The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-06-25

came home. We were ALWAYS awake
when she came, for we could hear her
climbing the tree, and then, if ii was
not raining. she'd sit on the outside and
! dry her feet and clothes with her
tongue. Sometimes we'd get impatient
and begin to cry, and once one of the
others went TO the door; the slap he
| got made him squeal, and none of US
| ever bothered our nanny any more by
| going to the door. But my, How
hungry and angry l used to get while
nanny sat out there cleaning her feet
and drying her clothes. But she alway 5
took her own time, and then, when
| she came in, what a scramble there
was for the right teat. Mine was the
middle one, but 1 always had TO claw
and be clawed before / could get II. We
| were all ravenouS, and / never did get
as much food as 1 wanted at one time
till / came here. l think our kind are
born hungry and kept hungry, that we
may be able to escape from those that
follow us.
The first thing really remember was
once when 1 heard a bird chirping and
whistling right at our very door. /
trembled and shook all over. The others
We're asleep and l was glad OF il. Shak-
ing and trembling, l crept to the door,
and there, right at me, was a bird with
IL,
the bark. Shiverihg and shaking, |
jumped on him, but l came near falling
to the ground. He was stronger than he
seemed to be, and he had claws, too. He
clinched me with these, and beat NE
over the head with his wings, but l
didn't mind that. i didn't mind any
thing. l shook no longer. / felt my hair
rising on my back; 1 heard myself
growl / didn't know why, but / was
f,,r II ad Ia hird N
until his wings ceased to move; but L
had made my first kill. If one of the
others had come out just then, think
he would have been sorry. But they
were all frightened by the noise, and
were huddled in the farthest corner
Then. when / was no longer angry, but
proud, l went to the door carrying the
bird in my teeth. They smelt the blood
and rushed at me, and then there was a
fight!"
why, you were fighting your own
brothers and sistersI" said Sweetest
Susan, severely.
so would you, if you were of my
kind" replied Mr.. Coon. There was
fight, but they all got a piece of the
bird. After that we were changed; it
seemed as if we had been asleep all the
time, and something had suddenly
awakened us. Then nanny came home.
She shifted around and smelt the blood
and saw the feathers. She nosed under
US as we lay and rooted us out of the
way, but she found nothing more than
feathers. Well, l declarei' she cried;
who's been bringing you a bird"
is that what you call bird?' asked
one of the others, and when she said 1t
was, they all squalled out: o, nanny,
nanny, Fetch us some more. Mann
my, fetch us some morer
But she kept on asking: Who
brought this one? Who brought this
one?' 1 said nothing. but the others
looked at me and said | was the one
that brought the bird.
Where did you get it?' nanny
asked.
II told her r had grabbed the bird.
and though she said nothing she
seemed to be pleased, and ! 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
fine
Frogs" cried Drusilla. Lou hear
dat? Frogs"
Not the kind that live on land" ex-
planned Mr.. 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 lnany
long and hard lessons 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 1
the water, and move it about-and |
wait
Huh, 1 see myself" exclaimed |
Drusilla, resentfully.
Hush up said Buster John; hes |
talking about coons."
We'll some folks call niggers coons,
replied Druslla.
"All this time" Mr.. Coon continued, |
paying no attention to the interruption, !
you leave your body turned half |
around so you can see what is going on
in the water. When the fish shows
himself you reach down and f1irt him
out on the bank, and in reaching you
have to be quicker than the ashland
fish are mighty quick. But a gnawing
dag ig lublum; literally, cry
ing for meat-thing) makes a quick
hand.
We'll, nanny was trying to teach
US all these things, and we were learn
ng very fast. She took us with her
when the sun was low, or when il had
Just gone away, and, though the light
vas trying to our eyes, we did very
we'll. Once nanny heard a dos bark
ng and she hurried us home, making
is run as hard as we could. | asked
Ter what the trouble was, and she said
t was the barking of the dog that
scared her, and she told us that when
We were older and heard a dog bark
We must hurry home by a rounda bout
way, and run in the water whenever
We could, because the dogs had a way
# smelling where we went along and