The St. Johns herald., 1894-08-02
HUNTING THE RACCOON.
Exciting Sport in the Fall on the
 Western Reserve.
An Exceedingly Tricky Animal That Can
 Be Captured Only by the Assist ance or Trained IeS 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, 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 sometimes
 early hour in the morning. In the se-
 lection of a 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 raccoon, 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-
 markable ''coon" dogs. Some of them
 are very leen-scented, and will follow
 the trail of raccoon over the ground animals is encountered every few yards. A well-trained dog will 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 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 large one, and then the scientific part of coon hunting is brought into requis;tion. The hunter resorts to what is called shining the coon." This is done by placing 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 gleaming eyes are revealed by the rays of the lantern, and then the hunter knows that the nights work will be a 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 a freight train when thoroughly alarmed. If the dog is inexperienced, the coon is usually able to baffie. his pursuers, and is safe from furthe CT annoyance for the time be- ing. But ofttimes the sagacity of the dog will resurrect the trail that suddenly terminated at the creek. and the gen of the pursuer proves him mas ter of the situation.
 A fayorite haunt of the coon in Octo- Der is in the cornfeldS that skirt the largest tracts of woodland. They visit the cornields 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 l may bring from one dollar to one dol l lar and fifty cents in the market, and | for the rare sport that 1t affords at this | season of the year. Not infrequently OA ChC on to one of those odorous animals that | have large, bushy, black tails, and a white stripe running down the back. Sometimes the acquaintance so sudden ly formed is of . lasting nature. In this | event the faithful companion of man in an exciting chase is forced to abandon | his favorlte rug by the fire that he has been wont to lie and dream upon, and | finds himself securely fastened to large airy shed at Q satisfactory dis tance from the house. If he is sensi- tive and refined the dog takes the os- tracism to which he has been subjected | and the pronounced coldncss on the part of the family circle to heart, and i 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 cast of the Missis- sippi river in that they have black feet. The fur of the prairie coon of the west 0Rl l.r-l,4 @e l.sc |