The Tale of the Three Coonskin Boys
Here's to coonskin boys
Who fear no noise
And are so noble and bright,
Who hunt bucks and does by day and by night.
Said coonskin number three,
"As long as we are free,"
to coonskin numbers one and two,
"Let's drive the old swamp through."
Coonskins one and two
Were to watch the deer come through,
While coonskin number three
Was to bark and pound the tree.
So coonskins number two and number one
Stood with their hands upon their gun,
When out of the brush and over the mound
Came a ten point buck with a terrible bound.
Coonskin number one
Emptied his gun,
And coonskin number two
Brought his 35 into view.
Coonskin number two
Knew that number one was through,
So while Mr. Buck was on the bound
Coonskin number two brought him to the ground.
So when coonskin number three
Came puffing up with glee,
He looked at coonskins number two and number one
And said, "Well done!"
We three alone, Keegan, Short, and Kent,
The coonskin boys, we represent.
Short and Kent each grabbed a spike,
While I grabbed an ear, and hung on tight.
We started off with a terrible dash,
But the buck was so heavy we couldn't last.
We pulled and hauled till black in the face;
We did all we could, but slackened our pace.
We reached the old car
By the light of a star;
We knew by the sky
That the day had gone by.
We loaded the buck on the old Willys-Knight;
I stepped on the starter while my pipe I did light.
We then headed for the tent,
We three, Short, Keegan, and Kent.
Well, we reached the tent
After a day well spent.
Then Short skinned with his knife
The buck without life.
This happened on Friday eve,
Just before we got ready to leave.
It wasn't long till we hit the hay;
This was the end of a perfect day.
Pete and I pleaded till our hearts were spent,
Trying to keep Hardy, but on he went.
It was on the next Tuesday he left his chums,
But never mind, Hardy, we'll both keep mum.
Thus the Tale Ended.
-W.S.K
Pete and Nick and Hardy and me
Went hunting, a buck to see.
Pete and Nick took the lead,
The Chevvie having the greater speed.
While Hardy and I in the old Willys-Knight,
Followed on in the terrible flight.
Pete and Nick got there first,
We went to Bill's to quench our thirst.
Pete and Nick their eyes did strain,
Watching for us, but all in vain.
They unloaded their duffle, including the tent
And started back for Keegan and Kent.
Of course, Hardy and I were getting our fill,
While talking and laughing with Uncle Bill.
We started away at an awful pace
To find the tent at the Spooner place.
Hardy or I can't quite remember,
But we ended up with a jammed fender.
We still held this lightning pace
Till we ended up at the Broffle place.
As we sat there dreaming,
And the old car steaming,
Along came Nick and Pete
And found us fast asleep.
As Pete woke us up,
Hardy commenced to gulp,
We had such a load
Was why we stopped in the road.
That night we all slept like logs,
All on the ground like a bunch of hogs.
The next morning as I turned over in bed,
I saw Hardy reaching, arms-length for his head.
We got up early a deer to kill,
As we were quite hungry, we wanted our fill.
We ate a lunch, and we ate it quick,
And started off at an awful clip.
In a very short time we reached the woods,
Where we expected to find the goods.
Well, we got the goods,
But not in the woods.
Pete and Nick were to watch very still,
While Hardy and I were to play dog up the hill.
We both felt quite lame and sore,
This being the morning after the night before.
As we waited for the boys to get their stand,
We sat in the car with our heads in our hands,
When out of the brush came a deer with a dive,
And found Hardy and me more dead than alive.
Hardy jumped and bounded and grabbed for the door,
But couldn't find the handle, which made him feel sore.
The deer was still on the bound
Before Hardy and I could get to the ground.
Hardy emptied his gun
While I got in one.
We loaded the deer,
And got into gear.
We turned the old car around,
To find a place where the deer couldn't be found.
And then we started back to Pete and Nick,
To prove to them our marksmanship.
Our shooting had caused them a lot to wonder,
Of course, they thought we had made a blunder.
Pete and Nick in their ways are set,
So on the beer, we did bet.
Hardy and I bet that a deer we had got,
While Pete and Nick bet we had not.
So after the drive we went back to the deer,
And Pete and Nick had to pay for the beer.
-W.S.K