The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1875-12-09
! w POINT PLEA MAS
OUR FRIGHT.

DowT East, where 1 used 10 I'VE,
the boys had a way q earning Z lit
ae pocket money every fali; By gath
ering and selling hazelnuts The
hazeinuts which grew there. Ike
those on the st. Johns and the st.
Francis, were much like efiiberts,ss.
and fully as large. 80
Our way Of gathering nuts, hoBey-.
cr was a peculiar one, and as ! think
now avery cruel .one. We did not:
pick them up,one by one from the, Il e
ground; nor did We gather them in
the burr from the bushes We had
what we considered d much; better
sssTaiy.
aEe pset to, xaits tili about the:
twentieth of October, and then rob
the squirrels'.nests! Not the gray
squirrels, for there are very few gray
squirrels in that Northern country;
nor yet the red squirrels for these lat
ter never lay by large boards Of food
for winter but the thrifty little strip
ed squirrels, or clippers" as we
called them.
The region around was unsettled,
and for the most part covered with
forest. While trapping one autumn
three of us-boys oftwclve or thirteen
had discovered a famous place for
hazclnuts. 1t was on small river,
called Lurvcy's stream, in an unset
tied township to the northwest, which
the people designated as No, IL
Seventeen was the number it bore on
the survey map.
From the farms where We lived, up
through the woodst to Lurvey's stream
the distance was about FIVE miles
The place where the hazcls grew was
! in valley, between two mountains,
| in a sort OF natural meadow or inter
val, with grass and bush clumps.-
The hazel bushes grew along the
stream, ovcrhanging the banks.
1t was a lovely wild spot, a quiet
nook cfnature's own mailing, walled
in on each side by high, spruce clad
ridges. The valley was narrow
From the bank of the stream back to
TIE foot of the ridges, it was no
where more than seven or eight rods
often not more than four high
water mark, the squirrelsusedt todig
their holes and locate their store
houses.
Rough boys as. NC werc, ,Sc had a
keen sense Of the beauty Of this Sc
cluded valley. 1t was place to
which we delighted to come. For
more than four years we kept the 10
calitv secret. so as to enjoy 4 monop-
oily of the trout, patridges and nuts;
for this natural interval, half open
and sunny, swarmcd with patridses.
on bright autumn day, the grass
weuld be alive with them. Trout
and patyidges were worthless to US
save to cat; but the hazclnuts sold
from four to five cents a quart. Nat
urally enough We valued the nuts
highest. All through August and
September, the busy chipmunks
worked. In October We dug them
out. The striped squirrel dlgS hole
in the earth-generally in a bank
and on dry ground-from two to ten
feet in length, and at the end Of this
tunnel it hollows out its capacious
granary.
Usually, the squirrels go deep
enough to get below the frost; and in
here, comfortably and cozy, they pass
the winter, when snow is deep on the
earth above. Sometimes, when there
comes "thaw," with warm weather
and rain for number Of days, a few
of them will venture out, but not
very often until the first of April.
We used to set off for Luryey's
stream after nuts, armed with shovel,
hoe, crowbar, a two quart measure,
and one or more meal bags. There
was no trouble in finding the squirrel
holes. We could see the squirrels
running back and forth, or our dog
would find the entrance to a nest.
The nests contained from four
quarts to hall a bushel of the nuts
each-ordinarily, from seven to ten
quarts. Irecollect that in one nest
We found eleven two-quart measure
fuls-all the work of one little crea-'