American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1878-06-01
Martin HeiskiH on Coon and
aIt 'POSSIIm.

We were sitting on the store porch of
a small Virginia village. I 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
string of fish which he had laid care
fully under his chair when he SGT down
| to light his pipe; "that's all I've got
| to show for days work. But faint
! often that L waste time that way.
don't b'lieve in huntin' fur a thing that
ye can't see. II fishes sot on trees,
now, and We could shoot at 'em, I'd go
out and hunt fishes with any body. But
it's mighty trifiin' work to be goin' it
blind IN a mill-pond.''
ventured to state that there. were
fish that were occasionally found on
trees. In India, for instance, certain
| fish climbs trees.
"A which what'sp" exclaimed Mar
tin, with an arrangement of pronouns
peculiar to himself r +-'ifi 4: ~ go
| "Oh yes!" he said, when had told
him all knew about this bit of natural
history. That's very; likely. l reck-
on they do that up North, where you
| come from, in some of them towns you
was tellin' me about, where there's so
| many houses that they tech each other"
&c That's all true about the fishes,
! Martini said /, wisely making no ref
srence to the. houses, for did not want
to push his belief too hard, "but We'll
drop them, now"
| EYES," said he, 81 think we'd bet
| ter. - t' MS r'ai. 80
Martin was.a good fellow and no fool,
but he had not travelled much, and had
no correct ideas Of cities, nor indeed 4.
of much of any thing outside of his ma
tive backwoods. But of those back
woods he knew more than any other man
ever met. He liked to talk, but he re-i
sented tall stories. si' G-ssi.,sIf - 4
&c Martin, y said J., glad TO. changei the
subjeote g do you think thefein be many
'coons about this fallP''1' t..t,..t..,
4 3" About as many as common, reck-
on" he ANSWERED.. IS What do you
want to know fur?'' @H
/ "I'd like to go out 'coon-hnnting,"
/ said; g that's something / have never
triedr'' = ...+s..., .-..,,,-....,.
"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, You'd better 60 possum-huht-
| in. You kin eat a 'possum.s h3i.i :
/ ssDon't'yo ever eat 'coons?''' ask
ed. szn1Ia ~ Iss .sf.tia,Y .i;ai.tY 81
I 6 Eat 'coons,," he, exclaimed, with
], contempt. g Why, there isn't Niger in
this county d eat coon. They amt
fit to teatn - =: JidAifBp'i ~! . 81. :
I,-a"r Should think they'di.bs as good as
'possums," said l. ssThey feed on
pretty much the same things, don't
theyP" .,.-.,..r. ....-Hs
"Well, there Amt much difference,
that way; but a 'possum's mighty
different thing from a coon, when We
come to eat him. A. 'possum's moro
like aikind o. treeipig. AM when he's
cooked, he's .sweetar, than any snekin'
pig you ever see.t But a ,'coon's more
like cat, Who'd eat cats?,' .
~ | was about to relate Some city sau-
Usage stories, but refrained.. ~ ''''i
r. s.To be sure, - continued Mar
tin, I. there's Colonel Tibbs, who
says he ieat 'coon-meat, and liked il
fust rate; but then, ag'in, he says frogs
is good to eat, so you see there's no de-
pendin' on what, people say Now, l
know what I'm a-taTkin' about; 'coons
amt fit fur human bein's to eat.'' 80. -
"Wflat makes ytju hunt 'em, thenP''
l asked.u 5sii 10 ,;s7z ss'iu.t r..l..t-i
ID, "Hunt ,em fur fun,'' said the old
Efellow, striking q. lueifer match. under
his chair, to re-Hght his pipe. " Eff We
talk about vfttles, that's one thing, an
of We talk about fun, that's another
! thing. - An don't know now whether
you, d. think it was fun. 1 kinder think
! you wouldn't. 1 reckon it'd seem like
pretty hard work to you.'
Isuppose it would,'' 1 said "ther'
, are many things that would be hare
work to me, that would be nothing bu
sport to an old hunter like you:'' ''ii
"You're right, there, sir. You new
er spoke Itruer than that in your life
. There's no man inside o. six countie
,, that's hunted more'n have. I've beef
at it ever sence was a youngster, an
I've got lot O. fun out of it-more ful
than any thing else, fur that matter
You see, afore the war, people used t
go huntin' more for real sport than the
r do now, An 'twa'n't because Their
was more gamein this country then Their
is now, fur there wa'n't-not half a
> much There's more game in ,Virginn
: now than there's been any time thes
u fifty years. ''-Frarsk r. Stockton, 4
Scribner for June. e5. Oh.
:, How SardfneSi are Prepared 70