The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1888-11-15
INTERESTING STORIES.
Uncle Jacob Relates a Few Thrill
ing Incidents.
a Green Dutchman's Coon Hunt Trap
ping 50s-Pound Bear-An I'M
pleasant Encounter With
u Catamount.

Wlen tH6 #Elb6F ufOfe Oub 10 OHCi6
Jacob Griss place on the Drinker turn
pike the other day to have another
talk with the white-whiskered octoge-
marian, the active and jovial old gentle
man was patching up some rail fence
BY the roadside. 1t is quiet country
place out there, and whenever any body
who likes to hear interesting narra-
tives about life in the wildwoods comes
along, Uncle Jacob willingly drops
his work and accompanies his callers
to his residence near by, which was
once the famous old Buck Horn Tavern.
After they had been seated and a dish
Of fall pippins had been passed around,
Uncle Jacob leaned on his crooked
cane and said:
Let meses. Did tell you, when you
we're here before about the green Dutch
man who smoked the coon out of the
hollow treeF No? Well, then, I'll tell
tito you now. One winter we were cut
ting down some very large poplar trees
over the ridge yonder toward Tama-
rack Swamp Many of the trees were
i've and six feet in diameter, and it
took good deal of chopping and saw
] ing to get one of them to the mill.
Among the party of choppers there
was stout and tough young Dutch
man who hadn't been in the country
but few months, and he owned a lit
tie dog that he had fetched into the
neighborhood with him. The dog
tagged the woodchoppers wherever
they went, and remained out in the
woods from morn till night. The axe
that We let the young Dutchman work
with was a two-bladed one, and, as it
was the first axe of that kind that he
had ever seen, he felt very proud of it
and took great care of it.
On one Of the coldest days of the
winter the Dutchman's little dog wan
dered away from the choppers and set
up 9 continual yelping near the foot of
an immense poplar tree twenty or
thirty rods from where the men were
working. After the cur had howled
Tor half a day the young Dutchman
lramped over to the tree through the
deep snow to see if he could find out
what the dog was yelping at, and when
ne got back he told us in the plainest
way he knew how that there was a
coon In the tree and that along toward
night he would smoke the coon out,
XII IT and give it to me. then went
near enough to the tree to see that it
leaned good bit out of the perpendic-
ular and | came to the conclusion that
= tne tree was hollow there was room
enough in it for a whole family of
coons. About twelve feet from the
ground there was curve in the trunk,
ana ! could see that it would be an
easy thing for animals to nest in it.
ine putchlnan's cur continued to yelp,
and didn't bother him, but went back
work without saying any thing.
little after sundown the Young
putenman shouldered his axe and said
~ 1ouid tnen go and smoke the coon
out ltold the other workmen to fol-
'eH me, and we went to a spot within
sood sight Of the Dutchman and got
oenind trees to see how he was going
Vperate on the coon. The cur kent
sslpng and hopping about as though
g was ready to tear the animal all to
p'sces when it came out, and the
Du1cnman soon started a little smoke
nse 10 the hole at the base of the tree.
0 put on some bark and leaves and
asae smudge, aud then he stood
spposlte the hole with his axe up over
als head and waited for the coon 10
Jump out. expecting to split the coon's
s' ssaa open at the first clip. The coon
slont make its appearance as soon as
ae Dutchnan had calculated that II
uoald, and while he stood there. with
ns leetsbraced in the snow and his axe
leg aloft, the fire worked up into :
- ss nardly any smoke floating up the