Telegram-herald., 1890-01-30
ALL ABOUT RACC00NS
one or T-s ANNALS YOU CAN'T
cArc4s ~ : TRbP OFT o. MATER

ne, Are very Feaa - Cr.weah 4ud Can
u Hragpea & 1ssr n Water Eioss g. smoke
Hisa oat ~ = Tsee-sis aAs5ss ia Winter
Esgsei-a, u.s. Loas FA.-
-uss yoa ever hear auy ere say be ha5
trsDnsi q coou. s4ld j. r EeleF of
Pi.starg. who tas been spending q lev
oavs "a Laks helka and savs raat e
fntre Is 41yt.lag hs ano0s 81 about lr's
eoors ~Il aLy ole ever tald vou he
rrsnped coon 10 the woods be rola ~ hat
nevsr happened Coons cant te trapped
exeept b. one way and never found q
coon hunter yet Who knew ho~ iE ~as
done.
The coon leaves the coidest scent be
uind II q any animal that aHes out IL
carries the keenest scenT in front ~ II ~
any annual Iou may track a coon 20
as home in the creyioe Of some rock,
which i favorite retreat for him You
NAV place your trap ia front = ths hole.
and disguise il as you may, cover It with
leaves foot deep II YOU like. bat that
coon viii never leave that hole az long
a. that trap Is there. lie viii starve 70
death hrst. az ! have proved on more
than one occasion. lie can snell the
iron Of that trap and he seems 70 know
the danger II threatens him with. He
knows il viii be death % leave the hole,
and be prefers death oy starvation %
being trapped. / have tried iron traps
and snares and al sorts Of devices, bat
could not succeed in fOoling one Of these
wise little animals into getting caught
bv me. until one day new idea struck
ne. II isn't often you see coon IN the
DAYTIME. unless YOU know where 70 look
for them. II there is creek in your
vicinity in which crawfish are plentiful
YOU viii be likely to discover some cpl
curean coon fishing for them. II you hide
AZ the sile Of the creek and keep very
quiet
The coon Is particularly fond Of
crawfish. The way he fishes for them is
to wade IN the creek, generally going
down the stream. The crawtish live un-
der the stones on the bottom. The coon
feels under each stone he comes 10 with
his fore paws, thrusting one under on
one side and the other on the other side.
II is a comical sight 10 see a coon fishing
for crawtish. lie keeps his head high in
the air, moving it up and down and to
and fro, his eyes evidently gazing at
nothing. every sense seeming TO be con-
centrated on the business beneath the
water. You can tell in a second when
he has fastened on a crawfish, for the ex-
preston on his face changes instantly
from the dull, vacant stare 10 one Of
brightness and animation. lie draws
the crawfish out Of the water, and, stand
ing on his hind feet, rolls il smartly be-
tween his paws This crushes the shell
/ and claws of the crawfsh, and makes
/ the sweet meat more accessible. The
! coon eats his capture with great relish,
and then begins the search for another
one.
While watching a coon fishing in this
way one day got the new idea Of trap
ping for coons. ] thought that by plac-
ing a steel trap under the water in the
creek where coons did their fishing thew
could be deceived, and more than likely
caught. I tried the experiment | sank
two traps at different places on a favorite
crawfshing route for cOons. and the
same afternoon found a coon in each
trap. And that is the only way you can
trap a coon.
often hear hunters talk about smok-
ing coons ont OF hollow trees where they
have been located. If they say they have
done the smoking by burning straw or
! leaves or substances Of that kind, | don't
believe them Coon hunters in western
Pennsylvania know by long experience
that there is only one thing, the smoke
Of which viii force a coon TO beat re
treat from his hollow tree. You may
burn leaves or straw till the cows come
home. but you won't get your coon. You
can hear him sneezing every little while
like a man with the hay fever, but that
Is all the effect the smoke viii have on
him. II YOU want 10 get your coon by
smoking him out Of the tree. YOU must
take what we call a sulphur match over
in western Pennsylvania. The coon
hunting sulphur match Is made by melt
7 ing down a quantity Of sulphur iu .
saucer and saturating 8 strip OF mus i'm .
few inches long and an inch or two vide
in IL. When YOU run your coon TO a
hollow tree all you've got to do pat
your sulphur match at the botton of the
hole and light IT, Il won't be burning
ten seconds before blr. Coon viii popou;
OF his hollow as If he'd been shot from q
catapult. and then II you don { get him
its your fault.
l never read anything about the habits
Of the coon yet that didn't say that the
animal Laws up stores 10 subsist on dur
Ing the winter, and ! never met nybody
who professed 20 know anything about
coons that didn't hold the same thing
A coon depends on stores It collects tS
see II through winter just bout Sc much
as the bear does. and everybody knows
that the bear goes % sleep n hi. hol'
when The weather drives him in. snc
Io-snt generally wake up until spring
.nd 20 Re can't eat much The coor
dos the Ssfne thing. except that he VII
~ske ap now 80 then on some fne dav
al take iirtls stroll through The com
trv. When he Su-s - his winter home
he ruii. himself 18th ots nose betweef
bis hind legs and v~rv close 70 nis hams
A. that -nd gives himself up % oblivion
When he comes o-ut in the spring he's s
thin - n shsdo~. I've crit down doEen
~ coon trees in tie winter. ard vsv
found the CONS $50 That m. 81 up posi
G1n u1tu Dos ze q ANYTHING r.
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