The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1903-10-04
Jury 'possum hunt and accepted the in
DRAA1ATIs personal


DRAA[ATIS PERSONAL.
Mr. Miller had arranged everything
when reached the pretty little village of
Bon Air, nesting among the hickory
trees, the chestnut oaks and famed by
the stately pines growing on the granite
hills that run up abruptly from the bos-
ON Of the James, and jolly good party
it was that he had assembled AS we'll as
/ recolect, the following were the dra-
mats personae: Polk Miller, Rev. Mr..
Hardy, j. Harvey Blair, julien Snyder
Ran. Moore, Howard Coleman, Joe Cooke,
Mr.. Curtis, The Times Dispatch lightning
artist and the writer OF these few lines:
also Jesse Wilson, the champion coored
'possum hunter Of Chesterfield; Anderson
Eppes, the weighty man of Polk Milers
qUartette. and Ben, the vigorous welder
OF the axe. Three other important char
acters need to be mentioned here. They
were cold Bob" spotted hound, with
a basso profundo voice; Blaze" lean,
ank black dog. that is reliability itself
in the matter Of trailing" and freeing"
and Ring" the ambitious puppy that has
just made his debut, and tackles anything
that gets on the ground, from a flying
squirrel up to forty mies-a- minute red
fox. Wasn't this a crowd to wake up the
echoes in old Chesterfield and stir the
"varmints' according to the now twen-
tieth century rules?
MODERN METHODS.
The woods cling very closely around
Bon Air, and we were but little while
getting Into the densest part of them.
Every man was equipped with q lantern
and the artist In addition, had an acety-
lene gas lamp, that startled little Joe
Cooke, because. as he said, it made a
bright light out of branch water and lit
tie chips OF granite. ! noticed also that
Polk Miller carried some small round
boxes and q small paddle made from the
tor of cigar box in his side pocket I
did not know what this meant at the
time, but when old Blaze" freed for the
iirst time found out, as shall hereinaf-
tel appear, as tho lawyers say.
We had hardly gotten into the famous
"Rattlesnake" plantation when old Bob"
opened up In vigorous style. Blaze"
joined him quickly, and the puppy got
as busy as hen with thirteen chickens
on showery spring day. The trail"
was warm one. and 1t took us through
sWamDs, bamboo thickets over hills,
across gullies here, there and everywhere,
and so far, with the exception OF the
bright lanterns in the place of the ancient
lightwood knot, ! saw nothing that diff
fered very materially from the old-time
possum hunt, but when we "treed," as
soon Bob and Blaze" did, and the
PUPPY consented. the twentieth century
business came into play.
CALCIUM LIGHT EFFECTS.
The DOGS freed up small saping, or,
more properly speaking, up little grove
| OF small saplinBs. In the olden u1no
| we would have cut down quite forest
| tefore we could have gotten that pos
| sum. but what did these twentieth CEN
| fury artists do? Polk Miller got out his
paddle, put some reddish colored powder
or 1t and struck a match to it, while
Rostrup, the artist. focused his acct lene
gas lamp upon the overhangng branches,
| and behold there was not a part of those
samplings that were not in plain view
| of us all as we stood with heads up
turned and searched the Illuminated bows
| and branches for the terrified p0ssum,
which had never had such q Fourth of
July celebrate before In his young life,
and Will never have again.
"DAR He"
Everybody looked up the trees as MIL
lers calcium blazed, and not word was
said for three minutes perhaps, when old
man Jesse sung out In kind of fog
horn voice; Oar hc.'' We all look ed
where Uncle Jesse and Anderson Eppes
We're pointing, and there. on an over
hanging bow, we saw twenty pound
possum, grinning and wondering what
In the thunderation, so to speak, all this
iIuIhiHdtIDil anu ibpDuD WAS tDDul ltlS
possumship soon found out. for quickly
the sapling was cut down and Mr. Blair
the fat man OF the party, who up to this
time had used a long stick to aid nis
ronderousity over the hills and dales
threw away HIS cane, fell into the laps
Of the tree. and with the help of Ok
"I3laze" ana the puppy ,owed the pos
sum into the gunny sack.
THE OLD AND THE NEW
must con feSs that the new SVstom NJ
'possum hunting In old Virginia has som,
! decided advantages oyer the old. Ths