Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1878-05-28
Misrellaneous.
MARTIN HEISkILL on COON AND POS
SUM.

We were sitting on the store porch OF a
small Virginia village. was one of the
party, and Martin Heiskill was the other
one. Martin had been out fishing, which
was an unusual thing for him.
'Yes sir" said he, as he held up the
small string of fish which he had laid
carefully under his chair when he sat down
to light his pipe; that's all I've got to
show for days work. But 'taint often
| that l waste time in that way. | don't
b'leve in hunting fur thing that ye can't
see. III fishes sot on trees now, and ye
could shoot at 'em, I'd go out and hunt
| fishes with anybody. But it's mighty tri-
| film work to be gon' it blind in mill
pond"
ventared to state that there were fish
| that were occasionally found on trees. in
| India, for instance, q certain fish climbs
trees.
"A which watts ?" exclaimed Martin,
with an arrangement of pronouns pecul-
lar to himself
"Oh yes !" he said, when | had told him
all knew about this bit of natural his
tory. That's very likely. / reckon they
do that up North, where you come from,
in some of them towns you was telin' me
| about, where there's so many houses that
they tech each other"
That's all true about the fishes. Mar
tin" said /, wisely making no reference
TO the houses, for did not want to push
his belief too hard, "but we'l drop them
now"
Yes said he, IL think we'd better"
Martin was good fellow aud no fool,
| but he lad not travelled much, and had no
correct ideas OF cities, nor indeed, OF much
of anything outside of his native back
woods. But of those backwoods he knew
more than any other man ever met. He
| liked TO talk. but he resented tall stories.
Martin" said I, glad to change the
subject, ''do you think there'll be many
'coons about this fall p'
About as many as common. | reckon"
he answered What do you want to
know fur?"
I'D like to go out coon hunting"
| said; 'that's something | have never
tried"
well" said he, 81 don't s'pose your
goin' will make much difference in the
number OF 'em. but what's the good Nv it p?
You'd better go 'possum hunlin'. You
kin eat possum."
| Don't you eat coons ?" asked.
| Eat coons. he exclaimed, with con-
tempt. why, there isn't nigger in
this county d eat a coon. They amt fit
to eat.
| Il should think they'd be as good as
possums,' said l. They feed on pretty
much the same things, don't they?n
| well, there amt much difference, that
way but ''possun's a mighty different
thing from coon. when We come to eat
him. A possum's more like a kind O
tree pig. An' when he's cooked, he's
sweeter than any suckin pig you ever see.
But coon's more like cat. Who'd eat
catsP"
| was about to relate some city sausage
stories, but refrained.
| TO be sure,' continued Martin,
"there's Col. Tibbs, who says he's eat coon
meat and liked it fust-rate; but then
ag'iD, he says frogs is good to eat, so We
see there's no dependiu' on what people
say. Now, | know what I'm a-talkin'
about; 'coons aint fit fur human bein's to
eat"
"What makes you hunt 'em. then?"
asked.
Hunt 'em fur fun" said the old follow,
striking lucifer match under his chair, to
re-light his pipe. "Ef ye talk about
vittles, that's one thing, an ef ye talk
about fun, that's another thing. An
don't know now whether you'd think it
was fun. | kinder think you wouldn't. /
reckon it'd seem like pretty hard work to
you"
Il suppose it would | said; ."there
are many things that would be hard work
to me, that would be nothing but sport to
an old hunter like you"
You're right, there, sir. You never
spoke truer than that in your life. There $
no man inside o six counties that's hunted
more'n have. I've been at it ever sence
| was a youngster, an I've got lot O. fun
out Nv it,-more fun than anything else,
tur that matter. You see, afore the war,
people used to 60 huntin' more for real
sport than they do now. An 'twa'n't be-
cause there was more game in this country
then than there is now. fur there WANT
not halt as much. There's more game in
Virginny now than there's been any time
this fifty years"
| From "Thdt Same old 'Coon," by Frank
r. Stockton; Scribner for June.