, an' it fat cause it dim' little tree." 
And he was right, for the next moment the dogs were 
worrying a big fat possum that sounded like a sack of 
meal when it struck the ground after being shaken loose 
from the limb on which it had taken refuge, 
"If that had been a coon we would- have' had fun," said 
the farm manager. 
"Well Suh," said Uncle Bob, "seein' coon fiten' de dogs 
is good fun, but eatin' fat possum is sho' bettah ob'cose. 
I is goin' to show yo' gentl'm'ns what my dawgs kin 
do ef we duz fin' a coon, but fat possum is plenty 
good 'nuf for me." 
We worked back toward the low bottom by the 
river where the timber was tall and the prospect best 
for coons, for I had a strong desire to see a set-to be- 
tween the three splendid specimens of the canine tribe 
and a well developed coon. 
Our progress was necessarily slow, as Morgan left 
the lantern to its fate when he fell in the river, but we 
soon got on what Uncle Bob pronounced "Ole man 
coon's stampin' groun'." 
Soon off to our right we heard a sharp quick bark, 
followed by a long clear call. This was promptly an- 
•swered by short eager barks of interrogation from the 
other two dogs. In a few moments all three dpgs were 
in full cry on a hot scent. 
"Dat sho' is game," said Uncle Bob, " 'cause ole 
Bustah opened de ball. Hoi' on, hoi' on; dey is comin' 
dis way. Whoope-e! boys, talk to ura." 
They were, coming in our general direction a,nd soon 
pa.ssed near .us. ■ . 
"Coon, pappy, coon," shouted Jeff, who was the nearest 
one to them as chey passed by ; "dey runnin' de logs." 
■ The farm manager explained that the coon always 
traveled along all logs and faillen trees on his route. 
• We fell in behind the dogs, and I soon fell far behind 
everybody, but finally arrived on the scene of action just 
as the boys were beginning with their axes on a big 
poplar tree in which the coon had taken refuge. Stand- 
ing on opposite sides of the tree they were making the 
chips fly with as much apparent precision as though 
working by bright daylight. , 
The other two hunters were lining, out .the- direction in 
which the tree would fall. Noticing'itiy arrival Uncle 
Bpb came to me with the request that 1 hold the dogs, so 
that the four might chop turn about and get the tree 
down in short order, assuring me that it was no trouble 
as the dogs understood it. Taking me off some distance 
from the body of the tree, and calling th.e:,dogs, he pro- 
ceeded to post and instruct me, 
•The dogs seemed to understand what was exr-"-ted 
of them, and took position at once huddled up .ose 
together. ^ ^ 
"Now, Suh," said my instructor, "de tree goin' fall dis 
way, but hit won' com' fah nuf to hut yo', Suh. De 
coon he jump des quick as de tree lite, en des den you 
mus' leg-go de dawgs; but pleas'. Suh, don' let dem go 
twel de tree is good down, caus' dey sho' to run undah 
de tree an' git killed. Dey will rast'l wid yo' a little bit 
w'en de firs' crack come, en ef de tree crack loud an' fall 
slow dey will buck some, but dey won' bite yo' nar}' 
bit, an' so please, Suh, don' yo' let 'em loos' too soon, 
or else I lo's de bes' houn' dawgs in de whol' Nunited 
States. I des sho' will." 
Then seating me upon my heels imrhediatelv behind 
and partly upon the middle hourid,' he put one of my 
arins around the neck of a dog on each side and bid 
me draw them close together until I could clasp my 
liands under the throat of the middle dog. 
They full3' understood the arrangement, and assisted 
me by crowding up as close together as possible, so four 
of us could have been covered by a shooting jacket. 
My position was fairly comfortable, and I felt as 
though I had purchase enough to hold a team of mules. 
I was not altogether easy in my mind about the big 
tree that was being felled my way, as 1 feared the old 
man's estimate might be incorrect, and it might fall on 
me, but the thought of the highly prized dogs I held 
was somewhat reassuring. The old man might have 
taken some chances on my safety, but not on the dogs'. 
The chips flew as they, in turn, plied their axes, and 
as each large chip struck the ground the three dogs 
whined in concert and shook with excitement. 
, Before it seemed possible that the choppers were near 
through their work, the tree gave a ^arp crack of 
warning. . 
Instantly the three dogs rose as one straight into the 
air on their hind feet, bringing me up standing. My 
grip held, and as the sound was not immediately re- 
peated, they sank back into their former position. 
I proceeded to tighten up my grip and commend myself 
on my development of back and bicep muscles. Hold- 
ing three big, strong fighting dogs was proving an 
easier task than expected. 
Another crack of the tree brought us all four up 
standing, only to drop quietly back into our formed 
position, showicig conclusively to my mind that the dogs 
fully recognized that I was master of the situation. 
A volley of cracks, accompanied by a sound of rend- 
ing and breaking, came next, and the big tree started 
down with a rush. I heard one of the boys call out, 
"•Stan' clear; she's a-comin'," and strained my ears to 
hear the first limb strike the ground, so as to loose the- 
clogs at exactly the right moment. They were not jump- 
ing and struggling as I had expected, but were cowering 
close to the ground in a bunch, having, I concluded, 
recognized the utter futihty of their struggles against 
my restraining arm. 
