Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1888-08-09

IahS's rhtIie4J a1phe, ahu gives y
care on attention to family matters
!, II two males meet IN The woods q
fields they fight furiously and not in
frequently 70 the death. An old COO,
hunter Of this vicinity tells how h
oHcs surprised two male cooas fight
Ing ia a corn-iieid. They were 5,
irantically Ia earnest that they flew
into each other even after the dog
hsd jumped upon them and taken .
hand in The dispute Fhe male ms 4 81
his range for forage much wider thar
the female does. and having no one
10 look after bu: himself more IRE,
quently escapes the hunter
/ Ia spring and summer ,ha margin
OF brooks and ponds and the soft mud
IN swamrs and bays in every cooa
country are always thickly lndented
with the graceful footprints OF the
coon, for IN these months he spends
ms nights IN catching frogs, tish, liz.
ards, grubs and mussels. which are
then his chief subsistence.
HOW AMI WHAT uE EATS.
Later OH ne ranges among the
huckleberry AMI blackberry patches
and feasts on the fruit When the
mix comes n the coru is the coon :
gala time, for he loves the tender sue
cuient grains, as the farmer knows to
bis sorrow, and great are the risks he
Will take TO forage IN the fields. Iii
not until the berries are gone and the
corn grown tough il the ear that the
Hoon begins to look about for his win
er stores. These he lays by plsnti-
fully from the bsechnut. chestnut and
acorn crops and on these crops de-
pends the hunting OF the coon when
ne is at his best. During the nutting
season he is lat and solid and wide
awake provided there are plenty of
nuts. If the crops are failure the
coon goes to his winter quarters thin
nd scrawny and poorly prepared for
the long winters sleep and fast, wan
dsrs forth on every day Of the thaw,
although the snow may lie deep on
the ground, in search of such fag ends
OF provender as may fall to his lot.
At such times the unfortunate coon
may be seen lowering, wan and hag.
gard, on the edges of the farm and
door yards, waiting for an opportuni-
I, n :'irk up scraps from the kitchen,
The poultry yard, or the pig-sty. One
rtaniarty Of the coon, which like
n."-' 2: his Peculisrities, have escaped
,hr ,t'ention Of the raturalists who
w'lt" hooks, Is that he never touches
food until he has quaifed at some
srIlng u brook, even if he is com.
r"'!,d :" 90 lar 70 find 1t. Old coon
hn"rers say that the coon dips every
ma",htul nl his iooi into water bs.
i"r' aiting it, but, like all old hunt
~fS. '.h coon hunters say great many
'h:"gs mat 1t would bother them to
prove.
4 i ioubtfui whether there are
nna'.' people who know that N no
"'it,t 'ountry on the globe besides the
4 - an ointment can the coon be
'.T'i au3 although he Is a .avorite
ssmn IA the SoG,h. is nowhere so
s,my aud excellent in condition as in
IN" Middle States When the coon
-'F'Nz lno.dinately tat and large he
!"sSt''s MS chance u falling a victim
'D ~ hunter, he then ventures but
q mort distance from his hiding place
amt g,ves the dog small opportunity
Tor iiuling ms trail. II was rare, for
this reason, even in the days when
'""n hunting was science, that a
"'rr aver twenty pounds in weight
.ct- eyer hagged, although they have
n"eU known 20 attain weight Of
i,r'y pounds
The Mills and valleys of northern
Pennsylvania were always great re-
treats :or The cooa, but never were
t:"sr maligned animals 50 plentiful as
!hl- year. The manner IN which the
opportunities they offer tor rare good
~pn:' are neglected is enough to
max he bones OF the lead and gone
lovers of the star III chase turn and
r4tils IN their graves. Hunters 20
out NJ the barren hills daily and
stand shivsr:ng on a wind-swept run.
way, waiting for the deer that never
comes, or tramp from morning Il
night through swampy swales and
brambly thicksts hunting the pleas
ant that fails to rise, while spor
rhA, famous men loved and elevstes
and grew enthusiastic over years ago
aud from which no hunter can return
without pleasure and profit. goes beg
gins on every aide. What the coun
,rv pssis IA snorfsmen With less affac