Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1888-05-24
4 BIG HAUL OF GAME.


RACCOONS, AND A BEAR.
White Lake N. " Letter, May =
The most extraordinary of all huntin.
stories is told of Frank Kent, who live;
in the wild region about Saekett's Pond
this county. He was at work in hi
yard when he saw his dog suddenly max,
for the woods as fast as it could run
In few minutes he heard sounds of ;
struggle between the dog and some 9th
er animal. Kent got his gun and raI
to the spot. He found his dog and z
large red fox fighting. The fox whipped
the dog in short order, and the dog
sneaked back home. The fight took
place in front of hole in the rocks, in.
to which the fox quickly disappeared
Kent made an investigation and found
that the cavity in the rocks was moi
deeD, and he pushed a forked stick down
into it, found the fox with it, twisted
the stick until it had taken a firm hold
| in the foX'S skin, drew the animal out
at the end of the stick, and made it a
prize, but had gone only few steps
when small animal flashed across an
opening in front of him and was imme-
diately followed by another of the same
kind. Close behind the two bounded a
large gray animal. The first two were
raccoonS, and they were being pursued
by wildcat. The 'coons scrambled in
70
discovering Kent, did not stop until it
had gone hundred yards further on.
Then it climbed a chestnut tree and
crouched on a branch. Kent hastily
took off his suspenders, tied them togeth-
er, and with them tethered the fox to a
sapling by both hind legs. He then run
to the hollow log where the 'coons had
taken refuge and closed up both ends
with chunks of wood The wildcat still
remained in the chestnut tree in plain
sight, watching Kentis proceeding. Kent
walked toward it, but it stood its ground,
bristling up and showing inclination for
fight. Kent went close to the tree,
and, as the animal crouched as if to
spring, sent rifle ball through its heart.
1t fell to the ground and died instantly.
The report of the gun had hardly died
away when Kent heard crashing in
the underbrush off to his right. He
thought one of his COWS had wandered
into the woods. He went in the brush
to investigate and was surprised to come
face to face with large bear dragging
itself along with both hind feet in
heavy steel trap. Kent was obliged to
shoot the bear twice before killing it.
After waiting a few minutes to see
whether he would be called upon to kill
anything more that trip, and, nothing
further presenting itself, Kent started in
to round up his game. He went back
to the fox first, and got there just in
time, for ReynaTd had struggled until he
had freed one of his legs from the SuS-
penders and would soon have had the
other loose. Kent took the fox home
and put it in his smOke-hou Then he
went and brought in the dead wildcat.
Taking feed bag, he went to the hol-
low log where he had imprisoned the
'coons. He removed the pieces of wood
from one end of the log with a stick and
the 'cOOns rushed out into the bag.
Kent took the bag off of the log and.
throwing it over his shoulder. carried
the 'coons home and turned them into
his woodhouse. Then he went out and
dragged in the carcass of the bear. A
neighbor claimed the latter because the
trap was his. but Kent said he ought to
be entitled to it as reward for saving
the neighbor's trap for him. The mat
ter was compromised by an equal divis-
ion of the carcass and drawing lots for
the skin. Kent won it. His great haul
of game occupied altogether not more
than quarter of an hour from start to
finish.