New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-12-30
ON A COON HUNT.
A NIGHT OF ADVENTURE III THE HUCKLE-
BERRY MOUNTAINS

Madeline was out IN the orchard IN moment, closely
followed DO little Cheewt, and Gretchen, the maid
OF anwork Those doritnrs had been the special
pets Of tho Observation-Disclosures that this was the first
nishap In smateurtsh farming, although scores
had been predicted by oicious friends, and VIC had
not learned to bear losses with equanimy The head
Of the house, hastiy summoned from his desk, on
reaching tho spot, bshs,d . pathetic scene-Madclne
Chsewit he Teuton maid, al in tears, while Jabez
leaning on his bushrhoek regarding ruefully the
stark, headlsss corpssa
swhat did H. JsbcG,s he demsnded foxesr"
sNo,s said Jabez, with a sniff, foxes cllm' t-ces
the lice. It's eoon's work The woods is full
EN- up around Huchlebcrry Range and the Devils
Den Five fowls gone" he continued that means
there's nve coons in the muss, last summers litter
four young an the old uns
we must have their soalps, Jaoes How shall
We do iNraps, strychnine-f"
sNo," said he, "'beout the only way 10 catch a
coon is TO tree sm with good dog
"who's got hcreabouts Jabezi"
avail, Zeke Rodner's old yallsr dog Nose is lest
tho slickest coon dog in those parts. zekc sortsr
projected hunt up In these parts directly, he told
ne last night"
Bring him up, Jabcz" we said Z" and well take
. chance at these midnight marauders"
Accordingly At o'clock that evening zeke and
Nose appeared, and were ushered by Gretchen into
the long kitchen that occupies the whole north OF
the farmhouse. zcke never shaved and rarely had
his hair cut His long, shrewd, quIzzlcal face was
so tanned and toughcned By sun and weather that
II rcsembod parchment while his ragged SLOUGH hat.
faded great coat worn over q brewn jumper. and
mud splash trousers tucked into immense bootops,
did not add to the elegance OF his appearance Nose
certainly The ugliest dog we had ever seen. 1t
wa not that his hide dirty yellow, that he
was NANCY, that his teeth partly gone from
age, that he and snappy, that he turned
ali hasa fcaffi nd
disadvantages combined to form instance of posi-
tive and unrclievcd usllncss.
Dark 1t was indeed, issued from the kitchen
door, the stars shone dimly through the Indian
summer hase. We heard the dry corn rustling In
the breeze and the faint roaring Of the Usquebaugh
through the gorgcs of the Devils Den, mile up the
valley. We said to zekc that wished exact and
poetic justice be melted out-in short that
wanted the very family of coons that had done the
mischicfhot ther innocent brethren. and suggested
that Nose be put the trail leading from the poultry
yard. zekc, however, emnenty practical
"'Twoud lead" he said, straight up 10 the Devils
Den, and be lost in a hundred Others The way to
dn,' he continued, {" is make fur the woods an
take the fust that comes"
zekes OUTFIT" comprised heavy doube-bsrrellcd
shot gun Of English make, an axe, a hunting knife.
and q buls-eye lantern; Remington
breech loader. Up The river road podded BY The
Light from the bull'seye, Nose trotting domurely
behind, and CROSSED the Usqucbaueh at the gorge
by fallen fir thirty feet above the water. 1t
adventurous transit for Zeke had drawn the shade
long before reaching the river, and the darkness
intense; the log, too, slippery and besct with
Knots and spihes OF broken limbs after the manner
OF dead frs. But last crossed and found
ourselves in deep pocket among the hills at the
base Of a ledge Of tremendous boulders.
zehe moved with steaiihy, cat-lihe troal. The
city tried Nose his admiration he
obedicnt to the least tone touch of his master
SIT hcre,' said Zche at last, crouching a log.
He made low, clucbng sound with his lips, and
the dog wrggled off into the underbrush silent
the spirit Of the night. For five minutes waited
brcafhlessly, or ono Of US did, ct least Then
a single bark, echoine strangely through the forest
zekc sat unmoved Five minutes morc and there
succession OF sharp, eager yelps, and the
hunter sprsrg to his feet with the expression
Hes freed the null gang, old and ALL" and dashed
off through the underground at a rate that we wore
quite unable to hecr pace with. When we came
up he standing at the foot of huge OAK
scanning its top by the light of the bulrseyc while
Nose stood his hind legs, with his fore paws on
the trunk IN the act OF climbing.
Show him. boy said The hunter at last, after
an unsuccessful effort to find his quarry. Therupon
the dog retired few PAGES, and fixed his gaze in
tently on crotch about fifty feet from the ground
We saw two bright eyes pcering at him from between
burst OF flame rush through the air, and heavy
body struck the ground, scattering the dry leaves
Nose would have rushed In. but the same peculiar
sound from the hunter restrained him. The coon was
dead-a pretty animal with sharp nose. black eye
brows, small foxy ears, round str ped tail and thick
gray fur. There's four more up there, sartn,'
remarks zeke, peer1ng up into the towering foliage
Soon he raises his gun and sends another charge OF
buckshot into the treetop, and a second coon. with
terrible thump, comes 10 earth. third discharge.
and the quarry slides down the limb, and lodges In
the crotch at the main stem, Its tail hanging over
Zeke studies It moment "Shure dead" he
says and lodged. but we've got have his pelt"
A straight smooth spruce growing near. The
hunter measured with his eye the dis ance between
it's top ana the oaks; then he fell to with his
and in five minutes had It lodged against the notch
To worm up 1t with arms and legs and dislodge
the body the work Of few moments.
II. then built fire and proceeded to strip the skins
Once he stopDed short and scanned the Jaws Of the
subject before him Here's yer coon" said he.
pointing 10 small tufts of down wedCcd between the
teeth The city man bounced upon the head. had It
severed from the body. ana carried Il home where
sways at the summit of long pole In his poultry
yard. warning to midnight marauders.
After that we went deeper into the forest the bloody
re 'AG e went Se SO s spd @
fast through bush and brake that the amateur felt his
ther is ~" lis whatl' said the hunter " The piaco
where you arc going oh, Oh these trips ! keep
that clump Deekln Hardnn's rot corn lot where I'm
gon' tew put Nose In an we'll rest bit The deekin
told yesterday the workin like hogs there
and he wished I'd happen round some nlGht' Sure
enough, beyond the tees was worm fence and beyond
the fence cornhcld the dry hushs OF the standing
corn rustiing in ghoslv wav. Nose disappeared
We sat down a great fiat rock the fence.
"A coon amt nobodys fool said Zekc refcctivelv.
eyng the pelts an he manages to git pretty good
Twin without humpn' bisseh Frogs Is his usual
fodder specially In winter When he can't git much else.
but he'll take muskrats, rabbits quail. chickens. Der
res. corn anything that comes along But his Thanks
gvn' is about the last OF September when the corns
In the milk an lasts all through October" Here was
heard a short quick ycp from Nose in distant part
Of the field "Crest Scot" sale Zcke. theirs another
md off wo raced. 10 come uD and find Nose crunch
ing the Ito out o; urother OF thu brutes. STOPPED
down and patted the on his NANCY back Nose"
said / handsome is that handsome does Forgive
me you are certainly the prince OF coon dogs" Nose
answered with a rrowl
D otcI ardHc VIZ