The Hattiesburg news., 1910-02-23
THE GOOD OLD TIMES
When Hunting Was Good and
Gray Mares Were Wonders.
REAL SPORT IN THOSE DAYS.

Old Jimmy Chambers Tells About One
Haul He Made When He Got More
Than He Expected-The Willing Old
Horse That Cracked Her Skin.
"Talk about yer huntin' trips" said
ole Jimmy Chambers. "Why, there amt
no huntin' nowadays; no, not none
'tall-leastwise none worth mentionin'.
at was different when wuz a
young feller Them wuz huntin' days!
When We went out to hunt We got
sumthin, l tell We. An most always
ye got dun sight more n ye expect
ed. l remember onct down in ole
Pennsylvania when l had hunt as
wuz a hunt had er ole muzzle
loader rifle that could shoot some, ]
tell We. An I wuz no slouch at shoot
in in them days myself could shoot
about as well as ther next feller. Well,
went down to ther river looain' fer
er deer. 1 seen one standin' right in
front Of er big tree. l pulled up ther
ole muzzle loader an let her 60. Jest
as l fired big fish jumped out Of ther
water, an my shot went plum through
him. seen by ther way he fell I'd
plugged er hole in him. The deer
Jest dropped where he stood-never
stirred, jest fell stone dead.
81 rushed out into ther river an
grabbed my fish fore it could float
away. With ther fish under my arm
/ started fer ther deer. An what dye
suppose? s. help me, jest back Of
where that deer stood ther bullet had
knocked er hole in that tree as big
as yer fist, an out Of that hole er
regular stream of honey wuz fowin'
That good honey wuz gOin' to waste
DUN fast, an l hadn't nary er thing
to stop it. Jest then er rabbit jump
ed out Of er hole l hadn't noticed, an
I grabbed him by ther hind legs jest
as he wuz leapin'. wuz goin' to stuff
him In ther hole when er flock Of quail
few up on ther other side of ther
tree. They wuz goin' straightaway,
an there wuz more n 10000 Of 'em.
Their ole muzzle loader wuZn't loaded,
an them quail wuz gettin' away fast.
I wanted some Of 'em bad, so Jest
let go that ole rabbit right in ther mid
die Of 'em, an the way he kicked
an clawed as he wuz goin' through
ther air wuz a caution. He landed
right on top Of ther whole bunch,
an when I got over there seventeen
Of 'em wuz dead on ther ground-yes,
sir, Jest seventeen Of 'em! An ther
shock had killed ther rabbit too. He
wuz all smashed up. l stuck his head
in ther hole to stop ther honey till l
could 60 home fer sum barrels.
II hitched up ther ole gray mare to
ther sled an went back. l chopped
honey enough to fill all my barrels
Well, slung ther deer an ther fish an
ther rabbit an ther quail OH ther sled
an started home. 1t wuz some load
fer ther ole mare, an 1 walked at her
head, kinder coaxin' her along.
wuzn't payin' any attention to ther
load, an, by gum, when we got up to
ther house there wuz that there load
way back in ther middle Of ther river
OF course kn0wed what wuz thel
matter. That ole grounding harness
had got wet an jest stretched. wuz
kind Of hungry. so jest throwed thel
harness over stump an went into
dinner. When ! cum out again thel
sun had dried ther harness an thel
load wuz just pullin" up to ther stump
That wuz some hunt. Yer don't gel
nothin' like that nowadays, I tell we
Them wuz good old days!
"An', speakin' Of ther ole gray mare
she was ther willin'est mare that evel
wuz. She'd pull anything yer hitchet
her to. I tried her, an she pulled ev
erything. One day sez to myself. BY
gum, I'll give yer er load yer can
pull an hitched her to er stone boa
loaded with all ther powders in thel
county. She got right down an pulled
an pulled an pulled, but ther loat
didn't bulge. l heard er little crack
but for er minute didn't suspicion
anything, an before noticed that thel
skin on her face had cracked it wui
wv idtC. yCilCu ~ hCi " sup, Ou
she wuz so dun mad she kept right OF
pullin', an s'help me, before I coult
stop her she'd pulled herself clean ou
Of her skin! didn't want to lose tha
there mare, an got busy an did el
little skin graftin' fer myself. l hat
some fresh sheep pelts, an l sewet
them on as fast as could sew. Well
sir, them pelts took root fine. They
growed on that there ole mare jest
like they'd always been there, an thel
next season l sheared jest 375 pounds
Of wool off'n her She wuz er good
ole mare, tell ye, an every year
got 375 pounds Of wool so long as she
lived. Yes, sir; it wus always jest 37J
pounds. Yer don't have no such horses
nowadays, tell ye."-Outers Book.