Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1885-08-06
"DAT POSSuNI.o
PossumoIogy of We Old yirginey Time
How to Ketch. Clean, Cook, and
Fat I'm

Eat En-.
Long years ago there used to come
through Talbot county negro trader,
O'Neal by name, from whom Hon.
Henry Persons CLEANED the story of
'.Uncle Sandy's possum, being the
modus operandi of 'possum catching
and eating as told in the original Lam
| guage of the old darby of sole Vir-
giney neber tire =
''Jesso. boss, jesso," says Uncle
Sando, dat 'possum am curious var
mint, shores yer born, yit hit shorely
am de sweets Of meat"
'How you cotch i'm and cook and
eat i'm? Ise jess gwine ter tell YER"
Yer fuss go down in dc ole pine
fieI where we Glen up about ten years
go, and yer cut yer sum er dem fat
lightered roots out de ground from
one er dem stumps; den yer fotches UNI
hum and sets UNI up in de chimly cor
ner fer ter dry twel Sadday night cum.
Wen dat night comes yer jes tux dem
lightered roots and split EN- up and
lites um, and takes yer AK on yer
shoulder and goes out de cabin do,
calls yer dog. and den go down the
boss lot branch. Yer go long fer bout
er hour and yer tink yer amt gwine
ter ketch muffin. Bimeby, near bout
wen sebcn stars way up yonder, yer
lose yer dog. He done clean gone fer
sho. Yer gifts nifty tired. Yer tink
fer sho you yer amt gwine to ketch
muffin. Yer gifts sleepy and yer eyes
git hebby. Yer long ways frum hum.
Yer start back dar, too, nifty low sper-
eted. Yer call and call dat dog, but he
ain gwine cum no mo; den yer goes on
back toards hum, and bimeby yer gifts
dar. An yer dun TUX yer boy, Sam,
wild yer, and when yer gifts in de yard
Sam he stops little while ter listen; den
he Daddy, l ere dat dog Yer say:
oh, hush yer fass, boy, yer doan kno
what yer talkin. But he says agin:
Daddy, do ere dat dog sho.' Well,
den yer listins and yer 'eres er dog
barkin way off in the woods, pears like
about five miles off. Yer listins and
yer 'eres EN- again and dis time pears
like he furder off den fore. Sam says,
Daddy, less GO! Yer stops and thinks.
Yer mighty tired, sho, but de boy beg
so, yer halter go. Yer starts. Yer
goes on pears like fore miles and yer
des fall down on er log. Yer say,
Sam, yer fool niger. Pse not gwine
er nudder step. doan bleeb dats my
dog, and er doan bleeb dc emmy pos
sum der needer Sam SAYS, We'll, |
daddy, eff yer don't does, Use gwinei'
Yer halter git up an GO Dat dog
barkin' on des de same; an yer soon
gifts dar, an sho huff, des like Sam say,
de dog is dar, an dat possum is dar
too. De tree whar he up is one er desc
litt.s simmon trees and Sam'll soon |
elem it an fotch brer possum down by |
de tail. Yer look at the 'possum an |
smeck de lips, fer q be big fine fellow. |
Den yer take EN- an 90 rite back hum,
an jess TO yer git ter de door. yer take |
yer AK 'andle an put 'em cross e mex |
an bre'k'e mex by pullin' OBJ e tail.
Den yer TEX i'm in 'ouse, and dc ole |
oman done left great big fireplace heap
full hickory ashes. Yer takes de shub- |
bic, and opens big hole in dem pile er
ashes, and drops dat 'possum in dar,
an when yer take i'm outer dat de ha'r |
DIES pull off DIES es easy, an yer put i'm |
in some hot water and scrapes i'm wild |
or casenife. and he Gums clean. Den |
yer takes out der intrals, hang i'm up |
aud wash i'm good, den yer salts 'im |
down, and puts i'm away twel Monday |
morning.
Monday morning cum, dc ole oman |
tex i'm out an parbile i'm good, den |
she git bout PEEK or taters and den |
Slices dem taters an piles EN- all |
over i'm, an den she baks i'm twell de |
grease run all fru dem taters. Den she |
ticks i'm out an puts i'm in de big
dish, an sets i'm on dc dinner table |
W do tot nil. all Ga,
Yer cum ter dinner fun de fiel, an |
yer walks in an sets down ter dc table,
but yer doan eat dat 'possum den! No,
sab. doan yer eat i'm den, AFTER
dinner yer DIES takes i'm an dc taters
an sets i'm up in dc cupbard.
''Bimeby yer Gums HON FUN dc days
work ter supper. You're nifty worn
out, fer yer been wuking in dc feel hard
all day. Yer sets down outside dc
cabin do and tekes yer pipe and
smokes. Fore long Sam say: Dad
dy, supper reddy.' But yer DIES set
dar; yer doan 30 in. Yer wait twell de
ole oman and the chllun git fru eaten
and de chillun 90 off ter bed. Den yer
knocks der ashes out yer pipe and goes
in. Yer moves de lccile sauar table
front dc fer aud puts yer char close up
dar by it. Den yer goes ter dc cup
bard and gifts de possum and tatcrs.
Yer puts EN- on der table. Yer tells de
ole 'cman ter 20 on out an yer loks de
do. Den dar yer is. You an de pos
sum all by yecself togedder. Yer frows
yer ole hat on dc flo, takes yer seat in
dat char by dc table, and GIBBS yer sole
ter yer God" - Idlbotton (Ga.) Era.