New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-11-27
THE 'POSSUM HUNT.
Hoe the FaUorite Food of the Negro
Is Secured.

November is the month to hunt 'possums In
November that sly denizen of Southern forests
Is at his latest, and the moon which illumines
ms haunts and, according to darby legend,
stimulates best the scent of the dogs his
t"ail rises earliest of any time in the year and
} ines brightest. In November too there is a
"frawsty feelin' in de ah,' which arouses the
full cunning and sagacity of the negro, who is
the pOssums chief foe
In possum hunting a white man need not
count on success unless he let negro make all
the 'rangements'' A "coawed pusson" of adj
eanced years is superior to yum wun," and
before the hostilities begin the darby should be
allowed to make his own preparations in his
own way. First of all, he locks up couple of
" possum dahgs" all day. that they will be
right shahp" when night comes. Such dog
is one that has shown himself in former hunts
to have peculiarly keen scent for the 'possum
He is of no particular breed being oftentimes a
cross of terrier. bulldog and hound. He pays
10 attention to the scent of raccoons, or rabbits
Dr. wildcats. He only hunts 'possums.
Just as the full moon energies above the east
Arn horizon the old darby brings out an axe
the handle of which he slips down his back be-
tween his coat and his shirt, permitting the
steel blade to stick out above his collar He
bitches a gunnysack under his left by
means of a string over the shoulder, and in
the other arm he carries a half dozen pine
knots. lie also drops a sly hint that the weather
nay turn colder and that it might be a good
plan ter hab drap when de possum's bagged-"
At last the dogs are loosed and the hunt is on.
The torches not lighted till the thicket is
reached as such a procedure is regarded i'll
oraened and invariably brings bad luck. The
actions of the dogs also carefully watched
as they, too foretell to the veteran 'possum
hunter what the fate of the night expedition
Will be. If they in straight lines they are On
a false scent. If they scamper about in circles.
they show that they have found a 'possum
trail, for no animal that inhabits the South
:-avels by such circutous routes as does the
cpossun. But if the dogs stink down and whine
At the feet of their master, it is sign that the
hunt must be abandoned at the very start The
dogs have found the scent of a "hant" and to
the negro this means danger or even death
liant" is his word for ghost and he will tell of
many wretch that has been found dead in the
woods because of continuing the hunt after his
dogs struck a "hant' scent
1t may be couple of hours or a couple of
minutes after the dogs begin to run in circles
that one of them will dash up to tree and
IGiEtng his head aloft, snap viciously. Up in
that tree somewhere is NASSAU 'Possum,'' and if
the moon is bright enough one can soon discover
him clinging to bough. He does not seek the
hangs so low that one may pull down the end of
the bough and shake him off
If he cannot be shaken off, the torches are
brought into play in order to satisfy the curl
osity Of the negro huntsman. He wants to know
how big his prize is going to be- and he waves
the haZing torches until he Shines the ewes of
the animal.
AS soon as he sees the torchlight reflected
from above in the shape of two round balls of
fire he can tell by their distance apart whether
the beast is full grown only kitten If a
"litten" the tree is abandoned and the hunt
begun anew.
But if the 'possum is big fellow and cannot
he shaken down. the darby loosens his axe
and begins swinging 1t Justify al the base Of the
tree trunk. However lazy he may be in the day
time, he shows no sign of a tagging spirit now. |
The dogs keep leaping up and down beside |
their master, and the trunk topples
they run up along it and spring on their prey.
1t takes a quick head for this part of the