possuming

He said afterwards he "would have turned and cut the rascal's throat, but he was afraid he was only 'possuming' and might brain him with the butt of his gun."

History of Kershaw's Brigade D. Augustus Dickert

"'possuming," before attempting to practise its usual ruse it will make every effort to escape from its pursuers.

The Western World Picturesque Sketches of Nature and Natural History in North and South America William Henry Giles Kingston 1847

"'possuming;" for the instant his eye was withdrawn it sprang up, and set off at a rate which showed that its powers of locomotion, at least, had not been impaired by the blows it had received.

Afar in the Forest William Henry Giles Kingston 1847

"Billy has no use for the day after the sun goes down, unless he's going 'possuming," her father said.

A Little Bush Maid 1910

With laughter and haste they all put on hats and coats, for it had turned bitterly cold; then with ear-piercing whistles the children summoned their 'possuming dogs, who were dreaming happy hours away in all sorts of odd nooks, in chimney-corners, under the table in the kitchen, under the bunks in the men's hut, anywhere warm and undisturbed.

Outback Marriage, an : a story of Australian life 1902

All this time I was possuming sleep in the bed as innocent as

The flush times of Alabama and Mississippi : a series of sketches, 1853

Page view page image: in his own language, “He knew what was what, and there was no possuming an old nigger like him; and if I had made him overseer, instead of Massa Jones, it would have been all the better for me.”

Sheppard Lee 1836

"Yes, I said she was possuming; but by to-morrow, if she ain't up outen that ar 'bunk of hers, I'll know the reason; and

Autobiography of a female slave, 1857