The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-11-04
BLACK SQUIRRELS AND oooxs
They Are Both Fat, Luscious, and PIentIfui
In the canadian Woods.

- A"'
APPTN, Ont, Nov. 1.-The job printing offices
In western Ontario are working night and day
Just now trying to supply tho demand for
n Trespasslng" notices. The long-sufTerinp
Ranucks have decided almost TO a man that
their corn-fed black squirrels must not be scared
and worried In future by alien hunters from
Buffalo. Detroit, and other American cities.
ITS not that I'm particular about the SOUR.
rels." said q farmer who was lacking up no.
tlces threatening tho EXTREMIST penalties OF the
law to all hunters and trespassers, but after a
man has picked an ounce and u half of squirrel
shot out Of the flank Of a cross-rrained Durham
bull, he's not likely to feel like welcoming a lot
OF dudes who 20 tearing through the woods
shooting In every direction without looking
what's ahead Of them. Six fellows from Buffalo
came through here last week, and they all shot
at once at a squirrel on the ground. I don't
know whether they got the squirrel or not; but
l do know 1t took me two hours to get the shot
out of my bull. lie was pasturinR in the woods
at the time"
Black squirrels have not been so plentiful for
years as they are this autumn. The hills and
gullies along the river Thames swarm with
them, and a skilful hunter can easily bag from
fifteen to twenty In a day. The local hunters
almost invariably use rifles OF small calibre in
preference To shotguns. They think nothing of
putting a bullet through n little black head at a
distance Of fifty yards. Black squirrels are like
gray squirrels in everything except color. They
are perhaps a trife smaller, but they have the
same habits and general appearance. The ex.
pert hunter goes to q wood that has plenty of
beech trees loaded with nuts or is near a corn
field. Then he springs a cartridge into his rifle
and waits. Before long he sees plenty OF SPUR
rels moving cautiously about In the trees, and as
the report of a small rife is not very loud, he
doesn't brighten, the squirrels. much and can
often kill several without shifting his position.
pnfA fnilChFiat- n hnntnT nf much Fpnnta In
this locality. killed nineteen black squirrels in
one afternoon last week. He, used a 32-calibre
bags, for he had to cache over half his squirrels
and go back after them with a horse, say that
almost every squirrel was shot through the
head. He says he doesn't believe in spelling his
game by shooting II through parts that are good
ton INTO 70 squirrels. AZ the first HStS shot, G According n9p to
his own report, he put "A bullet in that coon's left
eye without cutting a winker.'' Strange. to say,
pressing invitation. Hebrew back as IL he were
offended, and, curled up in IA ball on top Of the
limb. Though Pete was sorry to spoil the skin
by making more holes in II, he sent n bullet up
through. the. coon's shoulder and touched its
had enough life left to roll over on his back and
show fight. Coons are VIGOROUSLY the hardest
animals to kill that can be found. This fellow
weighed fifteen pounds, and yielded enough oil
TO cure half q dozen attacks OF rheumatism. 1t
Is not often that coons are seen in the daytime,
Jack stintson and Neil Brickman had even
better luck than Pete last week. They were
after squirrels, too. when they found a couple OF
coons In a big tree. They promptly bagged
them, and then discovered that the tree was n
bee-tree. They say the coons had been trying
to get the honey. However that may be. the
hunters waited till after nightfall. then cut
down the tree, snothcred the bees with burning
straw, and sulphur, and got three pailfuls Of
good honey.
Some city hunters found a coon one day and
pelSered It with their shotguns. 1t was in the
top OF a big black oak, and they fired such vol
leys ut II that some of the natives feared the
Chinese and Japs had carried the war into
America. The coon finally fell, and Pete Gil
christ says 1t was not because the hunters hit 1t
in a vital spot-for no shotgun can drive light
shot far enough through the fur and fat OF Il
swamp coon to hurt it--but because they filled IL
so full of lead 1t couldn't support the extra
weight and had to fall.
AS wandering about in the autumn woods
usually develops a keen, hOllow-ground hunger
in a man, he can thoroughly enjoy "a mess OF
black squirrels after his hunt; but few know
how to dress and cook this kind OF game so as to
skinning squirrels is to keep the long loose hairs
from getting on the flesh. The first step is to
cut a slit in the skin across the squirrels back.
Then let two persons take hold OF the skin at the
the middle and can. be drawn over the head and
hind quarters much as u boy takes off u tight
ja~cket-turning it inside out in the process.
After the game has been skinned and dressed
cloth. 1t should never be washed with water.
To cook squirrels put them in q deep fryingpan
with enough water to partly cover them. Par
boil till the water Is all soaked up, add a Rener-
salt. Then put on a cover that will sink into
the pan, put q weight OF several pounds on top
TO press the meat down firmly and fry till II Is
quite brown and crisp; When q man sits down
feels that it is good to live-and to have squir-
rels die.