The evening times., 1896-11-04
COON HUNT !! !! ! IN OLD VIRGINIA
Washington Party Has a
Nights Experience.
LED BY BENJAMIN HUGHES
.OnIyOne AIimal Captured. But the
Dogs Were on IA Number of Trails.
An Attorney Climbed n Tree and
Shot the Coon, and a Good Strong
Kick Ended Its Life.

Who has been on n coon hunt this year?
Who has roamed thruugnthe woods IN pitchy
darkness Oh the trail OF this willy dcniZcn or
the forest? Not many, indeed, for no mere
dilettante-ca can hope for success. Only the
keenest lover of sport for sports sake can
worship at this shrine. The material re-
wards are nothing but-let the story OF a
coon hunt last week tell the rest.
There were five in the party-the coach,
Ben jamin Hughes, OF Alexandra; proll-
nent department. official, a wcil-known at
torney anl a reporter. There were also threc
dogs -Bunc, Pup and Dan.
Whatever old clothes the party possessed
were i'll evidence, for coon hunting is No
child's play, and this was not a balmy day
by any means.
Coach hughes met the Washington party
on the g O'Clock electric car, and all got Off
at the Dyke, where the hunt began. Here
the first refreshments were taken and other
details were arranged, and before the coon
hunters stopped they had trampcd through
Johnston's woods and Andalusia. But first,
a word about coDus ald the meaningof OF such
weird, urcanny beginnings TO an outing.
RaCcoons,- or, as more commonly known,
"coOns," are, as everybody knows, mein-
bers of the bear family, OmniverouS OF
habit, but principally given TO a Yegetabl.
diet. They are strictly nocturnal animal,
hiding away in lodges and hollow trees
during daytime, 10 sleep, and wandering
through The woods at night, picking up a
living at this time of the year on the great
variety of nuts to be found Few people
therefore, ever have chance TO see the
coon in his native home, for no other
animal h as been able TO locate the sleeping
coon. Catching a weasel asleep is easy
compared 10 coming unawares on coon.
He can h ear palmer, smell farther, and see
better with those bright bcad-like eyes
than any of u"m, and in the tricks of mix
ing up his tran, can keep fox guessing.
HABITS OF THECoON
He hibcrnates in the winter, as most of
the bear family do in cold latitudes. He is
out fairly early in the spring, living on buds
and sproutinS vegetation. The cOons breed
along in April Or May, bringing forth three
or four young at a time. The sexes live
apart, speaking Of the adults, the males be-
ing solitary animals, and from their rela
tive scarcity over wide areas, seem to claim
and enforce against other males, rights Of
propTietorship TO feeding grounds. The
young run with the female for a year, and
Mime. Coon is, perhaps. Il little kecner than
her mate in saving her hide.
These statements are not to be under
stood as assigning individual coons to cir
cumSCribed areas as the result OF the Sol-
tary and exclusive ways OF the males. They
are great rUamcrs- covering enormous
stretches OF territory for small animals,
with such apparently inadequate travel
ing abilities. Where one male was few
days ago another male may be found to-
day, but the old gentlemen VIII never lie
found thickly settled. The females are more
restricted in their travels and one, mark
ed down in a township during the sum
mer, win be found, as i rule, earby that
place in the fall.
The fore going is important as throwing
a sidriight on Jne Succ .~S OF a nights chase.
for it VIII be surInised by this time that
only after dark can his cocnship be hunted
with much hope of profit. The capture of
male means longish tramp in order to
bag another, while bags containing more
than two ut least as the reward OF a hunt
mean usually that female and her young
were caught.
With this preamble the hunt last week
may be resumed. Dogs are the main re
lance ofthe coon hunter, ana on this out
ing the pack of three We're masters in the
craft. Dan. a Iiverand- white foXhoGnd,
was the premier. ani it was cold scent
indeed that escaped his notice. Bunc and
Pup. both red roXhOunds, were younger,
but We're worthy OF good company. Pup
had the keener nose of the two noyices.
hardly second TO Dan. but had a better
voice and could make his troubles known
from a greater distance. Bunc is a big
fellow, with the poorest nose, but with a
voice like d fOChorn. that could be heard
in the next county whca he had a story TO
tell.