The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-09-30
AMATEURS, READ THIS!
REAL SPORT IN rHE cooN.
An oidtime Delaware valley Huuter Ts,n.
KsowIngiy About u.

at Is rare that you hear a hunter nowadsy,
sneak n good word for the Coon," said an ola
Delaware Valley sportsman, and yet IL YOU ask
him what HIS objection IL to this much. bcr,,eA
animal he can't tell you. More abundant and
more widely distributed over the American COM
tlnent than any other game animal except, per
haps, the rabbit, IL IL less frequently cncoun-
tered when not hunted for than even the rarer
animals. And yet the coon prefers TO live In
tho neighborhood of men. In a country totally
uninhabited and wild you may turn your Ives,
dogs loose and you'll never run a coon up n tree.
Why. in one little circuit of five miles on the
Callicoon Creek, In Sullivan county, one hunter
killed forty coons in one week, and another
killed eight in a single night, yet II you should
ask ten persons living In that very district II
they had ever seen n wild live coon they would
say no. And IL Is so the country over. People
generally don't know anything about the coon,
and that's what makes me mad when l hear 'em
run IL down.
~ know a little something about coons. I
have studied them in their haunts, in their feed.
ing places, in their domestic relations, every-
where and under all circumstances, and I think
/ speak by the book when I talk about coons,
No, I don't speak by the book either, for I have
yet to read any professional naturalist's OBJ
servations on coons that were satisfactory. much
less correct. Did you ever read in your natural
history that tho male coon is n surly, cross, inso-
lent fellow, wandering about by hiirself. leaving
HIS mate to bring up their family all by hcrselff
I guess not. Did any naturalist ever set It down
that It won't do for two old male coons TO get
into the same tree together, because II they
should there would be one of the hottest lights
any one ever saw between four-legged animalsf
l think not. Yet I can tell you that these are al
facts, for I've seen 'em.
I'm the Middle States the coon seems TO thrive
the best, II we may Judge by the size he attains
there. The Southern coon won't weigh within
as much as 1--WE pounds, taking the average, -
one that grew up in New York. Pennsylvania,
or New Jersey. The coons that are killed, a. .
general thing, are the light weights. 1 have no.
ticed that particularly, and my theory Of Il 10
that when q coon gets large and heavy II be-
comes q hard matter for him to roam about
much, and he feeds in smaller range.
Why are coons so seldom SEEM We'll, the
male coon is a restless chap, and IL You ever see
il down that il Is a male. The home sSGftt6 the coon sss
is In the snug hollow of some good-sized tree, or
where by no possibility any random rover. eitSe;
dog or hunter. will ever stray. Then the coon
and was never YET betrayed by a sound. In Il:
summer nights he steals to the brooks and the
.nails, grubs, and lizards. fishing with great
d for sp.syc,s and I'D diSEins with with u1pne me- lnssinSs
The coon is particularly fond Of crawdsR.
The way he fishes for them is to wade In
s srs WISH live ven ander sSs Stones aSw1 on ' the bott ONE
With his forepaws the coon feels under each
s siGe sh hS s sSe S;h to; s al sse SDo OoS paw sid Under one
eomical sight, TO see q coon Fishing for crawfish,
and sdS cgn s and head to and ai fno. e hi ris ey %N stia. i Up r ald
Ing NJ at nothing; every sense seeming to be con-
You can tell Instantly when the coon has fast.
sned upon a ciawtish, for the expression on his
70 one Of brightness and animation. He draws
the eraytsh out OF the wnter. and, standing on
This brushes the shell and claws Of the ccraw.
fish, and makes the sweet meat more acceptable.
then begins the SCI Sip for another Stfa e ene. fonSh'
even Ser yh niR STes %ili pS qna X tender eads di And N the
work diminishing III fnn ens SU crop ain Estery o az
when the barberries and marsh cranberries are
m m ssf Be- found lnd S Snd t sssss a sns s sPSS w fsar thh sS
= ne Loves grapes. The coon will soon strip a Wins
G Ge its Squeezing sa1st 8 sS oat sh tsf id sTapss ' paip as and q PSSr rop.
e ea1G f piies s the skins En IN me i,. s5Su sS1,o In S eating the
meath the vines, so that there need never be- any
doubt as to what sort Of robber has been at the
months beec6nuts. chestnut, and acorns be-
come the food of the coon.
animal as ' seta isrss i SisSt Of Of w y, sers the So, busy II little tie
tree tieSt or r, Other tdM me, nest il has provided, AND; II The
Wis sleep SI l %ith 1SHd a e eare e saaiP P@i thnMins AND %es sGSa:
sss b tn T 10 9t the HfPP PSG ,Sa nFn spring; 1.-THE coon
his sleep viii BE- disturSed 70 ana reI'f in s nshh
cases the chances are better for seeing a coon in
NOW Midi Sr ss d f.Sm a hii p ass and and. even rsI though the
ne consequences. Al such times the coon will
Boldly approach and enter farmyards. and even
to eat, and is a most woe,begone,
and pitiful object to behold.
n a good old; fashioned coon hunt than in any
,nnSr Ronu OK nv hrHdnting you may name, and
he same. The one thing needful in a coon
ln9t Is q good dog. The trail OF the coon is the
he finest kind OF q nose, an intelligence beyond
ss Ssdlns ~ o And training for his work 10
ides its difficult trail the coon has many tricfs
o confuse both hunter and dog. Il will fire.
hence tsEss d;SsSSaSn course Ss ssf Tbs H's rass Ss saa
ime the trail is found again, lit is found at ali,
he coon has put miles between him and danger
og announces the fact in an entirely dinerent
dice from the cry he utters when on the trail.
eserving their voices until such time as the
anne Is freed. A gun is an entirely unneces-
he party shins up It and shakes the coon out.
, the night that Is expected to follow be-
the coon and the dogs when the for
ting episode OF the sr hume s = sse cd %o'f hunt ss- .
carry guns, but only, on moonlit nights.
he exciting moment for these hunters is when
icy discover The coon crouching on a limb, and
ie moon. A coon is always on the alert, even .
men freed and many a cunning old fellow
the thick Of hunters aud dogs. and maze y
s ar by the boldness OF his manquvre.
u coon Is a on the subject of
alter. The first thing, when one starts OUT OF
: evening, u makes for the nearest Tunnihr
raging expedition and fun. Conseouenfly ne
~ Should o. hunted TOR in the vicinity OF