Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1898-02-09
The Willy 'pOSSUM.
THE SPORT IN GEORGIA BEFORE
THE WAR.
As Described by Richard NJ. Johnston
in n Government Pamphlet IN
early Educational Life In
Middle Georgia"

MiuuIe GeOrEtn."
A sport which boys greatly delighted in
was accompanying the negroes while hunt
Ing the opossum. Its relish was the dearer
because of the infrequency with which par
ents. especially mothers, consented TO it.
OF all delights to the palate of Il Southern
| negro, and. indeed, of many a Southern
white man, the flesh of the opossum, when
baked to the proper degree of brown. is
the dearest. Astounding in fat. perhaps,
beyond any other animal, its flesh resembles
much that of a sucking pig, only being
more soft. 1t is so easily fattened that on
being taken out of the woods it generally
is in condition tit for the oven. Southern
ers regard it of all meats the least tndigeSt.
lille. and but for its superintendent fat IL
would appear more frequently on the tables
OF the whites. In some houses this super
fluffy was disposed of by placing a layer
or more of oak or hickory sticks to the
height of three or four inches at the bot
tom of the oven. and upon the lattice work
thus made laying the opossum. BY such
mode much OF the oil was DEPOSITED on inc
sell. never resorts to these measures. but
takes his favorite as he is. indeed prefer
head.
AT every home, whatever might be lack
ing for making up the full OF nome COM
dem was it without two or three. These
were not of the pack of h~ounds-from four
the fox and the rabbit. They belonged to
the negroes. and were usually. we'll trained.
a ne tor nIh' Of lPiEEHHttWoeodd a sticks Of HfN suitable
length (about two feet). accompanied by
at least one other, bearing another ak anu
an armful of other sticks. sailed forth 10
the woods.
Both he and his dog we'll knew the Nest most
skirts of wood and meadow wherein grew
the persimmon. the mdscadine and the wild
,7s pot,c a f rabbit tb stating doE' WHICH aR a', undereto m.i
| " ell enough that that sort of game was
for the day. never for the night. After
brief. as the beast is not swift of foot and
travels over an inconsiderabIe space: Inc
dog sark fbe little opess 9r n0R Whe mhi aboppt aft to Be
overtaken by surprise. makes with what
| speed he Is possible to a tree. In his emerI
gency he sometimes has to take a small
| sapIing. up which he, can mount to no high-
err than six or eight feet without bend,
i he w sha tax eaee Il 70 ne s "a large ne' o 9ne n aitsop paihssSSs he
is not as particular in that matter as the
r%accoon, who. being more swift of foot and
| more capable in general of taking care OF
himself, invariably seeks the largest he
can find in his flight. There was one ex-
Of an opossum Of smaller size. more slender
OF make. much more fleet of foot and with
2 preponderance OF black mars IN M ms ,: SHfh;
the hunter was called by ms DOG, pc vas
apt to, suspect that it was either a raccoon
| called. Whether it was of a distinct species
was not known. individuals were no. onsen
met with; and a black h nf them maf took ak"f aSe
place of its betters. as. being small ana
| thin. it cost more to take him ana 10 1a''eh
The freeing, vsas announced by a bark
peculiar to that Office. and entirely diner.
emit from others. There was no sounu oL
eagerness, as in those of pursuit. II was
one brief utterance of mere announcements
as if the dog had finished the task as
signed to him and would now lie GOWN
and rest till his owners came up. IL MS
bark was ~hearkened to he gave no more. II
not. he repeated 1t at intervals until 1t was.
Then he sat or lay while the tree was be-
ing felled. Just before this crisis, unless
the tree was very small, one of the axmen,
quitting that work, repaired a short dis
lance on the side opposite to tEat In when
the tree was to fall and held the dog by
L the collar during the descent. This was
done to secure him from being crushed by
rushing too speedily among the branches.
Instantly upon the fall he was looSed, and.
rushing forward, seized his game. nearly
always before It could get to another tree.
At that instant all the excitement ended.
a. moment before the seizure. II he had it
to spare, the opossum. offering no resist
ance. laid itself down and to all appear
aEces died. This was regarded as an in
death b. seeming to be dead already. 1t
will fight with neither man nor dog. and
at last seems to implore for pity and spar
ing of life to one so entirely submissive.
sum" applied to persons suspected of max
ing insincere ado about their own ailments
or other suffering. or pretending to be
asleep.
The way in which the captive was Sc
cured, If not novel, was curiously and sin
inches in thickness and rlve or six feet
long was split at a small distance from
one end. and before the wedge was with
ulhw Was !e drawn sGns about na'f half' Of 'p'f its ienssa
through the slit. after which the wedge
was Withdrawn. The captor slung the
stick across his shoulders. trimmed his
torch, and, IL not ready to return home,
hied his dog to another search. Occasional
ly a negro would return home. not too late
with three or four hanging from his pole.
The killing was usually postponed to a
Sunday. During the interval it was kept
in a box seat with it's open side upon the
ground. and made firm by heavy stones
laid upon the top. ventilated with auger
holes. 1t was fed upon ~persimmons MAIN
potatoes and other vegetables got from
the negro's small garden that lay behind
his cabin. 1t was really surprising what
degree of fairness it would take on in a very
short time.
The killing was after a way peculiar to
that animal. In all probability. never since
with slaves did an opossum. when killed by
a negro. meet death in any other. For the
time-honored custom he felt respect that
would have been sorely hurt even by sug-
geStion of substitution of another. The af-
lection he cherished for this dear object
made him scrupulouS that when his end
was to come, as 1t must come Inevitably.
according to the destiny of all beings, SEN
tient or not, it should be decently in accord
with usage handed down from the ances
tors of both. And so. on a fair Sunday
morning. taking him tenderly. and yet with
sufficient firmnes of grasp. by the tail. he
drew him from his box, into the light of
day. let him &c dead for a while, after
his harmless. deceptive way, and. it may
be. addressed to him some words of praise
for the manner in which he had made him.
self ready for the winding up of this his
last job. Then, laying down his ak with
the helve across the victims neck. and
contact. while he kept it pressed. with his
two hands he pulled the 'possum's tail I'M
til its neck was broken. Already n pot of
water hard by had been made hot for scald-
ing the hair from his precious carcass"
by this time become, as some expressed 1t,
"as round as a butter ball." After he was
baked and set upon a tray, flanked salts
was interesting to see the rapidity with
which. using a favored smile among ne
groes. it would "go down de red lane"
practically, this goes to the root of the
matter" says Joel Chandler Harris, re-
viewing the pamphlet in the Atlanta Con-
stitution. I'm the SOS the Blue Dick" was
known as the Black Jack and it seems
the common gray 'possum. Ordinarily they
are smaller, but frequently a Black Jack
was caught weighing from fifteen to twenty
; pounds. They are as crafty as coons and
almost as feet. They have been known
to leap from a falling tree and take to
the fields and give the dogs a race for a
mile or two before taking to a tree, and
49, IN.- A. -~..-