The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1902-09-05

/ But if dat dog jes turn tail on him one
mint dat possum takes to de woodsl
mo, dere amt much fight in a possum
but sometimes an ole possum fight right
smart. But you jes' git dat oossun in
tree and he'll whip a coon. II mes in
slnnnon tpersimmon) tree de possum
/ will whip his tail two, three times reEn' a
| liiT;e nrsnch ono den he'll claw WI all
his f ur II ct and bite wild his n'Ouf. But
d coon can't hang on wild his tail. OATS
whar he am at A disadvantage; he mus
hang en- wild his hind legs So III je coon
can do Is to fight wild his forelegs and his
mouf. OATS Why de possum liciSs him.
when l use 10 hunt possum my dog
would Sit en- dc scent and hunt hiTn to
tree De 10. sum is one OF desc yer
right fJrds. lie lie still al day. At night
de pnssum dent hunt for home. tut clims
a tree to get ric of de dog, A possum
wild n log after him If he is near home
viii lest run IN. But ginerally he hang
out on y tree as far as de linn will hold
him. Zen l Shake de tree. He thinks
he g,"ine ter fall and twists his tail an
od,cr turn roun de linn. But dat don do
no coed. case | cut de tree down. When
de tree falls dc dog will catch him.
Yer see, dar is two kinds or possums-
de gray and de black. De black VIII run
same as de fox. Dey is more scarcer dan
but don't grow so big case dey is kind
of small possum. Black possum don't play
dead much. He's ready FOR rgnt, and
he nebber comes 80 near de house, but
stays IN de woods A good fat gray pos
sum will weigh mebbe fifteen pound, but
fat black possum won't weigh more
dan nine. He's a bad-lookin' possum
ease mes black! Yah, yah! so he looks
more savage den g1ay possum
YES all DOssllus are eyreaf chicken
thieves wuss dan sum low niggersl One
night l heered my chickens in a row. |
went 20 de henhouse, and dar was q pos
sum on de ~oost a-cuttin' of a chicken
'roun' de neck. I done git a light quick
and set in de henhouse Den de possun
jump down quick and my dog git him.
De possum will bite mighty hard. Yer
! mus choke aim off or tear him out
"Coons an possums don't agree much
togedder. In dis yer country coons live
mostly In de rocks. Some say possum is
de best eatin. I say coonl Postum tastes
pretty good, but de coon tastes more
strong of wildness. De bes' way to cook
a possum is TO bile him until he's half
done, and den put him In de stove oven
and bake him. It's bes to put little
pork in jes' to season him.
Fore forgit 1t. wants to put yer On
about de possum carryin' his young uns.
When dey Is very young he carry EN- IN
his pocket JUS on his under side When
| dey gifts big he carry 'em on his back
De ole possum jes' whips his tail over his
back and all de little possums twist de
ends ODE dere tails roun de big tail and
hcl on right smart. When de possum
haint no young he jes' drag his tail after
him.
'Dere's one ting. ledge, DON jes' like
bout de possum. When he finds an old
dead boss or COW in de woods he go and
git all his young an feed on him. De
possum love dead things. But mos of
de time de possum lives on nuts, grapes
and simmons Den he's de bes' eatin'.
But If he's been near a dead COW he taste
jes like a turkey buzzard smell don't
know how buzzard taste. I never eat
none.
de possum is almos as smart as de
squirrel bout layin up stuff for bad
weather. He done lay up acorns and
nuts. Yet de possum is a nasty thing.
He'll eat anything don't care what it is.
Wildcats is mighty fond of possum. Cats
is plenty bout seven mile from here in
de mountains. Sometimes de possum gets
so fat he amt no good only to throw
away.
But. 4edge, dar's much more cite
ment huntin' coons dan possums. Dey
both have about four young uns, and
dey'll fight for 'em. Never see noe with
more than four. Deres great sport In
coon hunt. Want more than one dog un,
less he's very pertickler good dog.
Every time de coon's hand teen a dog he
tears de dogs nose. mouf and ears. After
a young dog hunts coons for a while. dat
dog knews sometnin'! De dog mus Throw
de coon on his back and ketch him on
his breast. It's In de night dat we go
for coons De coons tears our corn all
to pieces. De dog ginerally trees de coon
on big tree, uni ass de coon is pushed
berry close. Den we cut de tree. down. or,
| If he is on a small tree, shake him down.
De coon is not so easily caught as de
possum. De fall don't hurt him rome. He
fall on his side and de dog covers him,
and dey's both In for an awful fight
II don't think I know nuthin more