The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1890-12-12
4 MISSOURI COON HUNT.
FOREST SPORT AFTER NIGHT
SETS IN.
Graphic Account Of Night In Southern Mis-.
souri, With q Pack Of Dogs and Lots
Of Enth usiasm-Some Pointers
q to How It's Done.

A writer in that best of all sports
mans papers. Forest and Stream. says:
Let me here relate some points about
western coon hunting. 1 notice one
article in Forest and Stream that
speaks OF the hunter ascending the
tree1and then shooting the coon. This
may be all right in the east. but in
Southern Missouri, where hunted
last spring, it is considered as I'M
sportsmanlike to shoot a coon as it
would be to shoot pheasant on the
ground.
After the coon is freed the first thing
to do is Qf the tree permits) to climb
the tree and get as near to the beast
as possible, but if one had to shake
him out he would find his hands pretty
full. In fact, unless the tree was quite
small it would be almost impossible to
do so. The thing to do then, after
reaching the proper place in the tree,
is to break off limb as long and as
straight as possible; on the end of this
put your hunting cap and thrust it out
toward the coon. He is Immediately
paralyzed with fear, he does not wait
to jump out. but literally falls back
ward off the limb to the ground,
Often q large ''boar" coon no sooner
sees one coming up into his
section of the tree than with
an angry growl he starts down to meet
the intruder; but once get your cap on
stick, poke it at him, and all of his
boldness is gone and he usually goes
with it to the ground. Most hunters
carry stick up the tree with them,
by putting it down the leg OF their
boot. An old rifle ramrod makes a
good stick and is just about the right
length. It is really better to carry
the stick up with you, for if the coon
is an old one he is liable to show fight,
and it is good thing to have your
stick ready. l remember we'll the last
hunt 1 took before leaving Missouri.
1t was during the latter part of April
and the sap was pretty we'll up in the
trees. The night was very dark and
cloudy. one of those nights when it
seems as though 1t would rain but could
not The hounds started a trail and
had not run it ten minutes when we
heard the leader bark 'treed." On
going to the spot we found the whole
pack OF nine beagles and foxhounds
whining and baying up a large water
oak. The night was so dark and the
limbs OF the tree so thick that the
coon could not be seen. 1 started to
climb the tree and had almost reached
the top when heard an angry growl
and saw pair of shining green eyes
coming down toward me. I grasped
the first limb that could find and tried
to wrench it off, but being green, it
was not at all inclined to come. The
coon was almost at my elbow. I saw
I could not break the limb, so turned
and struck him full in the face with
my fist Down he went right in the
middle of the bowling pack. Well. he
kept the dogs busy for almost an hour,
and l assure you they were a pretty
looking sight when the coon was done
for. Old Ben. our jack rabbit dog, had
a piece of his ear torn off as big as a
quarter, and our leader, The Old
Man," had been bitten through the hip
and was almost covered with blood.
The other dogs had their share of
wounds, too. I fancy I can see them
now by the dim light of the lantern in
the depths of the gloomy bottom for
est standing around the dead coon,
painting and wagging their tails as
much as to say, 1--WE are the stuff.
Well, after the excitement was all over
found that too had been injured in
the scuffle. The knuckles of my right
hand carry scar to-day where my fist
came in contact with the coon's teeth
when I struck him in the face.