The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1893-12-29
HUNTING THE RACCooN.
Exciting Sport in the FAN on the
Western Reserve.
An Exceedingly Tricky Anin-n That Can
he Captured Only by the Assist
ance OF Trained


Dogs
The corn is fully ripe in the shock in
many fields on the western reserve,
and the season for raccoon hunting, or
''cooning," as it is more, often called,
has arrived. with its attendant scenes
Of sport and excitement. He who has
never experienced the pleasures Incl
dent to night in the woods with a
trained coon dog during the month
of October can only learn what he has
missed by enjoying such an outing at
the earliest opportunity, says the
Cleveland Leader
To hunt the raccoon at night with
success, a traine.tSog is Indispensable:
for the scent, disposition and coon"
education of the dog are directly re-
sponsible for the number of pelts
which are brought in at sometimes
early hour in the morning. In the Sc
lection of dog for the sport it is. not
best 20 choose hound. as the ability
and persistence of these dogs in Civ
ing tongue" warn the raccoon of his
danger and give that crafty little
animal ample time to seek safe seclu-
sion in the hollow of some large tree,
which size and value prevents the
i uOND-a II the
dogs education has been neglected,
and he manifests an inclination to
follow the trail of rabbits rather than
that of the raccoon, the hunter viii
not be likely to carry anything home
further than the remembrance of
midnight ramble in the woods.
However, many dogs about whose
ancestry there clusters an imperish-
able halo of mystery, develop in5o re-
marlSable coon dogs. Some of them
are very keen-scented. and win follow
the trail of a raccoon over the ground
where the scent of rabbits and other
animals is encountered every few
yards. a well-trained dog will take
large circles and skirt along the edge
OF woods that border corn-1ields, never
giving tongue until their approach
to the coon Is so close th.& the viva
( cious little as.:s.u4IIs finds escape by
eisyfft impossible and scales the near
est tree. Then the frantic anC pro-
longed notes OF the dog proclaim To
the hunter. who may be some distance
away. that the game is up ana a
coon has been ''treed." If the tree Is
n small one so much the better. The
animal is either shaken ont Of the
branches and the dog given an oppOr-
tunity OF testing his metal. or else the
coon l. shot while in the tree and the
dog allowed in at the finish. II often
happens that the tree is large one,
and then the scientific part OF coon
hunting Is brought into requisition.
The hunter resorts to what Is called
shining the coon" This is de1e by
placing lantern upon the head and
walking around the tree until the re-
Gection OF two small balls OF fire de-
notes the location of the game Some
times several pairs of cleaning eyes
are revealed by the rays of the lantern.
and then the hunter knows that the
nights work viii be n good one. The
explosion of heavily-charged shot
gun is the means employed TO dis odge
the coon from his lofty perch, aFd he
falls TO the earth with a substantial
thud.
The coon is an exceedingly tricky
animal, especially so if he be an old
timer of the swamp variety-one
that has encountered steel traps or i'm
numerable dogs or been filed with
bird shot. lie win take To rail fences.
cross streams, run along the bottom of
shallow creeks for long distance. and
Jump anything but a freight train
when thoroughly alarmed. If the dog
is inexperienced, the coon is usually
able To battle his pursuers, and i safe
from furth cr annoyance for the time be-
ing. Bat ofttimeS the Sagacity of Il e dog
viii rcsurrcct the trail that sud denly
terminated at the creek. and the gen
era!ship OF the pursuer proves him mas
ter Of the situation.
y favoritc haunt of the coon in Octo-
Der is in the corniields that skirt the
largest traces of woodland They visit
the coru,icIds to feed as soon as dark
ness settles. and viii sometimes go
several miles to a favorite locality
They are hunted for their pcltS, which
may briEr from one dollar 10 one dol
lar and fifty cents in the market and
for the rare sport that it affords at this
season of the year Not infrcquentIy
on these expeditions the dog blUndcrs
on to one OF those odorous animals chat
have large, busliy. black tails, and
white stripe running down the back
Sometimes the acquaintance so sudden
ly formed i; OF a lasting nature. Ia this
event the faithful companion of man in
an exciting chase is forced to abandon
his favorite rug by the fire that he has
been won't to lie and dream upon, and
iissNlS hifllpClI- Ii>Lc-ltAi ~ Il
large airy shed at Il satisfactory dis
tancc from the house. If he is sensi-
tive and refined the dog takes the os-
traciaIn 70 which he has been subjected
and the pronounced coldness on the
part of the taInily circle to heart. and
is not again known to bark up the
wrong tree.
There are two distinctive species of
the North American raccoon. The
California or Texas ANIMALS differ
from those found east of the IissIs-
sippi river in that they have BLACK feet.
The fur of the prairie coon of the west
l. of lighter color than that Of his
eastern brother. This is accounted for
by the fact that all fur-bearinS ami
mails have darker coats in the more
thiclIly timbcred regions
America's Merchant Marine.