TX BIOS:  Aunt Lou Gravatte  O'Possum Hunt
   Selected and converted.American Memory, Library of Congress.
   
   Washington, 1994.
   
   Preceding element provides place and date of transcription only.
   
   This transcription intended to be 99.95% accurate.
   
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   collection, refer to accompanying matter.
   
   U.S. Work Projects Administration, Federal Writers' Project (Folklore
   Project, Life Histories, 1936-39); Manuscript Division, Library of
   Congress.Copyright status not determined.
   
   00011
   
   McGuire, Delise
   
   Nov. 25, 1936
   
   Floyd County
   
   District 17
   
   "Folk-Customs"
   
   Page 1
   
   Bibliography
   
   ("Aunt" Lou Gravatte, 55 years old, Floydada, Texas. Date of
   interview, Nov. 23, 1936) O'Possum Hunt
   
   They would have possum hunts in the winter in Jack County in the
   hollows and hills. I know every crook and turn in that county. The old
   people, the young folks, and babies, maybe sometime 40 or 50 people,
   would go out on one of these possum hunts. This was one of the
   favorite pastimes in that county when I was a girl. We would walk
   until we couldn't walk. Had a big ole bunch of hounds, 25 or 30,[?]
   would tree the possums and bark until we would get there. In woods you
   can tell jest exactly where they are and you can hear them hounds yelp
   for miles. Let a baby cry down there and you can hear it fer miles .
   [DEL: crying. :DEL] We would locate that possum up in a tree with his
   tail curled back over his back.
   
   Who ever could shoot good would shoot 'em. And if they hunted all
   night they would kill that possum right there and eat em. Build up a
   big old heapin' fire and roast that possum. Put him on a forked stick
   and one would hold him over the fire until he would get tired and then
   [DEL: antother :DEL] another one would take him. I have seen many a
   one [DEL: rasted :DEL] roasted. Shoot, people don't know what [DEL: it
   :DEL] tis now. They used to come to our house at 11 and 12 o'clock and
   wake us up by blowing big ole cow horns. Then we would all get up and
   start on a possum hunt. Lord , we used to see more fun in Jack County
   than you ever see out here in yere life.
   
   Some man or woman would bring along a [DEL: little :DEL] sack of sweet
   taters to eat with the possum. You build yer fire an 00022then after
   it dies down you get hot ashes and roast yer taters in the hot ashes.
   They would have a big log [DEL: heapin :DEL] heapin' fire to keep warm
   but just a small slow fire to roast the possums. The men would make
   two pronged stick forks to eat the [DEL: posum :DEL] possum with.
   Sometime the men would leave the women with the roastin [DEL: posum
   :DEL] possum and go out huntin another one. They would hunt until it
   got done, then the women would give a "Toot" with the big cow horn and
   here they would come. Sometime we would not get home until sunup or
   daylight and then go to the field and work all next day.
   
     NOTE: C12 - [???]
     
   There are people living in Floyd County and nearby towns who have
   attended these possum hunts in Jack County [DEL: , :DEL] . [the?] ones
   I remember are: W. A. Amourn, Mrs. J. S. W. Owen; [DEL: J. S. W. Owen,
   deceased and J. J. Foster, deceased :DEL] ; George Foster, of Lubbock;
   and Ivey Wilson, of [?], Texas.
   
   -30-
   
   444 words.

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