The Tupelo journal., 1906-03-02

Now, l will turn to speak some
things in general terms and in a
| general way about some of the
men and boys of old Fulton in
the long ago. Fishing and hunt
ing was a favorite pasttime with
the men in those olden times,
and if / had recorded the many
incidents which came under my
| observation and which | heard
from those with whom l associa-
ted conld fill a book. | remem-
Der a little incident which occur
red with Egbert Belts and a rab-
bit which deserves recitation.
Egbert Belts and Bill Gather
had been out on long jaunt
fishing and were walking along
toward home after the days sport
was over, tired and leg weary,
and Egbert, to assist the foot
with the hand, had cut him a
walking stick of ordinary size
and was using it for that purpose,
when a rabbit scudded off before
him and almost from under his
feet. Under the impulse of the
moment, and not with any ex-
pectation 1of hitting, and no
thought of killing the cotton tail,
he dashed his improvised walking
stick after it, and to his and
Gathers astonishment, the hare
stopped suddenly as if killed.
On going up they found that the
stick had entered between the
leader and the bone of hind leg
and stopped the locomotive power
of the animal. When they look
ed at it and saw that the stick
which had entered the leg was
many time larger than the leg it.
self, Egbert said billie | carry
this rabbit and this stick just as
it is up for exhibition to the boys
because if we were to go up to
town and tell them how it oc-
cured without this demonstration,
no set of men on earth would be-
lieve u.s." So the rabbit with
the large walking. stick still in
he leg was carried up to town,
AID I my self saw it and heard
their explanation of how it oc-
Cured.
Fox and deer hunting, driv-
ing, was also pr cti c ed.
Some comical things sometimes
occurred in connection Herewith.
One night we were out some
three miles from home trailing a
fox. We had talked so much of
the pleasures Of the chase, that
Shelf Stribling concluded he
would try his hand in the chase
with us. That night we had a
warm trail for quite a distance,
and l had kept right with the
dogs until the fox was jumped,
or flushed, and then we had a
fine chase for about three or four
hours. having about twenty-five
dogs in the pack, and any lover
of the chase knows what music
they make. Occasionally we
could see old Reynard, running
like he was on wings just skim,
ming the ground. When we had
been in the chase about two
hours, and when the interesting
point of the chase was drawing
on, Stribling and l came to a
place in the by road which he
recognized. It was then about
eleven o'clock at night, and Strib
thought, he had enough, and in
the midst Of the thickest of the
contest, he abandoned us and
went home never to return to the
fox hunt again.
One night we went out sever,
al miles east of Fulton, jumped
a fox, chased him in fine style
for several hours, then lost him
altogether and made for home.
When we got about the eastern
suburbs of the town, our pack
started another or the same fox,
ran him into town and chased
him through many of the yards,
arousing the sleepers from their
pleasant dreams by our fox hunt
er's yells, if any Of you know
what that means. Women thrust
their heads out of the windows
and Joined in the hallowing, while
the men left their beds and joined
in the chase on foot, and some
Of them were at the stringing Of
! the fox, which took place right
| in the midst Of the town. Some
/ times a fox will take a straight
shoot right along a road for ma
nv miles with the hope of eludlng
/ his pursuers by that means, and
| the riders often get thrown OF
/ their guard, not expecting such
a move, and are left behind. |
| remember such an incidrnt on a
| fox hunt at old Fulton in which
the fox took such a course and
moved off seven miles ina strait
course and left all the hunters
behind except Alb Belts and me:
/ We followed close as we could
and rot in at the stringlng OF
| Old Reynard, while all the 9TH
ars had been at home for hours.