Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1892-12-07
CHAPTER. 7.
THE STORY OF THE FIRST PIKE.

The aDtld MtSS0uT>tG1ls ttUe by cdtchtng
catfish.
This bit Of impromptu pantomime
ended, we expected to see the Pixies take
their leave. But no such thing.
All three seated themselves comfort
ably before our tent, and borrowing" q
little tobacco they filled their pipes.
After smoking for time Buck opened
out on new lay.
"Gents," said he, "you see it don't
take me long to size up the cats of any
place that I throw my hook into. wur
born on the bayous Of the Mississippi,
down to the south end of ole Missouri,
nigh to the Arkansaw line. I've been q
catfish ketchur all my born days.
down thar whar I wur born every
second son was turned loose in the woods
to shift for himself bout as soon as he
wur weaned. They had 80 many chill
dren down thar that they didn't keer to
raise more'n bout half Of 'em. What
was done with the extra gals never
found out. When the extra boy was
big enough to run alone they put new
breechclout on him, hung q bunch Of
hosshar round his neck, tuck him down
to the river bottoms and turned him
loose to root, hog or die.
"The woods along up the river for fifty
miles above the Arkansaw line wur full
Of wild Missourians of all ages and sizes.
After the first breechclout wur worn
out all went naked, and soon they wur
covered with coat of har as long as the
beard of a goat. If the people ever
wanted any of the wild woods breed
they sot trap for 'em, ketched 'em,
picked 'em clean of the extra har, put
clothes on 'em and set EN- to work"
"Why," asked l, Ibid they give each
boy bunch of horsehair when they
turned him loose?"
"Waal, because the people down thar
are tender hearted like, an not one OF
'em would turn child loose 'thout
given him the means of maxim a livin.
The hosshar were for maxim snares.
Out'n the hosshar they tuck AID made
snares to ketch catfish. AS soon as a
Missourian is weaned he begins to snare
catfish, and 80 pervides most of his livin.
He strikes out for the river jist as a
young duck makes for the nearest pud-
die.
"When they are turned loose to run
with the woods breed they take up with
some drove of the hairy ones that is led
by an old buck and so git good trainin.
Each drove makes its nest in big hol-
ler sycamore tree or log; then turns to
and lives on the fat O the land. They
eat the roots of the yearth. the fruits of
the trees, sich as roots, berries, paw
paws, persimmons and the like, while
for meat they have the fat cats of the
ole Mississippi"
"Do parents often take their children
back to the settlements asked one OF
our party.
parents don't trouble themselves
bout whose children they git. When
they want any they 60 out into the river
bottoms, set a trap and ketch 'em. l
wur ketched time O the war. Then
they bout made clean sweep Of the
woods tribes. They wanted all the men
they could get, so sot traps all round
the bottoms.
"Tll never forgit the time when me
and two others wur trapped. We wur
out in the woods diggin roots when oil
at once we smelt new smell. 1t wur
sich a good smell that all our mouths
began to water. We slobbered like so
many hounds. What it could be that
smelt so fine we did not know. We
tuck the scent and follered 1t up on the
keen run. In bout a mile we come to
queer lookin little house. In thar was
the stuff that smelt SO good We dived
in and began fllin ourselves with the
good smellin stuff, when down fell
door and we wur Gagged.
Eyer see, gents, when they wanted to
ketch up any Nv US wild Missourians,
they made a pen just like bar trap,
baited it with corn bread and sot 1T.
When the wind wur right one of the
woods breed could smell corn dodger
nigh on to three miles.
"Waal, when the trap fell we tore