The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1916-01-06

oS0ly v0fml0t, en- ne won't 1e00 On o.
bright moonlight night. His own shad-
der skeers Inn. An den hits sorter
nippin' en- frosty. en- e possum ain
dtten ter eat less'n he. be dressed eh
ppt on top Of er shingle roof Ter do
fros' ter soak. In lin all de night
..Oh. that's foolishness. Why won't
i refrigerator do as well? The object
II to get the animal heat out Of the
carcass answered Tom.
..Mout be foolish. but ! ants ter Ak
yer one queschuli. Who started dis yer
business er eatin' observation-disclosures.
whut pens on de fros'. or wife folks.
whut has desc hyar freezeraters-huh? e
II don't know" admitted Tom sheep
ishly.
'In co'se you dunno. Hit wuz de
niggers, en- dat's de way de niggers
fixes possums. Can't nobody but er
niger cook er possum jes' right nei-
Their? I'd as oon eat er dawg ez er
possum cooked by any n else Ell on
less de fros' has soaked in Inn"
Joe had been an amused listener.
That's a fact, Tom, about nobody but
q darky knowing how to cook possums
just exactly right. Why. Colonel Aims
worth. who lived down the river from
here, got to specializing in cotton and
made a whole lot Of money. He under
took to put on a great deal of style then
had his house fixed over and sent to
New Orleans and got a French chef,
and the first entertainment was a big
possum supper to a lot Of his cronies
from New Orleans. You just ought to
hear the colonel tell about it.
THAT Frenchman didn't know how
to cook possums. and he brought them
in roasted and swimming in cream
gravy with a lot Of chopped vegetables
all over 'em, a la something or other.
The colonel called him to the dining
room and asked him about it. Then the
colonel got SO mad at his dinner being
ruined he grabbed a big fat possum by
the hind legs from the dish and slam
med the chef over the head with it and
ran him down the front steps trying to
hit him again.
1.-The colonel said he agreed to pay
that chef a hundred dollars q month,
but any cook who couldn't fix a possum
right wasn't worth two bits a year. He
sent the chef back on the next boat
and sent for Aunt Venus, Uncle Jef's
wife, and she cooked the possums next
day"
Uncle JEFF stood chuckling.
II wuz dar. Yo' jes' oughter seed dat
Frenchy bounce down dem steps. He
wuz fat, an de colonel he wuz fat too.
a-makin' a lick at i'm wild every jump
wild dat possum all smeared over wild
cream gravy! He wuz de maddest wife
man l ever seed. De guests ain quit
latin twell yit. I reckon. Hit shore wuz
funny"
"All right, have your way about the
frost. Uncle JEFF" conceded Tom.
"Only l want to help catch a possum
and eat it If it is cooked right"
"Now OATS de way ter talk. Yo'
leave de huntin' ter me en- Unk' Rube,
an de cookin' ter Mis- Venus, en- all
we axes 70. boys is ter furnish de ap
4pertites en- DON founder yo'se'fs."
SnWe car furnish the appetites all
right" assuled Joe.
"Well, right after supper yo' all put
on yO' ole clO'es, en- me en- Rube'll git
de dawgs en- de res of de fixin's.'
Joe stayed to supper, and about half
past Z Uncle JEFF sounded his horn as
he came up the front drive, accompa-
MED by four yelping dogs. Uncle Rube
came from the ear Of the house carry
ing in one hand a light, sharp ak and a
lantern in the other. Slung across his
back and that of Uncle JEFF were bun
dies of very rich fat pine cut in
splints about the size of a finger and
about four feet long. Each carried an
empty sack wrapped about the cord
that held the pine splints.
What are those pine sticks forY' in
quired Tom.
Torches" answered Joe, who was
an old hand at the game. "Take four
or five Of those long splinters, hold
them together in your hand and light
the other end and it makes the best
sort of a l~ight-harder the wind blows
the brighter it gets"
"Whar we better go, Unk' Rube?" in
Quired Uncle JET.
II spec we stand q better chance
over in dat big ole feel by de creek.
Dey's some simmonses LET on de trees
VT down dar. I come thoo dar yes
tiddy and seed whar possums been
feedin'. Den dey's plenty black haws
down in de bottoms en- choke berries
en- red haws too. Dey's plenty er feed.
en- l bets we gifts er possum er SO"
'.All right. lead on, les be going
somewhere" said Joe, with impatience.
Uncle Jen sounded his horn. The dogs
leaped joyfully with frantic yelps and
sprang ahead.
The party cut through the stable lot,
down through the lower pasture and up
the long slope Of the hill where the old
field lay on the other side. They walk.
ed single file into the mysterious night
Rube with the lantern leading. ther
the boys. and Uncle JEFF bringing VI
the rear. AS they reached the crest OF
the hill they stood still a few moments
while the dogs ranged in front Of them
Directly n of the dogs broke into cry.