The age-herald., 1899-06-25

l shook no longer. I felt my hair rising on my back l heard myself growl l didn't know why, but I was furious. 1 crushed the bird in my teeth until his wings ceased to move; but 1 was still angry; had tasted blood; had made my first kill. If one Of the others had come out just then, 1 think he would have been sorry. But they were all frightened by the noise and were hud, dled in the farthest corner. Then, when was no longer angry but proud, 1 went to the door carrying the bird in my teeth. They smelt the blood and rushed at me, and then there was a ight!'
 Why you were fighting your own broth- CTS and sisters!' said Sweetest Susan, se- verely.
 "So would you, if you were of my kind" replied MT. Coon. "There was a fight, but thoy all got piece of the bird. After that we were changed. It seemed as if we had been asleep all the time and something had suddenly awaken us. Then mammy came home. She sniffed around and smelt the blood and saw the feathers. She nosed un- der us as we lay and rooted us out of the way, but she found nothing more than feathers Well, I declare! she cried; who's been bringing you a bird?
 " Is that what you call a bird9 asked one of the others, and when she said it was, they all squallod out, o. nanny, nanny! Fetch us some more! Nanny, fetch us some more!
 But she kept on asking, Who brought this one? Who brought this one? said nothing, but the others looked at me and said was the one that brought the bird.
 "'Where did you get it?' nanny asked.
 "I told her I had grabbed the bird, and though she said nothing, she seemed to be pleased, I noticed that she combed my hair with her tongue a great deal longer than she ever did before. After that, she began to bring us birds and frogs, and once she brought us big fish, and that was fne."
 "Frogs!" cried Drusilla You hear dat? Frogs!'
 Not the kind that live on land," ex- planed MT Coon, making a wry face but the kind that hide on the bank of the creek and jump in when they hear you coming. You have to take many long and hard les sons before you can catch one. Fish are easier to catch. You turn your back to the creek, let the tip of your tail touch the top of the water, and move 1t about-and wait"
 Huh! I see myselfr exclaimed Drusilla. resentfully.
 Flush up," said Buster John; mes talk ing about coons."
 "Well, some folks call niggers coons," re- piled Drusilla.
 "All this time," Mir Coon continued pay ing no attention to the interruption, you leave your body turned half around os you can see what Is going on in the water When the fish shows himself you reach down and fiirt him out on the bank, and In reaching you have to be quicker than the fish-and fish are mighty quick. But gnawing stomach (dag ig lublum; literally crying for meat-thing) makes quick hand
 0Ue1l mammy was trying to teach us all these things and we were learning very fast She took us with her when the sun was low, or when it had just gone away, and, though the light was trying to our eyes, we did very well. Once nanny hearo A dog barking, and, she hurried us home, making us run as hard as we could. ask ed her what the trouble was, and she said if was the barking of the dog that scared her. and she told us that when we were older and heard dog bark we must hurry home by roundabout way, and run in the water whenever we could. because dogs had a way of smelling where we went along and following us wherever we went; and if they followed us home they'd sit at the foot of the tree and bark until man would come with sharp cut-thing and hit the tree until it fell
 "All these things we learned. and great many more, but you know what fool things young things are"
 CT ain't op but know I ain't no fool" interrupted Drusilla.
 70. will you hush?" cried Buster John.
 "You know what fool things young things are" repeated MT. Coon. "They listen to what their elders say and think 1t is noth- ing but talk. The young thing is always smarter thing than the old thing, and sometimes he is too smart. I remember that one night I slipped away from the others after nanny had been gone long time. I was careful to make no noise on the tree but when reached the ground felt so happy that jumped in the air and whirled around for joy. The air was cool and fresh and swamp smelt good and the dark was fine. could see everything ever so much better than when the big shine thing was blazing over the trees.
 "So shook myself and Started for the pond in the swamp There caught some small Ash, and they tasted ever so much