The St. Johns herald., 1894-05-24
HUNTING THE RACC00E.
Exciting Sport in the Fall on the
 Western Reserve.
An Exceedingly Tricky Animal That Can
 Be Captured Only by the Assist r. ance O. Trained Dogs.


 and the season for raccoon hunting, or ''cooning," as it is more often called, has arrived. with it's attendant scenes Of sport and excitement. He who has never experienced the pleasures incl dent to a night in the woods with Q trained ''eoon" dog during the month of October can only learn what he has missed by enjoying such an outing al the earliest opportunity, says the Cleveland Leader.
 To hunt the raccoon at night with success, a trained dog 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 8 sometimes early hour in the morning. In the se- lection of 9 dog for the sport it is. not best to choose a hound, as the ability and persistence of these dogs in ''giv- 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 raceoon, the hunter will 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 into re- E1arlzable ''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 will take large circles and skirt along the edge Of woods that border corn-felds, 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 a 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. It often happens that the tree is a large one, and then the scientific part of coon hunting is brought into requis I ion. 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- flection of two small balls of fire de- notes the location of the game. Some times several pairs of gleaming eyes are revealed by the rays of the lantern, and then the hunter knows that the nights work will be 9 good one. The explosion of a heavily-charged shot gun is the means employed to dislodge the coon from his lofty perch, and he falls to the earth with 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- numerable dogs or been filled 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 baftle. his pursuers, and is safe from furth CT annoyance for the time be- ing. But ofttimcs the sagaeity of the dog will resurrect the trail that suddenly terminated at the creek, and the gen eralship of the pursuer proves him mas ter of the situation.
 A favorite haunt of the coon in Octc- Der is in the cornfelds that sl1lrt the largest tracts of woodland. They visit the cornfelds to feed as soon as dark ness settles, and will sometimes go several miles to a favorite locality They are hunted for their pelts, which may bring from one dollar to one dol lar and fifty cents in the market, and for the rare sport that tt affords at this season of the year. Not infrequently or these expeditions the dog blunders on to one of those odorous animals that 41ciNC L1SsSsA Nts%Aos t1Ao q white stripe running down the back Sometimes tho acquaintance so sudden ly formed is of lasting nature. Tn this event tho faithful companion Of man in an exciting chase is forced to abandon his favorste rug by the fire that he has been wont to lie and dream upon, and finds himself securely fastened to a large airy shed at a satisfactory dis tance from the house. If he is scasi- tive and refined the dog takes the os- tracism to which he has been subjected and the pronounced coldness on the part of the tamily 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 Missis- sippi river in that they have black feet. The fur of the prairie coon of the west sc of l;~~b+ar aolOy. fbou t1eot of hiC