"We now continued our journey toward our fishing-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 meal; but at all events, thought we, when the
quills and skin are removed, our dogs might get a morsel of it as a
reward for their sufferings. 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 with water, and half of them stretching up against the
bank.
"We took the high bank for our station, as upon this there was a spot of
smooth grassy turf, shaded by beautiful palmetto-trees, where the
children could tumble about. Here Mary sat down with 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 imagination of our own. We
had not been watching our floats more than five minutes, when we
noticed, here and there, a slight 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 we what they were, for he had often seen them
while fishing in the creeks of Virginia.
"`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, from the elongated shape of its head, resembling a snout, and
the flexible shell that bent up and down along its edges, as he swam, I
saw it was 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 them.
"I turned round; and was on the point of asking 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 commenced
handling it; but, to my surprise, on bringing 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 moment before. He was not a very
large one; and we soon landed him; when Cudjo secured him simply by
turning him over upon his back. As I learnt from Cudjo, these creatures
will eagerly bite at anything that may be thrown into the water and
appears strange to them. Of the truth of this we had a curious
demonstration shortly afterwards.
"In a few minutes more, each of us had taken several good-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 below where 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 no mistaking the broad dark-brown
back, the sharp fox-looking face and snout, and the long bushy tail,
with its alternate rings of black and yellowish white. 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 animals
in America, and we had it among our pets.
"At the sight of the `'coon,' Cudjo's eyes fairly glistened--for there
is no animal that affords so much sport to the negroes of the United
States as the 'coon; and he is, therefore, to them as interesting a
creature as the fox to the red-coated hunters of England. Hunting the
raccoon is one of the principal amusements which the poor slave enjoys,
in the beautiful moonlight nights of the Southern States, after he has
got free from his hard toil. By them, too, the flesh of the 'coon is
eaten, although it is not esteemed much of a dainty. The 'possum is
held in far higher estimation. Cudjo's eyes then glistened 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 himself. He was crawling cautiously
along 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 how will he catch them?' inquired Harry.
"`Golly, Massa Harry, he catch 'em. Wait, you see.'
"We all sat quietly watching his manoeuvres, and curious to witness how
he would catch the turtles; for none of us, with the exception of Cudjo,
knew how. 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 turtles
moving about on the surface. The raccoon saw them also, for he was
stealthily approaching this log with his eyes fixed upon the swimming
reptiles. On reaching it, he climbed upon it with great silence and
caution. He then placed his head between his fore-legs; and, turning
his tail toward the creek, commenced crawling down the log,
tail-foremost. He proceeded slowly, bit by bit, until his long bushy
tail hung over into the water, where he caused it to move gently
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.
"He had not remained many moments in this attitude, when one of the
turtles, swimming about, caught sight of the moving tail; and, attracted
partly by curiosity, and partly in hopes of getting something to eat,
approached, and seized hold of the long hair in his horny mandibles.
But he had scarce caught it, before the 'coon unwound himself upon the
log; and, at the same time, with a sudden and violent jerk of his tail,
plucked the turtle out of the water, and flung him high and dry upon the
bank! Then following after, in three springs, he was beside his victim,
which with his long sharp nose he immediately turned over upon its
back--taking care all the while to avoid coming in contact with the
bill-like snout of the turtle. The latter was now at the mercy of the
'coon, who was proceeding to demolish him in his usual fashion; but
Cudjo could stand it no longer, and away went he and the dogs, with loud
shouts, across the creek.
"The chase was not a long one, for in a few seconds the steady barking
of the dogs told us that poor `coony' was `treed.' Unfortunately, for
himself, he had run up a very low tree, where Cudjo was able to reach
him with his long spear; and when the rest of us got forward to the
spot, we found that Cudjo had finished him, and was holding him up by
the tail, quite dead.
"We now went back to our fishing; and although we caught no more of the
turtles, we succeeded in taking as many fish as we wanted; and returning
to the house, Mary cooked for us a most excellent fish dinner, which we
all ate with a keen appetite."