The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1886-02-17
a woNnEnrrn rox.uusr.
4 Good Story Told on Some Amateur
Hunters.

Hunters.
Our Virginia lnouutaineersare are tough |
customers, and they squatted ali over
the valleys at q nominal rent. which |
had to be drawn from them like their
eve teeth. Th old gentleman, how
ever. had 4 fancy for the place and used
to come home with whole string OF
horses beh nd him as the revenue of
his priuciI Iality. But We boys, and in
deed all ,ur friends. used to look for
ward kee My to the annual excursion
to the Ho uaias. My father had q
pack Of hounds ut Which ne "as eX-
ceeainglv proud, and with whicii be
would hunt foxes at hone, and deer
when we went 10 --- county. \
long cavalcade it used to be that ever!
October Started f,rouI this door ioI the
mountains. Ny father and one of his
old cronies in the big carriage, tw"
wagons full OF provender, ammunition,
blankets, etc, and fifteen .: twent>
friends aud servants, mounieI on sad
dle-horSes IN the rear. The mnetH
miles used to give Us three days ol
travelling, and at the end our ta'na-
taineer tenants used to throng o meet
US at the rude shooting-toX with
stories Of deer and ''oar," wonderful
to listen to, and with eyes looki'i-:
wistfnlly at the corner where the Wis
KEY Jar always stood. | could n! the
night with stories OF the o,isi ways and
curious, simple lives Of these moun-
tainee:s, though none Of them were
such curiosities as oldJake, my fathers 5
negro huntsman. Caleb here was his
nephew, and helped him as j boy with
the dogs, and moreover is the grande>l
liar we have in these parts. He's Sit
ting up with the horse, so we'll call
him and make him give yoa a specimen
before we turn in. Caleb, these %et,-
tle,nen want to hearabout Un5le jake S
great Christmas fox-claSe.
''Lor' me. Mar'se George. them az,
times done gone so long now, l mos
disretnember all bout EN-.
"Why, it's not six weeks since l
caught you telling those New York
gentlemen,iu the stable; let's have ii
now without any variations.
SWELL, gen'I'mens, it wur some ff-
teen or twenty years bcfo' s'render,
when wur just chap Sorter helpln'
roun.' Uncle Jake, now the ole jedge,
that is Mar'se Georges pa, had been
fooled ever so many times by al ole
red in Carter'S mountain, not i great
ways from Yer, and got sorter mad
with the dogs, and old Jake, who
loved dem ar hounds jes' as if they'd
bin folks, swore he cotch that fox If IL
took him the whole of Christmas week
to do it in. The jedge he had a by
dinin' O. quality on Christmas Day, an
ole Jake he jest slipped off with the
hounds bout ds in the moruin' and
struck that fox's trail right to onst.
"He'd got sorter used to de o:e red,
and knowed what line he'd take, fo'
sho' He never went far from home,
but jes' kept gwine on roun' androun,
more like gray fox. Bout dinuer-
time I guy over, as the piow-mule on
which I rode began to get kinder
PLAYED out, but ole Uncle Jake had
taken the best horse in the stable, and
jes' pitched right on near the hounds,
who were alr the time ON the scent,
maxim heap O. fuss.
ssAfter dinner | took another horse
and slipped out TO see if l could bear
anything O the ole man, an there sho'
uuf the hounds were travelling roun'
the mountain where they'd first found
the fox, soon cotched 'em and KEEP
along with Uncle Jake, till sundown,
and when began to talk bout gwine
home fo' dark the ole man ie>' ripped
and cusssd, and said he'd stay wild dat
ar fox till the new year fo' he'd let
] him go.
swell, gen'l'mens, I jes' thote :"
got may be a 'tickier' Q, Tnsis.., in his
pocket, aud was sorter uppish on thai
accoant, so left him my fresh horse AM
rode; or rather led, M>'n home. In
The morning when I went roaud 10 the
stables and quarters, l didn's see no
honnds, nor horse, nor yet 10 Uncle
Jake. So says i, I'll jes' put the sad
die on the gray, and pone o. corn
bread and some meat IN my pocket,
and slip out and see if the ole mans
stillsat it.
swell, sirs, rode roun' till near
midday, when suddenly sees q dog
cross the road befo' me, then q whole
string comes along, and sees Jumper
-Frolie-Beauty, and the rest of them;
. you could most see through 'em they
were so thin, and though they had
their mouths open, and was tryin' to
raise q bit of fuss it warn't no man
ner o. use.
tI knew Uncle Jake warn't far be-
hind, and presently, sho' nuff, there
was rustlin' in the wood, and he
cum out right agin, the niserablest
sight yon ever seed. He didn' pear
to notice me much 'ccpt just to slip off
his horse and git on mine. put the
pone o. bread an the meat in his
pocket, an he went lopin' off after the
dogs on the colt.
'There wur no show fur me but to
git home with the mar, who looked as
tho she'd drop dead In her tracks. /
dursn't fool with no mo- horses, an
jes' quietly sot up for Uncle Jake that
night, but durn me if it warnt for
noihin'; two o. the hounds cum
sneskin' in bout sundowu, but that
Wur all.
ssNext mornin' | went to ole mar'sc,
the jedge, and he an the ecompany with
thote it a mighty good joke, and the
biggest kind of q crowd started out to
look for the chase. There wur nothin'
left to hear, and it wur about eleven
O'Clock he struck right in agin the
whole gang, and wur with him, or