Catoctin clarion., 1910-02-24
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 Expscted-The Willing Old
Horse That Cracked Her skin.

Haul He Made When He Got More
Than He Expscted-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 mentiOnln'.
at was different when wuz
young feller. Them wuz huntin' days!
When We went out to hunt ye got
sumth!n', tell ye. An most always
We got dun sight more II 'ye expect
ed. remember Onct down In ole
Pennsylvania when l had hunt as
-wuz hunt ! had er ole muZEle
loader rifle that could shoot some, |
tell We. An wuz no slouch at shoot
in in them days myself could shoot
about as well as ther next feller Well,
l Went down to ther river lOOkln' fer
er deer seen one standin right in
front Of er big tree. | pulled up ther
ole muzZle loader an let her go. 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 thcr river an
grabbed my fish fore 1t 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 or hole in that tree as big
as yer fist. an out Of that hole er
regular stream OF honey wuZ tlowin'!
That good honey wuz goin' to waste
dun fast, an hadn't nary er thing
to stop 1t. Jest then er rabbit jump
ed out Of er hole l hadn't noticed, an
l grabbed him by ther hind legs Jest
as he wuz leapin'. l wuz goin to stuff
him in ther hole when er hOck Of quail
few up on ther other side Of ther
tree They wuz goin' straightaway,
an there WIZ more n 10000 OF 'em.
Their ole muZZle loader wuZn't loaded,
an them quail r'uZ gettin' away fast.
! wanted some, If '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 caution. He landed
right on top Of ther whole bunch,
an when | got over there seventeen
OF 'em WIZ dead on ther ground-yes,
sir jest seventeen Of 'em! An ther
shock had killed ther rabbit too. He
wuz all smashed up. stuck his head
in ther hole to stop ther honey till
could go home fer sum barrels.
81 hitched up ther ole gray mare 70
ther sled an went back. ! chopped
that there ole tree down, an there wuz
honey enough to fill all my barrels.
Well. slung ther deer an ther fish an
ther rabbit an ther quail on ther sled
an started home. 1t wuZ some load
fer ther ole mare, an 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 l knowed what wuz ther
matter. That ole grounding harness
had got wet an Jest stretched. wuz
kind Of hungry, so jest throwed ther
harness over stump an went into
dinner. When l cum out again ther
sun had dried ther harness an ther
load wuz Just pullin' up to ther stump.
That wuz some hunt Yer don't get
nothin' like that nowadays, l tell ye.
Them wuZ good old days!
"An' speakin' Of ther ole gray mare,
she was ther willinest mare that ever
wuz. Shed pull anything yer hitched
her to. / tried her. an she pulled ev-
erything. One day sez to myself. by
gum, III give yer er load yer can't
pull an hitched her to er stone boat
loaded with all ther bcwlders In ther
county. She got right down an pulled
an pulled an pulled, but ther load
didn't bulge. l heard er little crack.
but for er minute l didn't suspicion
anything. an before noticed that ther
skin on her face had cracked 1t wuz
too late yelled at her to stop, but
she wuz so DUN mad she kept right on
pullin', an s'help me, before l could
stop her she'd pulled herself clean out
Of her skin! didn't want to lose that
there mare, an l got busy an did er
little skin graftin' fer myself. l had
some fresh sheep pelts. an | sewed
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 ther
next season l sheared jest 375 pounds
of wool off'n her. She wuz er good
ole mare, l tell ye, an every year l
got 375 pounds Of wool so long as she
lived. Yes. sir: 1t wus always jest 375
pounds. Yer don't have no such horses
nowadays, tell ye."-Outer's Book.