The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1896-02-13

tie delicious cooking OF SplrO Leteile.
and on cne or two occasions in my
life l have dined at Delm onico's ION
invitations, Of course); but nothing -
the line of the culinary art has ever
given me such satisfaction as the pig
tails I've stolen from a long line of
hogs that were hung up to dry
and freeze when boy "down on the
farm"
And the old hare-hunts we'd have!
T'ne deep Run fellows are chasing
nothing but shadows? If they could
but once witness the exciting scenes
of an old d-fashioned Christmas "hyar
hunt" with a mixture of the finest
strain-mongrel, ours, bench legged,
fee, free niggers and slaves-aIl in
pursuit of "Old Molly Cotton Tail" on
a cold frosty morning in Christmas,
they would sell out their outfit of dogs
and horses and try fishing i'll wash
tub in the backyard for sport-less
expensive, and as exciting. The fel-
lows raised up in town think they are
mighty smart, and they are-about
pool, poker, and yachting; and are
right Sin it" when you come to "dan-
Gin and flirtin' with the glrls-but
when you come to comparing HIM
with the country boy in his knowledge
of those things which make life worth
living, and bring peace and comfort
to old age, when the minds feeds on
the things of the past, the Country
boy has forgotten more than he will
ever know.
Our "M. H." (master of hunt) was
Unc' Jack the tanner. The next in
command was Josh Motley, the cele
brated fiddler. These negroes were al.
lowed to do about as they pleased; and
in owning them a man would feel
rich; for what they brought home each
year for their services would buy al
most any other negro. The name OF
Josh Motley was we'll known to the
habitue of the White Sulphur and the
Rockridge Alum Springs along in the
5o's, and doubtless many who will
read this will recall the happy hours
they've spent in dancing the old fash
ioned cotillions, mazurkas, and waltZes
which Josh ground out of his fiddle.
Theodore Thomas might turn up his
nose at his music, and call him that
"nigger fiddler" but the world would
be happier to-day if we had more
Of that kind of music. If old Josh
was living to-day 'twould set him
crazy to see tur young people, locked
in each others embraces, and sailing
around the ballroom floor, out O
time, thinking more about the hug
glng than they are of the music. He
would say, "Little mlstls, ef you don't
dance wild de music, ii puts me out!'
But am Distressing, | am too old tc
enjoy the modern dance, and lest
be considered an enemy to the "ne"
woman" or envlous OF my Juniors,
will drop the subject Of the dance and
come back to the hare hunt.
Unc' Jack bossed all the actors, the
whites as we'll as the backs on Christ
mas occasions, and when the old fel
low would speak every one obeyed hin
to the letter. "Now," said he, "de fus
one dat jumps hyar, | will give 'in
pack O. popcrackers!" That wa:
enough, for nothing would make boy
hunt harder or holler louder when he
bounced a rabbit than this. Such q
whoopin' and hollerln' and a callin
O. dogs as would be heard on the start
ing of hare was enough TO excite !
man with iron nerves. My dogs were n II
accustomed to such fuss and would
lose their heads completely, running
to where they heard the last call, only
to be brought back again into another
part of the field. 1t was just impossible
to tell where to so for everybody was
hollerin'. The poor little hare, wa:
doomed to die when once started. There
were so many negroes and dogs, il
she went out Of sight Of one she was
in full view of another, while the all
was literally filled with rocks and
sticks which were hurled at her with
out any sort Of considerable for the
safety of the huntsmen. We had q
cross eyed negro, who saw a hare in
the bed about two feet from my setter
dog on a point. As he could see the
hare and | couldn't | handed him the
gun and told him to shoot it. Wher
the smoke cleared away | had deat
dog, but the hare was gone.
We had a negro who stammered
When he went to tell you anything
you could walk forty feet and CONT
back in time TO hear what he had tt
say. This same negro was never at (
loss for a word when hare was started
He called the dogs with as much viu
as any one. "Here she! dar she go
Ketch her, Ginger." He was known a
the bes: man on the place to make
music on tinpan and call out ths
figures Of negro "brea<down.
Appomattox was not only the enc
of the Confederacy, but it brought t'
an end those happy days of the ole
Southern plantation negro, as we'll a
to his old marster. The Northern peo
Pile, in their ignorance, clamored 70
the abolition of the negro, laborinG
under one impression that we whip
ped 'em for the fun of the thing, anc
at night rounded 'em up like loi 0
cattle; but as long as there is lief, II
the South an honest, truthful ole
time "howdy, Mar,ter, negro of TIT
good old days gone-by he'll tell yo'
that the accomplishment of the free
dom of the negro for which Horace
Greedy and Wendell Philips laboree
so hard and SO long, ;ook out of hi
life those rays of sunshine which mad