The Camden weekly journal. [volume] (Camden, South-Carolina) 1853-1861, 1855-12-18
A Coon Hunt.

sight ut mischief there is IN q pint OF rum. Ii
one of 'cm was to he submitted TO alyzation,
as the great doctors call it, it would he found
to contain all manner of devIment that ever
entered the head of man from cussin, stealin,'
up tp murderin' and whippn' his own mother
and NONSENSE enough to turn all the men in the
world out oftheir senses, Ifa nan's got
badness in him. it viii draw it out (; Just as
sassafras tea does the. measles; and il he's a
good for nothing sort Of a fellow, without no
bad traits.in perlihlrr, it will bring out all his
greatness. 1t affects different people in dif5r-
ent ways-some it makes rich and happy, and
some poor and miserable and it has differ
ent effect on peoples cyes-seme it makes see
double, and some it makes so blind that they
can'ttell themselves from a side of b. .on.-.
I One of,tbc worst cases Of rum fonl. .aatfve.
heerd of for long gtinie, took place in Hinerille
last fall.
Bill Sweeny and Tom Culpepper is the two
greatest oldcoycys in our settlement for coon
huntin. The fact is they don't do much Of any
thug else; and When they can't catch nothing
you may depend coons is scarce. Well, one
night they had everything ready (ora regular
hunt. but owing 10 some extra good farein',
Tom had got poe ket pistol, as he called it,
of regular old Jmmakey to keep of the. ru
matics."" After takia' a good startin' horn
they went out on their hunt, with their lite.
wood torch blazin' aud the: dogs barkiu,
and ycl pin like forty thousand.
Every now and then stoppa' to wait for the
dogs, they would drink one anothe's bealthtill
they began to feel very comfortable, and chat
ted away about one thing and another, without
mindiug which way they was gwipe. Binreby
they cum to a. fence. Wen, over they got
without much difficulty. b.
"Whose fence is. this9" said Big.
"Thats no NATTER said Tom, "lets take
something to drink" --.......~ .. -:
After taking Drink they went 90, -wender-
ing what on earth had become of the dogs.
Next thing they cum to was terrible muddy
branch. After pulling through the briars 1alrd
getting ON tother side, they took another drink,
and after gwine lite ways they cum to
another fence, monStrous high one this time.
Whar upon yearth is we got to, Cdpep-
per9" seq fsii a never. seed such heap Of
branches and fences in these. parts 49,.
=" Why" sez Iom, Its all Sturlin's doings
you know he's always building fences and
making internal Improvements, as he cals'enr
But never mind, we's through 'em now"
Guess We isn't" seq Bill-"tlcre's the all
fredest fence yet" -.,. g,
Sure enough, thar they were right agin''
another fence. BY this time sihey. hegua to
be considerable tired and limber in the iin,s,
aud it was such terrible high fence. Tom
dropped the last piece Of the torch AND thar
they was in the dark.
| "Now Won i done II " scz RiH
Tom knowcd he had but he thought it was
no use TO grieve over. split milk, SO sez he,
never mind, old hoss, cum ahead, and l'l take
you out" and the next mint, kerslash he went
in the water. ...
"EIeIlo, !' sez Bill, ."whar in the world is you
got to!''
"IIere am" scz Tom, spurtin' the water
out of his mouth, and coffin like he'd swallowed
something; "look out, there's another branch
here"
Name Of sense, whar is we!" sez Bill. "lf
this isn't fency country dad fetch my but.
tons"
eyes, and branchy one too," sez Tom;
and the highest and deepest and thickest that
ever seed in my born days" q.
(Which way is you!" seq Bil.,
"Here, right over the branch"
The next mint in Bill went, up to his middle
in the branch
--"Cum ahead, "sez Tom, Tets 60 home,
1 "Cum thunder, in such place as this whar
a man haint got his coat tail unhitched from
fence, 'fore he's over his head and ears in
water"
After so,tin out aud feeling about in the
dark, they got together again. After taking
another drink, they set out for home denounc-
ing' the fences and branches, and helpin one,
another up now and then but they had mt
gone twenty yards before they were brung I'd,
halt by another fence. &
dad blame my pictcr," sez Bill, ''if1 don't
think we is bewitrhed. Who upon yearth
would build fences all over creation this way"
Itwas about an hours job to get over this
one; but after they got on the top they found
the ground on tothcr side without much trou
BILE. This time the bottle was broken, and
thev came monstrons near having fight about
the catastrophe But it was very good
thing it was for after crossing two or three
branches, and climbing as many more fences,
it got to be daylight, and they found that they
had been climbin' the same fence all night not
morc'n hundred yards from wlIar they frs.
cum to it.
Bill Sweeney seq he can't account for it no
other way but that the Ticker sorter o'nrncd
their head aud he says he does really believe,
if it hadn't gin out, they'd been cimtn the
same fence and watlin' the same branch TIL
yet.
A HARD QUESTION FOR JupeE..-Dr. b,
who is pretty thorough g"ing temperance
man not long since happened at the house of his
friend Judge -, who, although a church
member is sadly behind the times as to temper.