Part 19 (1/2)

”All this, as I have said, occurred afterwards Let us now return to the narrative of our fishi+ng excursion

”As soon as the porcupine had been disposed of, ere res, who had ceased their howling, but required to be relieved of the barbed spines hich their lips were sticking full

We drew the this, their heads began to swell up to twice the natural size, and the poor brutes appeared to be in great pain They were fairly punished for their inconsiderate rashness; and it was not likely that they would run their noses against another porcupine for some time to come”

CHAPTER THIRTY TWO

THE CUNNING OLD ”'coon”

”We now continued our journey toward our fishi+ng-ground, Cudjo having hung the porcupine to a tree, with the design of taking it home with him on our return It was Cudjo's intention to skin it, and eat part or the whole of it,--a species of food, which he assured us, he had often eaten before, and which tasted equal to young pig None of us were likely to join Cudjo in such a ht hen the quills and skin are reet a s This was an object, certainly; as, out of our scanty larder, Castor and Pollux did not fare the best sometimes

”We soon arrived upon the bank of the creek, and close to the pool

This was a long stretch of deep dark water, with a high bank on one side, shadowed over with leafy trees On the opposite side, the bank was low, and shelved down to the edge--while several logs lay along it, half covered ater, and half of theh bank for our station, as upon this there was a spot of srassy turf, shaded by beautiful palmetto-trees, where the children could tumble about Here Mary sat doith them, while the rest of us proceeded to fish Of course, we could do no more than throw in our lines, and then wait until the fish should be fools enough to bite We conversed very quietly, lest the noise of our talking should frighten the fish--though this was only an i our floats more than five ht stir in the water; and, in the midst of the little circles thus made, we could see small black objects not unlike the heads of snakes At first we took them for these Cudjo, however, knew better than hat they were, for he had often seen theinia

”'Golly, Massa!' cried he, as soon as they made their appearance, 'de creek here am full ob de turtle'

”'Turtles!' exclaimed Harry

”'Yes, Massa Harry,' replied Cudjo; 'and as dis nigger lib, de am de real soff-shell turtle! Dat's de meat for dis child Cudjo,--better dan fish, flesh, fowl, or 'possum,--dat am de soff-shell'

”As Cudjo spoke, one of the turtles 'bobbed' up nearly under where we sat; and, fro a snout, and the flexible shell that bent up and down along its edges, as he swam, I saas a species of _trionyx_, or soft-shelled turtle,--in fact, it was that known as _trionyx ferox_, the most prized of all the turtle race for the table of the epicure Here, then, was another luxury for us, as soon as we could catch the Cudjo how this could be accomplished, when I saw that my float went suddenly down, and I felt a pull upon the line I thought, of course, it was a fish, and co it to the surface, I perceived that I had hooked one of the turtles, and no doubt the same one which had looked up at us but a e one; and we soon landed hi him over upon his back As I learnt fro that e to them Of the truth of this we had a curious demonstration shortly afterwards

”In a few ood-sized fish; and we still continued watching our rods in silence, when our attention was attracted to the movements of an animal upon the opposite bank, and about one hundred yards belohere we sat We were all well acquainted with this animal; and Harry, the moment he saw it, whispered,--

”'Look, papa! mamma! a 'coon!'

”Yes, it was a raccoon There was noface and snout, and the long bushy tail, with its alternate rings of black and yellohite The short thick legs, the erect ears, and the white and black marks of the face, were familiar to all of us--for the raccoon is one of the best-known ani our pets

”At the sight of the ''coon,' Cudjo's eyes fairly glistened--for there is no aniroes of the United States as the 'coon; and he is, therefore, to the a creature as the fox to the red-coated hunters of England Hunting the raccoon is one of the principal amuseht nights of the Southern States, after he has got free from his hard toil By theh it is not esteeher estilistened as soon as he set them upon his old and familiar victim

”The 'coon all this while had seen none of us, else he would soon have widened the distance between us and hi the bank of the creek, now hopping up on a log, and now stopping for a while, and looking earnestly into the water

”'De ole 'coon go to fish,' whispered Cudjo; 'dat's what he am after'

”'Fish!+' said Harry

”'Yes, Massa Harry He fish for de turtle'

”'And hoill he catch them?' inquired Harry

”'Golly, Massa Harry, he catch 'e his manoeuvres, and curious to witness hoould catch the turtles; for none of us, with the exception of Cudjo, kne We knew that it was not likely he would leap at them in the water, for these animals can dive as quickly as a fish; besides they can bite very severely, and would be sure to take a piece out of the 'coon's skin, should he attack them in their own element But that was not his intention, as we presently saw Near the end of one of the logs that protruded into the water, we observed the heads of several turtlesabout on the surface The raccoon saw the with his eyes fixed upon the swireat silence and caution He then placed his head between his fore-legs; and, turning his tail toward the creek, co, tail-fore bushy tail hung over into the water, where he caused it to ently backwards and forwards His body was rolled up into a sort of clew, until one could not have told what sort of a creature was upon the log