The Durham recorder. [volume] (Durham, N.C.) 1879-19??, 1890-11-05
THE SLY oPossUM.
Why He is Hulted In Old Wiz.
ginia.

: to use strictly Nrglnlan phrase
"'possum huntin'" is all the rage
just now.
Il Lovers Of the fun, (they call il
fun) tell wonderful stores OF their
night wanderings in the woods for
it is alleged that 'possums weie new
er more plentiful than this fall.
A Register man allowed himself
to be persuaded into 0 'possum hunt
Wednesday night. The party con-
sisted Of we'll known tobacco ma.i-
fsacturer, a bookkeeper, . young
business man engaged in the feed
and hay trade, the scribe ard three
loud-mouthed hounds. They drove
in dog carts to tie house Of afriend,
five miles from the city, leaving here
at 9 p. m. Leaving the horses In
the stable Of the friend, the party
took to the woods, and skirted
around several hills, stumbled over
many gulleys, tramped through
many fields and scrateed their faces
In numerous briar patches before q
sound from the dogs was heard.
Finally from a point away down
a on creek came a long lugubrious
note from the throat OF one OF the
dogs. "That's old Wise," remarked
the bookkeeper and ten the man
ufacturer gave utterance to war
whoop. Jackand Ball being .harked"
| in to the assistance Of Wise, the dog
music became lively and the feed
store man said 1t YVES wonderfully
warm track. After much ,shost-
ing by the men, which produced
more animated barking BY tie dogs,
excitement grew irto wild frenzy,
and the manufacturer, bookkeeper
and feed store man started away
through the dense woods TO join the
dogs or get as near 70 them as pos
sible.
The man Of news had nothing to
do but follow or try TO.
Over gulley, acrots creeks up hills,
down inclined planes (sone very
much inclned), through plum
thickets and briar patches, across
corn fields, often stumbling, frequ-
emily falling, humping up against
trees, falling over stumps and logs,
being whipped and dashed by swing
ling bows, scratched by briars, Sims
barked by stones and boulders,
tumbling into creeks, all the time
yelling like Comanche Indians in
chorus with the animated barking
and yelping Of the dog. Such was
the .'trail" which lasted more than
an hour and when the feed store man
banking on his knowledge Of the
peculiar notes Of the dogs, stopped
and remarked, "By gosh, they've
treed," The Register man sighed o
great big sigh Of relief, for though
he was playing the leading role in
Innocence abroad, he wes sufficiently
up IN the huntsman's lore TO know
that that meant q pause in this mad,
wild chase.
Sure enough the dogs stood
around gum tree and apparently
tried to bark their lungs to pieces.
| We took 1t by turns TO hack on the
tree with adult axe uutil the mon
arch Of theforest fell.
The professional hunters were q
little chargrined after tree fell be-
Use we discovered that IL IL really
was a coon we had been chasing, he
was fashioned after the Irishman's
flea, that's: When we hit him we
struck where he recently was. His
coonship was not in that tree and
the Danville banks don't cary
enough currency to have hired that
tired GROVE TO cut down another.
We left Mr.. Coon alone IN his glory
l-if he had even been in that town.
ship.
The vote on the question: aIs
coon hunting o successpn was un-
anlmous in the negative.
| We then went 10 q body OF woods
where the bookkeeper said he knew
positively there were q thousand
possums. He finally with much re-
luctance came down 10 adszen.
| When the hunt was over, he wa.
willing TO admit that only one OF
the ''sly varmints" vsgetated there.
| In an open space surrounded by
woods the dogs struck q hot trail.
ran it two minutes andstoppsd. The
men listened, heard the dogs growl-
ing and by that token knew they
had caught. We rushed 10 them
| The feed store man had rushed but
twenty yards. when he hung Ma
foot in o vine, fell fsrty feet, caught
on his stomach, but continued q
rush after the manner OF q black
snake, regained his equilibrium and
rushed on, never stopping FOR 4 lit
tle fall like that. We found that
the dogs had caught on the ground
and foully murdered . feeble little
'possum about the sine Of a full
grown cora crib rat.
The whole crowd was disgusted
and made their way TO the farm
house, hitched their horses and came
home, getting TO bed about 3 a. m.
Yesterday the drug merchants had
, a lively trade an Mnstano f.:,,;,,.,,t