The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1881-03-24
Bill Arp Goes n Coon Hunting.

duu tute Lue game. .uIS. arp ou6 Sdiu
she knew we wouldn't kill anything, and
we asked her if she would cook all we
brought home, and she said, "yes, and
dress it too" About the time we goi
started the two little chaps came up and
begged me go sweetly to let them 60
I couldn't refuse, and so there were
six of us in all, and two guns
and two dogs, and in about an hour
we had jumped six rabbits, and killed five
of them, and they were getting awful
heavy, when suddenly one of the boys
looked up in an elm tree that was in the
middle of canebrake and said, II
thought them things up there were
squirrels nests, but do believe 1 saw one
of 'em move" We all stopped and
looked, and sure enuf it did, move, and
the other one moved, and we knew they
were coons. never saw boys get excited
so quick. They called the dogs and made
for the canebrake. The creek was to
cross and nary log in sight, so they just
waded through and surrounded the tree
and held the dogs fast while one of the
boys got ready to fire. By this time l
was getting ready to be boy again myself
and 1 hollered to EN- to wait and l pulled
the little chaps through the cain till l
founda a log and got them across and was
soon on the battle ground. Bang went a
gun and down came wounded coon, the
biggest old fellow I ever saw, and l never
saw such fight in my life. He wasent
hurt much with the small shot and he did
fight and growl and screech most amazin.
First one dogan then the other backed
out With howl and then set in on him
again until finally old Zip surrendered
and gave up the ghost. Bang went an.
other gun and the other coon let 90 and
fell into fork and there he lay for dead
for about fifteen minutes, when one of the
boys said he was going to have him any
how. So he climbed the tree and when
he had got about fifty feet up the coon
Strengthened up in the fork and looked
savagely at him and gave a growl. |
wish you could have seen that boy slide.
He came down that tree like fireman
comes down scaling ladder. He left
right smart of his breeches on the
bark and grape vines. Well, of course
they shot him and that tumbled
him, then we had another fight, and the
boys say they never had as much fun, and
they feel sorry for your town boys who
don't have any sport aud are penned up
within brick walls, and the best they can.
do is to waste few dollars on French
actress, and not know word she said,
and then 60 home, and bully for Sara.
Well, I shouldered the biggest coon, and
l think he weighed twenty pounds when
we started and about forty when l got
home, and I laid him down suddenly in
Mrs. Arps lap and said "skin him and
cook him if you please" I oughtent to
have done that. 1t was premature and
not altogether calculated to promote our
conjugal felicity. Mrs. Arpis a stately
deliberate woman, but I think she got
up little quicker than l had ever OBJ
served her. She thought it was bear,
or q hyena, or a catamount, and she
screamed accordingly. All that was lass
Monday and think she has about re.
covered from it now, but if I were to kill
thousand Goods I wouldent try that
little joke again. It dident pay. I
wonder what makes men and boys so
cruel. My little girl was the only friend
those poor coons had and cannot tell
what made me take pleasure in their
death. Boys begin early TO show their
love of cruelty and destruction. They
rock the birds end the cats and the chick
ems, and rob the birds nests, and then
they hunt the rabbits and squirrels, and
shoot all sorts of wild animals just for
sport. There is an original sin about
them that don't belong to girls. Girls
are tender and kind and sympathetic. |
reckon that is one reason why we love
'em but why they love us [ don't know.
knew boy once who caught wild
tom cat in the barn and tied plow line
round his neck and tied the other end to
ring behind the saddle that was on the
old mare hitched to the fence and then
turned the old mare loose and pitched
the cat on her back and she run herself
to death in fifteen minutes, and the boys
all laughed and hollered and enjoyed it
splendid. That was mighty bad, but
that boy married one of the sweetest girls
in the country and made good husband
and kind father. I reckon its the devil
that is in us for a while, and then he
quits us and goes into somebody else or
into some hogs or mad dogs or something.
They say that every boy must SOW his
wild oats, though I have noticed that it
takes some heap longer than others
to do it. They love noise aud raket.
They begin early to shoot fire crackers
and little pistols an beat drums and tin
pans and tie things to the dogs tails
and make EN- run and make EN- fight
and set on the cats and niger can't go
along the road but what they whisper,
sic him Cesar. When they get bigger
and have few bumps on their chin they
want to do something more heroic.
They want some girl to fall in the creek
so they can jump in and save her life, or
they want some wild horses to run away
so they can jump to the rescue of the
ladies and seize the furious animals and
Jerk EN- downjust in the nick of time, or he
wants to whip another boy because be
bucked up to his girl, and what is curious
about these boys the girls seem to like
that sort the best. If l hadent fought a
fellcr who insulted ME I don't believe Mrs.
Arp would have surrendered. I don't.
May be she would have took the other
feIler, and then what would have become
of me and my children It's melanchol-
ly to think OF. I'm sorry we killed them
coons, for they don't do any harm to
speak of, and they are lively varmints
and enjoy life. The boys have got four
coon skins now, and the girls have prom
ised to make rug out of them with a
striped tail sticking out at every corner,
and Pm going to put it down in Mrs.
Arp's corner for her dainty little number
twos to rest upon as an atonement for my
rudeness. She always comes round right
when l show it sooner or later.
Well, I suppose the Inauguration is
over and We have got president at
last. Four years is long time to do
without one, and I'ln glad they made q
big fuss over the swearing in. Now, if
Mr.. Garfield is going to be king over all
his subjects and wants 'enl to love him
:.,t Jot L;,, II, rou, orr eho rn of tho nnh.