The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1884-06-04
A TALK WITH THE BOYS.
SOME RiEFLrcToNs ABOUT HUNTING
The Advice of Journalistic Nimrod
{" WHO Kills wild Animals Mainly
y l6~1 With Pen, Ink and ''i'l
1afs 'r Paper. M 21li
IN. Quad. IN Detroit Free Pross.l

Go hunting with youSl'd 9Ii 1F
| Certainly. A Saturday in the woodi
three or four times per year won'S hurt
boy bit. 1t is good thing to know how
to use firearms, but there are certain
warnings which should never be fcrgolteI
or neglected. n sHlA
/. Never point q fire-arm Of any .descrip'
tion at person unless you have made W
your mind TO kill him on the spot.
2. In the brush carry your gun at a trail
3. Never pull a gun toward you by the
niuzzie.
a. Mover lean on your gun even when the ,
butt isresting securely on the earth.
huntod all day once in company with
man who carried his rifle on his shoulder
at full cock, so as to be ready IL he sighted
deer. BY some strange luck he didn'
kill either me or a deer that day, but or
the next he managed TO shoot himself. A
boy fifteen years old who has good horse
sense can be trusted with gun. The only
thing to be guarded against is his OWE
carelessness. The idea that a gun is dan
gerous affair to trhe with should always b,
present.
snow, then, let's post up bit Of natural
history. The black bear, the panther and
wild cat are the only dangerous animals
loft in the Eastern, Northern and Southern
States. The far West has the mountain
lion and different species Of bear, ~
The common black bear Is long lived.
One at Berne had been confined forthirty
one years, and another Is spoken OF in the
menagerie at Paris at the age of forty
seven. He Is an animal who minds his
own business, and gets fat at II. He sell
dom begins quarrel, but when he gets his
blood up he's fighter. From about De
cember TO the middle of March the bear
is dormant, neither moving out nor eating,
but living ON the bodily fat he has accu
mulated. .-b .'.... vr.
There are few panthers (sometimes
called catamount) yet left in the wilds oi
the North and swamps Of tho South. Giver
his choice between a fat boy and lean
pig, the panther would doubtless take the
pig. every time, no matter what stories
you have read about their nerceness As
TO the cry Of panther sounding like the
wall Of child or the scream of woman,
do not believe any more than you feel
obliged to. II you spend two hours in the
Geological Gardens OF New York or Phila.
delphia you will be almost certain to hear
panther cry out. You can then make
your comparisons. '.f -t r..... .,F 7..
Wild cats are plenty enough in the big
swamps and extensive forests, and they
seem TO hang on after other wild animals
have been frightened AWAY. Unless cor
| atN
flight. When put on the defensive they
are hard case to tackle. A full.grown
specimen will whip any dog in three min.
utes, ard hunters who have been attacked
have been seriously injured. 1t Is perhaps
safer to shut both eyes aud miss him when
you fire. As TO his strength, one which
was caught in n bear.trnp in Clinton
County few years ago dragged the trap,
TO which We're attached q heavy chain
eigh, feet long and a block OF wood weigh.
ing twenty-five pounds, distance Of a
mile through the woods before he was
brought up and ho then turned TO and ate
his leg Oft TO regain his liberty.
As TO the more common animals, you
may hunt for lifetime and not get shot
at fox. Reonard eats rabbits, birds,
fowls and almost any other kind Of meat
he can secure. II captured when young
he can be taught many tricks. A fox has
been known to run forty miles without any
rest TO speak Of. He will tire out the best
hound without greatly exerting his own
powers OF endurance. A boy who can
trap fox has got to get up early In the
morning. Throw down stick which you
have handled and he will take the scent
IL running within fifty feet of 1t, provided
the wind is right. ... .u .ir.
The woodchuck is an animal that Is quite
content TO remain near his burrow and at.
tend to his own affairs. He desires peace
and harmony, but when insulted will dc
some powerful biting, His burrow is
usually made on the slope of hill and ex
tends twenty or thirty feet from the open.
ing, and the boy who wants weeks job
on his hands should attempt to dig ono
out. Tho "chuck" will dig two feet to the
boys one, no matter how good tools the
latter works with. In coming and going
from their burrows they beat solid path
for number Of feet, and II a steel.trap Is
rightly placed the animal can be captured.
| ilo N Ho bOOuf uOWcNcTf MS luT DslnB
worthless and his beauty on par with chat
Of the opposum. Like the bear II remains
torpid through the winter. "
Rabbit hunting Is favorite sport with
boys, but the rabbit generally has the most
fun over it. When there is snow he can be
tracked until located. II he is in hollow
log, and you have got arms and hands
enough to stop up both ends at once, the
rabbit is goner. That is, IL you procure
an ak and cut three or four holes along the
log in hopes to come upon him, he'll make
his exit at one Of them and give you the
laugh. Let six boys surround brush.
heap in which rabbit has taken shelter,
and the chances are that he will escape the
crowd. Set "fgure pand bait IL with
sweet apple, and II there is hare in the
neighborhood you will be pretty certain ia
get him In. II you start one from his cover
and want shot whistle at him. He will
stop dead still. ....,. 81 hali
You may hunt the woods by day fol
years and not see a coon. He Is an ani.
NAL who is all asleep by day and all ac.
tiyity by night His home is in hol.
low tree, and no isn't going to leave
the place until It becomes positively
dangerous. You can smoke him out II
you have patience, or you can fell the