POSSUM HUNTIN.

Hokitika Guardian, 17 October 1921, Page 4

POSSUM HUNTIN.

Supper was just over in the little iiamc-built hotel at Magnolia when : harking of dogs and the dee]), soft voices of coloured men btought in. hurrying to the door. Outside in tic broad, sandy street were a party of live men, two white and three coloured, tie. lacier carrying between them two ok! guns and a new. sica:ji axe. Willi them wore a pack of half doi'en ",vaHer things," tan • nhmreti animals ol no particular bleed Im nearly as big as tux-hounds. "Wo’re ;1 going ’possum bunting. I.ik • to come along:''’ sugge.-.ed c: ,Judge Mii'.ell, anil inside liie minut s we were tramping tin Do street. ■Three hundred yards farther nn the street melted imp. ere. plihly into “piney” woods, and in the last fading dusk we picked our way among the tail, red pine trunks and dumps o! still’ saw -pa Intel to. Then* was no moon, hut brilliant stars shone in a dear sky. “Mighty line night for ’possum. 1 m

so, veil Ciceio Mack, the burly Negro who tram per beside me. "’Possum nebber come out moonlight nights, for him afraid of his own shadow.’ The ground dipped slightly towards a black wall of cypress, and here the pines were smaller and mixed with black jack-oak and persimmons. "I reckon do dawgs, dey’il smell one soon," said Cieero. "'Possum, him mighty fond oh p'simiimu.” The words were hardly out ol his mouth before the quiet woods ae'e .! in a frantic- yelping and everyone Marled running. Stubbing our toes on twisty mots, ripping our clothes on thorny bamboo vine:., we raced helterskelter through the darkness, guided ciiilv by the haying ahead. My tongue was like leather, my throat a desert, when at last the gapping changed to a deeper note. “I)ey' done trc.'d him," bawled Cicero. ami next minute we we all grouped together under a big persimmon.

A match was struck, a lorc'i id "lal w. o!" glared snmkily, and by its crimson gleam to or) mo • laced cag ‘id.v tij> into the three, around the trunk of whic h the dogs were loping madly. “I kin sec him.” cried one Negro, and Hung his dreadful old ga- pipe to his shoulder. M roared like a voting caiiiic o. lull all i: brought ci n was lea 1 , os and Iv. igs. “What tci' m'cil was :t hird’s nest,” ice;c l Ciccici. “Vo' wail. Ili 'hliih dc !: < cl” Tiic 1.0 .'inches swayed us lie clawed his way up. Then.: “I done seed him.” came a voice liom above. “Watch out dar !” Scilicet liilig crashed thcimgh the twigs and thudded to the grelllid. The (logs leaped for it. A snarling wociy, a yelp cil'.angiiisli from a bitten dog. then the niggois rushed 111. and one of them, seizing the 'possum i.v its 100 ■; tail, w 1 imied it out of the scrimmage, “lie’s Mire a line one," he said ti compliantly. '•Villi it-. liig inoiitlc. coarse grey llciir aci-t long prehensile cad. tics- creature li olic'd like nothing so nittoli as an enormous rat : but ’possum tastes better than it looks, and baked with sweet potatoes is a very good imitation of sucking pig.