Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1894-01-05

-Ir-xsANN VII Cutb I IL u . NhN'
stStAS~H:c hickories, rife on
q 51 chandler. sot
down on a big log, laid his rifle on his
knee and waited.
The hunting" had then proceeded
as follows A chatter, a bark little
wav in the woods. Tom would draw
back the hammer of his rife and lean
forward, a streak of gray would flush
down a tree trunk, then all would be
still. Next minute the streak Of gray
and the noisy chatter would be IN a
tree overhead, perhaps Toms rife
would come up. Toms head would
lift. there would be n sharp crack and
a little bundle of gray would come
whirling down heels over head, long
bushy tail flying out like the tail OF a
comet. and Tom would get up, walk
over few steps, pick up the little
bundle OF fur and drop the squirrel
into his game bag.
Then he would shove another cart
ridge into the open breech of his rife
and sit down and wait again.
This was the rather tame way the
hunting had gone, and Tom had a
good bag long before noon.
Nevertheless, Tom was soon to have
an adventure.
He had concluded TO so home and
had walked down toward the creek,
and was coming ont Of the edge Of the
woods when he heard loud bark. A
big buttonwood tree hung over the
creek, and on one of its branches,
more than half way down, he saw a
squirrel larger than he remembered
having seen for long time.
1t was lying along the limb, its
body Aattened close to the bark, and
only its sharp nose and beaded eyes
showing. He would never have
noticed it if it had not barked when
he came out of the woods.
Tom quickly brought his rifle to his
shoulder. The little black knob on
the sight of the barrel showed against
the rusty gray ofthe squirrels fur. A
sharp crack. The squirrel slewed
around instantly on the limb. Its tail
and hind legs hung down for mo-
ment, while it held on with the claw:
of its fore feet. Then its hold gave way
and it dropped.
But twenty feet lower down its body
fell across the fork of a small branch
and, after minutes swaying, re.
mained still, the head and fore part Of
its body balancing the weight of itt
hind quarters on the opposite side Of
the branch.
Tom saw that his game was securely
fixed on its support and would not
come down. The squirrel was dead,
but the only way to secure it was to
climb.
1t was too big a one to lose, even
though he had several already. The
buttonwood was large, but several
shoots on its trunk looked as though
they might afford hold to climb by,
so ne stood his rife against a sap
pling, hung his game bag on a crotch
and started up the tree.
1t was not hard climbing, and he
had soon reached the main branches.
Just there the tree split off, going up
IN two shafts. At the juncture Of
these the wood had rotted away in the
centre and left dark cavity.
Immediately above the cavity and
about ten feet over Toms head was
the squirrel caught in the limb. Catch
ing hold of small limb he drew him.
self up so that his hand just reached
the limb on which was suspended the
object of his climb.
He tried TO bend the limb down,
but it was too stiff He started still
higher and grasping it, threw some oi
his weight on it.
Suddenly the wood cracked, the
limb broke, and he felt his feet slip.
He grasped at the trunk, but there
was nothing to hold. He knew he wa:
falling into the opening below. Some
thing struck him on the shoulder
some of the wood from the edge Of the
cavity. Instinctively he threw up hi
hands But his fall was not stopped
Another instant and he was in dark
ness, and he sank into some soft
spongy substance, which broke his de
scent. He came to a stop standing up
right.
A strong, pungent, woody odol
flied his nostrils. A cloud of sitting
powder almost choked him. He fel
the sides Of the tree pressing on him,