The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1884-02-28
ON A COON HUNT
Maryland Girls Out on Tramp ny
Torchlisht
Tn Gum Tree"...A queer froces'
demonstrating Down the Game
...Coon and 'Taters, Poue
and Pie.
baltimore American. J

1ssn ,-es ,,rsnosrerous. jest ter think OK
tbass yer wimnien-folks trapeSln' bout dc
woods in de night time; doan't bleye IN no
s;ch foolishness, whispered Uncle leEe, the
champion coon-hunter Of the neighborhood.
20 thought everybody else except the OBJ
durate Young ladies, who argued that as 1t
was more or less family party there was no
irnpropriety in such frolic The discussion,
which continued for nearly halt-nour, was
carried on by an anxious mother, four young
ladies. three young men and old Leke before
the large kitchen fireplace, in which big oak
logs were burning briskly, sending out a
mellow light that outlined the figures IN
u,agnifei shadows and formed some fantastic
pantonimes on the opposite walls
sWhy. girls said the mother, who ever
heard Of young ladies going on coon-hIntf
That's Just why we want to 60, answered
the one with own hair.
well, then, if l can't persuade you out OF
this insanity, suppose you ssk Uncle LekeS
opinionF
Uncle Zeke had been silent witness. His
private opinion, chronicled above, had been
EXPRESSED TO the writer in an undertone. One
of the Young ladies-a veritable diplomat
crossed 10 where the old man was standing,
laid her hand on the shoulder Of his rusty
coat, and smiling straight into his eyes, said:
Now Uncle Zeke, you're not going to de-
eide against Us, areyoui"
To express it claSsically, this broke the old
man all up He backed down like coward.
Il guess it won't do no harm for you TO go,'
he said @But you and the young men must
t-.or, roe- nd M
where tell YOU
The party, now numbering ten, got to-
gsther, and by half past 5 o'clock had passed
through the read gate and was making for
the woods across the field. The dogs bounded
over the ground yelping joyously. The col
ored boys hollered and ran heller skeiter,
playing leap frog and getting far in advance
Of the others. And all the time the ladies ex-
claimed "Oh, my" "Ain't this iolly" and
showered a perpetual torrent Of questions on
Uncle Zeke.
where's your gum they asked.
1--WE doan't take no guns. There amt no
fun in shootin' coons. We kills EN- with
clubs. You seed the sticks them young fellers
hadl Wait till they git at coon, and you'll
purity soon see how they kin git the best Of
him.
Zeke directed the boys to take the dogs to
the fence corner near the branch road. II
seed a lot Of half-eaten corn, and some nibbled
chestnuts round there to-day, and you kin
depend upon it dares coon somewhat in
the neighborhood.a
The whole party mat at the fence corner
The ladies were eager with excitement Il
press On with the hunt The pine knott
which the party carried were lighted Thres
men were distributed among the party Due
advice was given to avoid muddy places.
zs"Now, 60 aheadw shouted Zeke. Tn,
hunters and huntresses move forward.
queer torchlight procession it makes, tn
glare Of the pine knots giving a lurid hu
TO the tall, leafess trees. The dogs bount
forward, barking uneasily, while the darkie
cry Ali, there!' SO it, now!7
: And on we 60 The torch lights our path
way Zeke is already in the lead. We 70
low after. In short time we see the dog
Under large gum tree, barking furiously
The excitement grows intense. The noise {
the dogs, the hubbub Of the boys and the e!
elsmatory furore Of the young ladies con
bipe into a small-sized pandemonium. whic
would scare an ordinary coon to deaf
Zeke assumes command take care {
ladies over dare, near de clump Of cedar
an keep 'em dare. Don't We come under Il
tree or ye might git hurt" The ladies' we
promptly removed 10 the reserved porto
where they have an excellent view Of t
operations. The torches indistinctly illun
mated the tree. On one Of the topmc
boughs was seen a clumpy mass.
Now, Jake stentoriously cried Eel
"climb de tree and shake de critter outm
or goes Jake's coat. He springs to the Il
as if attacking a monster. Upward
mounts He reaches the branches, pulls hi
self up and climbs the tree as if it was /
der. He pauses.
"Uncle Zeke," he says; and the old Il
asks, "What's the matterp
@Uncle Zeke, dares two of EN-"
"Bless de Lawd,' fervently exclaims
old man.
"Ohl all! UGH" utters female voice; 3D.
shake over this way"
But the tree quivers. The branch with
cump moves violently. A second and
e,uinpfalls. A four-legged creature light
.he ground. In twinkling there was ]
""ru IT, Men dogs, clubs and the snapI
api ~ ,eEoive together in active, yell
Mnlrilng' yelpng, rotary warfare.
women scream, the dogs bark, the men 81
at the coon The melee, the free ' sc rl,o, i
fight goes on savagely until a clnh Jes ao
plumpiy on the animals head. and t1 80 on,
OF an eighteen-pound coon is Stretches ,ho ~ -
the ground.
The men stopped to wipe the nors,,.o
from their foreheads, and 10 regain t6"ir
wind The recess is short, and Zeke
claims, "Now let the other teller come y
A good shake and the "other felern
come. If Jove had sent one Of his TIM
bolts down through that tree he woul
have produced a greater CONSERVATION
did that animal. The ladies saw
legged something drop. They saw it h
ground and bound upward. They s
glare its eyes and start toward them.
they rent the air with historical scr
and four feminine forms fitted nimbl,
logs, bushes and briers into the distanc
was q regular stampede.