The Wichita daily eagle., 1893-12-05
HUNTING THE RACCOON.
Exciting Sport in the Fan on the
Western Reserve.
An Exceedingly Tricky Animal That Can
Be Captured Only by the Assist
ance of Trained
Dogs.

|
| 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. trained dog is indispensable;
for the scent, disposition and ''eoon"
education of the dog are directly re-
sponsible for the number of pelts
which are brought in at q sometimes
early hour in the morning. In the Sc
lection of dog for the sport it is not
best to 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
hunter from cutting down. If 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 will
not be likely to carry anything home
further than the renfembrance of
midnight ramble in the woods
However, many dogs about whose
ancestry there clusters an imperish-
able halo of mystery, develop into re-
markable coon dogs. Some of them
are very keen-scented, and will follow
the trail Of raccoon over the ground
where the scent of rabbits and other
animals is encountered every few
yards. A well-trained dog viii take
large circles and skirt along the edge
of woods that border corn-fields, never
''giving tongue" until their approach
to the coon is so close that the viva
cious little animal finds escape by
flight impossible and scales the near
est tree. Then the frantic and pro-
longed notes of the dog proclaim to
the hunter, who may be some distance
away, that the game is up" and
coon has been "treed." If the tree is
small one SO much the better. The
animal is either shaken out of the
branches and the dog given an oppor-
tunity Of testing his metal, or else the
coon is shot while in the tree and the
dog allowed in at the finish. 1t 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 done by
placing a lantern upon the head and
walking around the tree until the re-
fection 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 will be good one. The
explosion of heavily-charged shot
gun is the means employed to dislodge
the coon from his lofty perch, and 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 in
dogs or been filed with
bird shot. He will take to rail fences,
cross streams, run along the bottom of
shallow creeks for long distances, and
jump anything but freight train
when thoroughly alarmed. If the dog
is inexperienced, the coon is usually
able to battle, his pursuers, and is safe
from furth er annoyance for the time be- |
ing. But ofttimes the sagacity of the dog |
will resurrect the trail that suddenly |
at the creek. and the gem !
of the pursQer proves him mas
ter of the situation.
A favorite haunt of the coon in Octo- /
Der is in the cornfelds that skirt the |
largest tracts of woodland. They visit |
the cornfelds to feed as SOON as dark
ness settles, and will sometimes go |
several miles to favorite locality. |
They are hunted for their pelts, which
nay bring from one dollar to one dol
ar and fifty cents in the market, and
,or the rare sport that it affords at this
season of the year. Not infrequently
IN these expeditions the dog blunders
IN to one of those odorous animals that
lave large, bushy, black tails, and
white stripe running down the back.
sometimes the acquaintance SO sudden
Y formed is of a lasting nature. In this
vent the faithful companion of man in
n exciting chase is forced to abandon
lis favorite rug by the fire that he has
,een wont TO lie and dream upon, aud
inds himself securely fastened to a
arge airy shed at satisfactory dis
ance from the house. If he is sensi-
i've and refined the dog takes the os-
racism to which he has been subjected
nd the pronounced coldness On the
'art OF the family circle to heart, and
: not again known To s'bark mp the |
srong tree"
There are two distinctive species Of
he North American raccoon- The
alifornia or Texas animals differ |
rom those found east OF the Missis- /
ippi river in that they have black feet
he fnr Of the prairie coon Of the west
) Of lighter color than that Of his
astern brother. This is accounted for
Y the fact that all fur-bearing ami
lals have darker coats in the more
1ickly tiubered regions
Therapeutic Value OF Perfumes.
1t is now established that flowers