BOYS, THEIR OCCUPATION, AMUSEMENTS, BAD PRACTICES-KILLING BIRDS, ROBBING THEIR NESTS: SUPERSTITION SAVED THE WREN: TOP SPINNING: CALEB AND JOSHUA THE TOP AND CROSS-BOW MAKERS.

Of my early boyhood, I have a vivid recollection. The Island was more densely wooded then than now, cow-vines, grapevines and other climbers were in profusion on and among thickets of myrtle and papaw and other undergrowth; while the plentiful cactus, known as prickly pear-pads, covered the ground; all overshadowed by the stately pines.

In these places the boys would hunt for birds' nests, and rob the innocent creatures of their eggs; the poor, chattering mother and mate, bewailling the destruction of their offsprings in embryo, would be ruthlessly clubbed away. The boys knew precisely how many eggs each kind of bird lays; and when the mother bird had deposited that number in her nest, which perhaps had been previously found and watched, the boys robbed it.

When a nest was found with its compliment, the eggs were first tested, if sound they were taken possession of; if not, they were destroyed, often with young birds in them. This was especially so as to cat birds for these the boys hated. The wren escaped because a superstition prevailed among the boys, handed down by previous generations, that if one killed this bird or robbed its nest he would suffer a broken limb. The writer never robbed this bird but once, and shortly afterward broke his arm.

Has playmates at the time accused him of robbing a wren's nest; with fear and remorse he confessed the truth, and never again molested a wren.

This coincidence carried conviction to the superstitions. If sorrow and regret of later life can atone for aught, perhaps he may be forgiven for his part in this cruel, boy mischievousness. No bird, except the hawk and crow, is killed at the writer's home, and no bird's nest molested. The people of this Island were and are yet born hunters; while the older heads were killing ducks, geese, swan and other birds, also minks and other furred animals, it was natural enough for their boys to catch and kill birds, and to even deprive them Of their eggs; this they did without parental protest. None looked upon such as very harmful.

Every boy had his myrtle "birding club," his cross-bow and arrows; his springs for rabbits & his traps for birds, in every briery branch and fench-lock. By this means hundreds of strings of dead birds, even sparrows, were shipped to market by the boys, whence were obtained tops and chords and other trinkets. Every boy with top and chord in pocket, would fly out on Sunday mornings to some conspicuous place on the public road, for top spinning. Every top had a brass head in its crown. Some clear, hard place would be selected; a circle of two or three feet drawn; the chords measured from centre of circle out where a mark was made. The rule was: stand at your mark, throw your top spinning, to centre of circle.

If any top didn't have activity enough to throw itself out of this circle at its dying gasp, it was placed in the centre of the circle, and all the smart ones had leave of one trial to plug at that lazy humiliated top. That top might be fortunate enough to receive a side-box and knocked out without injury; or it might get a hole in its crown, which could be easily repaired with putty, but, worse still, it might be split in halves.

Our friend Caleb Beasley had a turning-lathe, and, with the aid of his brother Joshua, made us every nice tops. These were considered better for plugging purposes than bought. These two good men took a pride in making our tops and good cross-bows and we took delight in doing chores for them in return; but, when in their presence, we had to conform : to prescribed rules of good behaviour, which restrained our proneness for the mischievous. Later on they introduced the tumbler-and-trigger cross-bow which was a great improvement on the trip-with-the-finger one.

Besides spinning tops, birding and bird-egging these were episodes interjected for recreation, to keep monotony away; playing rabbit, fox & dog, hide and whoop, jumping the rope, all manner of ball games, wrestling, boxing, running races and searching yellow Jackets and bumblebees nests; on the Sabbath we tried ourselves to the boat-landing, where we waded in the water and besmeared with mud the Sunday clothes put on clean in the morning. The penalty of this last offence was to dance to the time of a chinkapin switch early Monday morning.

For be it known that while the boys were carousing, the parents were reading the New Testament and Psalms at home, or worshipping at church or at prayer meeting at some neighbor-house. They kept the Sabbath holy, and dared not whip their children on that sacred day.
 

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