The sense of smell has long been supposed to be the 
liound's strongest point. This is an error; he hears 
even better than he can smell. When the first leaf on the 
longest limb of that falling tree touched the ground all 
three of those black and tan bunches of steel springs set 
with hair triggers heard it, ?ind it fired them simulta- 
neously. They shot straight up with a force that would 
have broken the strongest log chain ever forged. My 
vaunted strength offered about as much resistance as a 
cardboard wad over 3^ drams of E C in a cylinder bore. 
But I was faithful to my trust; I did not let go. 
Straight up *n the air I went, turning over at least 
once,, for I remember to have seen the stars shining 
down into my face. I thought at the time I was above 
the tree tops, but presume that was a mistake, due to 
my excitement. 
By rare good luck I did not strike a stump or root, 
but fell flat on my back in the soft woods earth, with my 
feet almost in the top of the felled tree. I was badly 
sliaken up and profoundly surprised, but had no time 
given me even to take stock of damage. This surprising 
act, which I believed and fervently hoped to be my 
"grand finale," was only the "curtain raiser." As I 
struck the ground I heard, mingled with the heavy artil- 
lery and fireworks of my fall, the crash of limbs as the 
big tree settled down and something heavy struck me 
about midships and slid to my breast. Before I could 
hazard a guess as to what it was the tree bounced off the 
ground and fell full l.ength on me— at least that was my 
impression. What really happened was this: The coon, 
a monster and dead game, jumped when the tree struck 
and lit by chance on me. The dogs mounted him at once 
and compelled him to fight without any choice of loca- 
tion. My ambition to be in a game coon fight was 
realized all too literally. I was the fortifications, the base 
of supplies, the field of operations, and the coon's under- 
study. And yet— I confess it with shame— I was not 
satisfied. I felt that I was in bad company, and wanted 
to cash out and quit the game— I mean get away. 
The coon swore unceasingly in strange and awful 
oaths, and the dogs were guilty of very undignified and 
rowdy conduct. I had not recovered myself sufficiently 
from the shock of the fall to struggle effectually, but 
instinctively threw up my arms to try to protect my'face. 
It was already protected— a dog had his foot in the corner 
of my mouth and was apparently straining with might 
. and main to push it around and button it on my ear. 
His other foot was planted on my windpipe, which he 
effectually closed for the time being. The other dogs 
were using my anatomy with perfect freedom, as suited 
them best, and the noise was a little ahead of anything 
ever heard before or since. Every few moments a hold 
would break, and there would be a change all round, 
but not for the better. The coon was on his back, siz- 
zhng around like a drop of water on a red hot stove, rip- 
ping and tearing everything he touched. Every few sec- 
onds he would fasten to a dog, which would spring back, 
raising the coon a foot or so.; then failing to break his 
hold, drive him down on me like a battering ram, with 
all the combined weight and power of the four combat- 
ants, each dog setting his feet, braced with the highest 
tension, into a tender spot. My dothing was quickly 
npped into shreds, and my wounds came too fast to keep 
count of. In one of the lightning changes a dog set 
his foot against the point of my chin for a brace, and 
just before my neck broke it slipped off, his nails laying 
open my cheek up to the roots of my hair. I began to 
call lustily for help at the beginning of the fight, but a 
hound immediately crowded as much of his foot in my 
mouth as it would chamber, and I quit. I had a horrible 
tear in the early stages of the fight that my companions 
might run in and use their axes, but after the fight had 
lasted a few moments axes lost' their terrors entirely. 
Flat on my back I lay, with eyes and mouth tightly 
shut, certamly "in," but not of. the desperate battle. I 
wondered why it was I had never realized the abandoned 
brutality of the so-called sport of coon hunting. Bull 
hghting was a Sunday school picnic compared with it. 
I honestly .concluded that no man with a single gen- 
tlemanly instinct would indulge it himself or countenance 
It in others. 
I have no idea haw long a period of time the fight 
covered, but do know it seemed a very long time, and 
know further that the coon never retreated from his first 
position. 
When the fray did finally cease, one of the boys struck 
a match and found rae lying on my back, dirty, ragged 
and bloody, with a big- dead coon stretched full length 
across my breast, the dogs still tugging at him, with thdr 
teet braced against me. I hoped— and believed— that 
there was nothing further for me to suffer, but was dis- 
appointed. Looking down at me in the most surprised 
manner, the old man said: "Lawd 'a' mussy, Suh' yo' 
had'n' ought to 'a run in to holp dem dawgs; w'y one 
of dem kin whop any coon in de woods— des give hitn 
time. I IS skeer'd de yhas hu't yo', Suh !" 
They had hurt me, badly, too, but not as badly as his 
Idea that I had been fool enough to volunteer for that 
fight did. 
We made up a fire and examined my wounds They 
were many, but not deep or serious. My clothes were 
literally riddled on the outside, and in places torn through 
to the buff. • ° 
After a rest, we started back toward home, and treed 
again before leaving the woods. The other hunters and 
dogs were eager, but I had lost interest in the sport I 
positively refused to hold the dogs or take any other part 
in this brutal pastime; and retreating to a safe distance in 
the woods, sat down and waited the result. 
