, 1884-01-30
ON A COON HUNT.
Maryland Girls Out on a Tramp by
Torchlight
up n Gum Tree"---A Queer Process
demonstrating Down the Game
---CoOn and TTaters, Pone
md Pie.


llea was pTepOSJerOuB. jest Ter LnlnK Oh
these yer MINNEAPOLIS a trapesin' bout de
woods in de night time; doan't b1eve in no
SIGH foolshness," whispered Uncle Zeke, the
champion coon-hunter Of the neighborhood.
So thought everybody else except the OBJ
durate young ladies, who argued that as it
was more or less a family party there was no
IMPROPERLY in such a frolic. The discussion,
which continued for nearly a half-hour, was
carried on by an anxious mother, four young
ladies, three young men and old Zeke before
the large kitchen fireplace, in which big oak
logs were burning briskly, sending out a
mellow light that outlined the figures in
magnifed shadows and formed some fantastic
p~antomimes on the opposite walls.
"Why, girls,n said the mother, "who ever
heard Of young ladies going on a c~oon-huntf'
That's just why we want to 60" answered
the one with b own hair.
swell, then, il can't persuade you out of
this insanity, suppose you ask Uncle Zeke's
opinionf'
Uncle Zeke had beer a 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 to whore 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, are your
IL tApItAS IL ClhhslCaliy, this DrOko tine OLD
man all up. He backed down like a coward.
~ guess it won't do no harm for you to 60"
he said. "But you and the young men must
keep together, and don't go anywheres only
where l tell you"
The party, now numbering ten, got to-
gether, and by half past 8 o'clock had passed
through the road 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 SHELTER,
playing leap frog and getting far in advance
of the others. And all the time the ladies ex-
claimed: ~oh, myi" "Ain't this jollyi" and
showered a perpetual torrent of questions on
Uncle Zeke.
where's your gunr' they asked.
w doan't take no guns. There amt no
fun in shootin' coons. We kills 'em with
clubs. You seed the sticks them young fellers
hadi Wait till they git at u coon, and you'll
purity soon see how they kin git the best of
him"
Zeke directed tho boys TO take the dogs to
the fence corner near the branch road. II
seed a lot of half-eaten corn, and some uibbled
chestnuts round there to-day, and you kin
depend upon it dare's a coon somewhar in
the neighborhood."
The whole party met at the fence corner.
The ladies were eager with excitement to
press on with the hunt The pine knots
which the party carried were lighted. Three
mon We're distributed among the party. Due
advice was given to avoid muddy placea
Now, go aheadl" shouted Zeke. The
hunters and huntresses move forward. A
queer torchlight procession 1t makes, the
glare of the pine knots giving a lurid hue
to the tall, leatess trees. The dogs bound
forward, barking uneasily, while the darkies
cry "Hi, therei' &c it, nowp
And on we go. The torch lights our path
way. Zeke y already in the lead. We fol-
low after. In n short time we see the dogs
under a large gum tree, barking furiously.
The excitement grows intense. The noise of
the dogs, the hubbub of the boys and the ex-
elamatory furore of the young ladies COM
bine into n small sized pandemonium, which
would scare an ordinary coon to death.
Zeke assumes command. "Take care de
ladies over dare, near de clump of cedars;
an keep 'em dare. Don't ye come under the
tree, or ye might git hurt" The ladies were
promptly removed to the reserved portion,
where they have an excellent view of the
operations. The torches indistinctly illumi-
mated the tree. On one of the topmost
boughs was seen a clumpy mass.
"Now, jake" stentoriously cried Zeke,
"climb de tree and shake do critter outI"
on goes Jake's coat. He springs to the tree
as If attacking a monster. Upward he
mounts. He reaches the branches, pulls him
self up and climbs the tree as II it was a lad
der. He pauses.
"Uncle Zeke," he says; and the old man
asks, whats the matterT",
"Uncle Zeke, dares two OF 'em."
"Bless de Lawd," fervently exclaims the
old man.
"ohl ahl ughi" utters a female voice; don't
shake over this way"
But the tree quivers. The branch with the
clump moves violently. A second and the
clump falls. A four-legged creature lights on
the ground. In a twinkling there was a rush
toward it. Men. dogs, clubs and the mapping
coon revolve together in active, yelling,
whirling, yelping, rotary warfare. The
women scream, the dogs bark. the men slash
at the coon. The melee, the free, scrambling
fight goes on savagely until a club descends
plumply on the animals head, and the corpse
Of an eighteen-pound coon is stretched upon
the ground.
The men stopped to wipe the perspiration
from their foreheads, and to regain their lost
wind. The recess is short, and Zeke ex-
claims, Now let the other Teller come"
A good shake and the "other Teller" does
come. If Jove had sent one of his thunder
bolts down through that tree he would not
have produced n greater CONSERVATION than
did that animal. The ladies saw a four
legged something drop. They saw 1t hit the
ground and bound upward. They saw it
glare its eyes and start toward them. Then
they rent the air with historical screams,
and four feminine forms fitted nimbly over
logs, bushes and brieB into the distance. 1t
was a regular stampede.
But in the meantime the hunters inter
cepted the coon. They had the hardest time
Imaginable in getting it. Three times it
gained the bushes, only to be driven backby
the dogs. Then, exhausted and bafied, it fell
a prey to its enemies. Its weight was six
teen and a half pounds.
The routed female forces Of the coon-hunt-
ing brigade were gotten together. Their
flight had brought on nothing more serious
than n genuine scare and a few brier
scratches.
when the old coon started toward us, y
said one, "it looked as big as an OK" But the
dead animals treasured them of the success
Of our expedition, and their fears disap-
peared before the reawakened enthusiasm in
the sport Laughter came back. Songs
were now sung, and general jollity prevailed
while the party threaded its way homewards.
The hunt had resulted in two dead coons and
no mishaps to speak of. Who could want
morel
"Ain't they beautiesf' says Uncle Zeke,
holding W. the ring-tailed animals; II tell We,
ladies and gentlemen, de best thing on dis
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