The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-10-31
THE PURSUIT OF THE COON.
A TBRILLIHG PAsTIME THAT IS NOW
OUT OF FASHION.
Cunning or the Coon ana Intelligence ana
Music OF the Ceon DoE-DeliEhts or n Night
Chn.e Through the Woods-The Coon n
TborouRh Epicure-End OF the Hunt.

r,,.. Through tho woods-rhe Coon n
Thorough Epicure-End OF the Hunt.
CHESTER, y, V, Oct. Cocoon hunting wasa
pastimo that our fathers delighted in. There was
n time when the Colonel, the Squire, the deacon.
and even tho dominic, enjoyed following the
trail OF this willy nigh; roaincr, and boosted OF
their prowcss in tho chase. There was genuine
snort for our fathers in tho coon hunt, and q
mans importance In some communities was
measured by the number OF coonskins he could
nail to his barn door the next morning after
hunt. Rut with the war coon hunting seems to
have gone out OF fashion MS a pnstimc. aud I'll
hunters of to-day even IL they are not confined
to shiftlcss, hand-to.mouth members OF n COM
munity, appear ashamcd to have 1t known that
they go acooninE.
Why tho coon has como TO bc despiscd by
sportsmon of this day and generation Is some-
thing susceptible of no reasonable explanation.
The coon is as cunning as u fox and more dit-
fcult to follow. He should not be d~espised,
surely. because he can be hunted only at night,
for in threading the woods IN the darkness, fol-
lowing dogs that you cannot see, whose
baying alone breaks the stiffness, there is the
strangcst enchantment. The coon drops the
coolest scent OF all animals that run. He leads
you through tangled swamps, and deep.
stony hollows. He crosses and recrosses swift
running streams. He frisks along the tops
Of rough stone walls as silent and swift AS q
shadow. He stops within n dozen feet OF some
convenient tree. clears the intervening space al
a bound, strikes the tree and glides up to the
longest limb, runs TO its extremity and leaps q
dozen feet more beyond it to the ground again.
breaking his trail abruptly on one side and be-
ginning it as confusingly abruptly on the other.
lie invents tactics for emergencies, and brings to
every consideration OF his welfare and that Of
his family a large and uniformly level head.
And the music OF the dog, giving tongue
amid the ~windinRs ar. the turnings of tho
weird woods Mt night! Not the silvery treble of
the foXhound. to be sure. floating down from
the hills on the frosty dir, and drawn out in
sweet cadence by every willing echo; nor yet
the mellow bays ofthc decrhound, swelling over
the ridges, clear and far-sounding rs a buglo
note; but II pleasant, though staccato, song of
his own, half bark, half bay. a cheerful min
Cling Of melody with business, as step by step
he unravcls the tangled and well-hidden trail,
constantly sounding his challenge to the coon
to do his best, until the hunted animals roper
tory Of wilcs is exhausted, and, accepting the
inevitable, he climbs a tree and waits the COM
ing OF the end. Dcspise such sport as that Tho
age Is degenerate that does it, and the way in
which opportunities for rare good sport are
neglected is enough to make the bones of dead
and gone lovers of the stnr.lit chase turn and
Hunters 20 out on the barren hills and stand
that never comes. or tramp from morning until
night through swainpy swales and brambly
t tlb { t hunting ,%., the grouse that fails to rise.
waited and grew enthusiastic over years and
years ago; and from which :, no lasty hunter can
on every side, What the country needs is
sportsmcn with less affertation, more snap,
be Of no particular strain Of blood. hut
he must unite the keen scent Of the deerhound
with the intelligence OF, tho shepherd dog. and
The tenaetty of The bulldog with the stealth Of
| than fhRSR IN ~ may hp Dnni m IA fnN N - 1anrf roll
the herd may be safe in his keeping; he may be
able to hold his own and the other dogs. too. in
being a sheep stealer-, but he cant be a coon dog.
Even in localir les where coons are most album
never saw a, live one. Few people. Know any.
thing about them or their habits. Although the
habitat, he plans to keep aloof from the eyes Of
men, and his habits permit this to be an easy
treats. in the depths Of hollow trees or ~crevices
in mi iSolnted r9Gk s.. lie goes forth only at night.
he ,hSSSdar$ lines q ' S%i!1as sss" he s' NEW:
and SUMMER the margins OF brooks and ponds.
and the soft mud in swamps and bogs in every
Where he 'o on the American e"n' continent tihesay but nowhere elhesE,
else on the clobe,,are always thickly inaented
those months no spends his nights catching
frogs. nsh, mussels. crawfish and the like, which
among the hucklcbcrry and blackberry patches
and feasts on the fruit. When the milk comes
III nv " IL u CpoH 8 gaia llnc, lOT ne loves
the tender. succulent grain. as the farmer
kn3ws to his sorrow. and great 1re the risks he
berries are gone and the corn has grown tough
in The ear. the fox grapes have answered to the
coon loves grapes and, he eats them as dainty
as the most dainty lady in the land, squeezing
skin with his dctt fingers. A neat pile Of grape
skins on ihc ground beneath a wild grape vine
ping of a meal of nuts or acorns with fruit.
During the nuttins season he grows fat, and
sfi nnts !" The T,'f books %GsN viii RFt tell you ' thaf the II Pi eooS
lays by a store OF food for winter, ike the squir-
FSls; S%s ne ike foe the no b 1@sn t MiiH whom hs is IA 4 sr nSs hi al
many traits i'll common that he may almost be
S winter ' Moo Gsar,s n In so S9sSi Ioca IL ,se de dep ,he Of
cooning, because then they find him cuddled up
in and 19 ,boy H. 5pe zee d fast a, ASLEEP n e and nd fat t, as a ]PErp1iSe,
home. O!d coon hunters say that the coon dips
G ins Il, m nnS thnt he or w nis i9o amy in wi 4 TT ee enm,a eat Eat,
tnd water in which to wash his food. But like
az hunters, old coon hunters say a great many
things 1t would bother them TO prove. 1t is a
fact. though. that the COZ is clean TO IA nicely,
and cats only the most wholesome OF lorage.
tho dogs bring him TO by. Ii Is an easy thing
to pick Hin of his l9fiy perch IN a star:lit
drachms of powder. behind his forcshoulder. <
fat coon thai has been shot in this way usually
sits still and thinks u moment until he has fully
made up his mind that his burden is more than
he can bear; then s,1 he topples eon1eatedly over
S2sr.r FRI "a%gkl Inc tsl EI"s.' from Sa"a a Of earn e
BAH Of fur. Instantly four arms tipped WITH
sharp hooks shoot out from that ball In time te
catch u dog or two that have been excitedly
Whiting for this supreme moment. The ball OF
fur now becomes a buzz saw. and each time 10
revolvcS a dog loses several pieces OF his hide or
a bit of his ear o" lin. Round and round the
whirling aggregation OF coon and dog spins,
dogs snarping and snarling. coon biting and
slashing and spluttcring, and the revolutions do
not cease until the motive power gives out and
the coon is II limp bag of fat in the jaws OF his
game foes.
II is n garden spot for coons in all this fertile
corner of New York state and tho OUTLYING dis
triCts of New Jersey. and 1t is said that they
were never more plentiful or in finer condition
than they are this fall.