The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1917-01-14
THE SCRATCH PAD
By THOMAS EWING DARNEY.
THAT COON HUNT.

mention the discovery that possum
is not so amiabIe as it seems; and
that derby is vanity and vexation |
of spirit on an expedition OF that
kind.
We modified in an automobile, all
the way out Smithwick and the guide
talked about the dogs, while Malone
-Edgar-Ch Charley, Howard and
tried to keep out of the way of the
| dogs-when you stack four hopeful
and husky hounds with that many
people into one automobile, there
isn't enough room left for pleasant
thought.
| never knew there was so much
to dog. They were in constant
state of eruption-a bubbling and a
boiling and a surging and seething
of dogs; maelstrom of dogs in the
tonneau, sixteen hoofs galloping
across our feet all the time: hoofs
being used advisedly.
But these weren't enough dogs for
Smithwick; he kept Juggling more
dogs in-in conversational sense;
describing the maternal and naternal
and avuncular ancestry of these dogs,
with some reference to various pro-
jeny in various stages, of pupdom
and their canine precociousness; then
when these dogs were disposed of,
Smithwick remembered his friends
dogs, and their friends; and not
until all the dogs in the world had
been noted, and he began to re-
peat, and dogs began to overlap IN
a truly bewildering manner with
amazing confusions of lineage, so
that one famous dogette, so far as
could make out. was her own son
and uncle by marriage, did the con-
Lversation change, and then it set
tied on the coons those dogs had
caught and the luck we might expect
that night. We were bound for a
place described as Cup Jackson
Ways" where it was said the hunting
was so fine that I was sorry we
hadn't brought trailer.
We finally reached Jackson Ways.
You go out Jackson street q believe
that's the name of tiff not, it was
some other) and turn to The right,
then to the left; from there you go
straight ahead until it is time to
turn to the right again-this is i'm
portant because if you miss this
turning and go to the, left or worse
still, straight ahead, you will get
lost; then a little ways around the
curve at the foot of the hill, and you
are there. ..
The dogs burst from the carve
followed stiffly. A dreary sand trail
skirting marsh; behind US the
moon, large and yellow, just over the
horizon; far over to the left a gilt
tering point marked the lighthouse;
to the right, blobby streak of black
with ribbon of gray beneath and
an expanse of gray above, marked
the tree line of the swamp.
Presently one of the dogs delivered
himself of mournful ululation that
reminded me of all my sins but inn
mediately hushed, and was happy
again. A false alarm; so we crunch
ed on in silence, our feet momentarily
becoming heavier as the shoes ship
: ped more sand. The moon rose
: higher and grew smaller, and the
shadows that jerked ahead of us
were of astonishing blackness.
: Then all the dogs became voohl al
once-a symphony! each dog with 9
different note and different part
from the basso bay of the old hound
to the staccato bark of the young
pup; but all in harmony, all in time;
crescendo and diminuendo with the
rise and fall of the wind: what more
beautiful quartette was ever heard
To this music we listened for halt
an hour, the experienced hunters in
terpreting the progress of the chase
from the changing motif of the mel
ody until finally the steady drum
!, ming on one theme announced that
. the quarry was freed. We strucl
across the sobby land; reaching The
swamp, worked our way through tn,
underbrush, jumping from knob t
knob of dry ground and sloshine
: through the water when they raj
Y out.
2 At the top of little sapling around
which the dogs were prancing, al
; unassuming possuml
: Now coon was what we were after
e but possum's a possum for a. that
: We gave the sapling shake and tn,
modest marsupial plopped of-o
t would have plopped, had he hit TIL
r ground, but he didn't, being caugh
IN midair by dog. We rescued hin
without injury and he began to smil
o like somebody in society.
: "What we going to do with his !?
Eat him"
! Eat that thing?" l said, thinking
e of the smile.
: Glow you keep him from gettini
away" said /, eff we hunt som
{ more"
5, "oh, that's easy. You take
i branch and you split it and you wedg
nnn TCN-wr TT9