The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1894-06-06
HUNTING THE RACcoON.


The corn is fully ripe in the shock IN
many fields on the western reserve,
and the season for raeeoon hunting, OF
acooning." 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 a night IN the woods with a
trained coon" dog during the month
Of October can only Learn what he has
missed by enjoying such ap outing at
the earliest opportunity. says the
Cleveland Leader.
To hunt the raccoOn a. night with
success, 4 trained dog Is Indispensable;
for the scent, disposition and coon"
education Of the dog are directly re-
sponsible for the number Of Peits
which are brought in at a sometimes
early hour in the morning. In the Sc
lection OF a dog for the sport it is not
best to choose a hound, as the ability
and persistence of these dogs in Civ
ing tongue warn the raceoon 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 viii
not be likely TO carry anything home
further than the remembrance of a
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 win follow
the trail of a 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
70 the coon Is so close that the viva
eious 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 4
coon has been 'treed.n II 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-
tunitv of testing his metal, or else the
coon is shot while in the tree and the
dog allowed IN at the finish. II 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 lantern upon the head and
walking around the tree until the re-
hection 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 wiz 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 10 the earth with a substantial
thud.
The coon IS an exceedingly tricky
animal, especially so il he be an old
timer Of the swamp" variety -one
that has encountered steel traps or in
numerable dogs or been filed with
bird shot. He viii take 10 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 10 balIie, his pursuers, and is safe
from further 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
eralship Of the pursuer proves him mas
ter Of the situation.
! favorite haunt OF the coon in Octo-
Der Is in the cornfields that skirt the
largest tracts Of woodland. They visit
the cornGelds 10 feed as soon as dark
ness settles. and viii sometimes go
several miles to a favcrite 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 it affords at this
season Of the year Not infrequently
on these expeditions the dog blunders
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
IL formed is Of lasting nature. In this
event the faithful companion of man in
an exciting chase is forced to abandon
his favorite rag by the fire that he has
been won't TO lie and dream upon, and
finds himself securely fastened to
large airy shed at a 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 coldness on the
part of the family circle to heart, and
is not again known to bark up the
wrong tree
There are two distinctive species Of
the North American TaccOon. 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
is of lighter color than that Of his
eastern brother. This is accounted for
by the fact that all fur-bearing ami
mails have darker coats in the more
thickly timbered regions