The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1888-03-15
SPORT THAT HAS THE DOUBLE
FASCINATION OF AND
DRnRUT

PROFIT.
Raccoon hunting is sport confined
almost entirely at present to the south
ern section of New Jersey, There was
time when the coon, as the Southern
negro invariably called him, could be
hunted all over the Middle and in most
of the Southern States. But now South
Jersey has what is left of the common
coon. The black footed raccoon still
exists in Texas and California to a Ger
tain extent, but he has not been the OBJ
jeCt of the huntsman's gun and skill in
those States. Coon hunting hereabOuts,
however, is one of the great sports.
| Not only is the chase of the coon rare
| fun, but 1t pays to trap the frisky ami
NAL and dispose of him to those who use
the body for various purposes. The av.
erage coon weighs about ten pounds,
but 1t is not uncommon to kill coOns
weighing as high as eighteen pounds
The flesh is solid and sweet and The meat
is regarded as dainty dish by epicures.
| There are caterers to cultivated palates
in New York and Philadelphia who are
always willing TO pay well for fat coon.
The smart coon hunter not only gets
paid for The coon's meat, but he also
sells the tallow of the animal to drug
gists and to at least one house that con
verts it into a salve that is understood to
have rare qualities in the curing of cuts,
burns and scalds.
The cinnamon coon is a grandnephew,
so to speak, OF the brown hear His ap-
petite much resembles that of Bruin.
lie is very fond of choice rabbit steak
and bit of juicy squirrel. The common
coon may be aptly described as a cross
between a dog and a cat. His tail is
his own peculiar property. however. 1t
has long fringe of brown fur, striped
with black bars, and is big enough to
wag the coon, when occasion requires.
Every reputable coon has pair of side
whiskers, Dundreary like in aspect.
through which the wind need never
cease blowing. His one companion ia
the opossum. The coon and the pos
sun are the Damon and the Pythias. the
David aud Jonathon of the brute crea
ton. They both wage relentless war on
the rabbit and squirrel. They both love
holes in the ground and both prosper be
cause they are so 'devlish sly.
These cold, moonlight nights are the
best in the year for coon hunting. Hun
dreds of men and boys in Atlantic and
Cape May counties are out every night
now after coon. Their shouts and the
noise of their guns can be heard over a
region Of nearly sixty miles. Dogs are
used to trail the creatures. When these
dogs, which are usually the little keen
scented beagles, are started out at night
they know that it means coon or
nothing and that no variation in the
chase in the way of running a rabbit is
permitted. With short, shattered, ere
Cendo barks the hounds dash into the
woods after perhaps iDdulging in brief
scrapping match or two on their own
account. If there be a coon within a
quarter of mile of them the hounds
are quick to find it out, The coon at
once begins to double and twist in the
hope of throwing his pursuers off the
trail. But the hounds, as unerringly as
the hand of fate. follow him n his wood
land pilgrims progress here, there and
everywhere. Once in a while, with al
most human intelligence, the coon will
take TO the tree tops and travel from
limb to limb for mayhap fifty yards.
Then it is likely that the hounds will
search in vain for the missing animal
Again the coon will Chamber up big
bush and clutching hanging branch,
swing backward and forward few
times until he has gained enough mo-
mentum to cast himself across a wide
brook. But old coon hounds know these
little tricks.
The leading dog regains the trail and
the others scatter on each side and run
abreast of him. II is not long before
the dogs get close up to the fugitive an
imal. The coon soon reaches its abode
ana has hardly whisked its tail in out of
sight before the baying dogs are at the
foot Of the tree. There they sit and bay
until the arrival of the hunters. Sound
ing the tree by striking it with an ak,
the men are able to tell how far down
its trunk the hollow extends, At Its
base is the coon's nest. Just above it
axemen begin to cut hole and the coon
frightened by the noise deserts his nest
takes to the dead limbs above and is
readily picked off with a shot from a
skillful marksman,