The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1898-08-27
SQUIRREL SEASON.
THE FRISKY YOUNGSTERS NOW
AT THEIR BEST.
When to Shoot Them-Gray Squirrels
Abound In Thick Timber When Trees
Are Small and Underbrush Thick
How to Skin Them. q

Are email ana Undorbrush THICK
How to Skin Them. a
This is the time of year for squirrel
hunting and squirrel eating in Mis-
souri,. The young squirrels that were
born In February are now about two
thirds grown; they are fat from eating
ripe mulberries and their flesh, when
properly cooked, is a tender and sue
culent morsel. There are many ways
of cooking squirrels, and in any form
the mess is good; but the favorite
method in the ~farmhouses of Missouri
is to stew the young squirrels in a pot
with new potatoes and tender green
peas. The best way is to dress the
squirrels as soon as possible after they
have been shot, before the natural
juices Of the flesh have evaporated.
Then take new potatoes freshly dug
and scrape the tender skins off. Take
peas that are not quite matured, so
they will be tender, and stew all to-
gether over a slow fire, adding enough
red pepper and salt to season. When
the mess is thoroughly done serve the
squirrel meat in one dish and the peas
and potatoes in another. Those who
hive eaten a squirrel and pea stew as
1T is cooked in this way In Missouri
say it is the most delightful dish ever
set before an epicure.
Squirrels were never known to be
more plentiful in this part Of the coun-
try than they are now. One can not go
throuoh tho timharad country opv-
where around Kansas City without
seeing squirrels, and many of them.
There are two varieties, the gray SPUR
rel and the red or fox squirrel. There is
no difference in taste between their
flesh. The red squirrel is the larger
Of the two, and when full grown
weighs a pound and a half. The full
pound. The young are born late in
January or early in February. The
nests are built Of twigs and dry leaves,
placed, generally, in a tree fork or in
a hollow tree. The young grow rap
idly and are big enough to be eaten
about the middle Of April, when the
elm and maple buds have put out large
CHOu5u " thSAA " lGCu upOu, luCy
are larger and fatter at this time, when
the mulberries are ripe. This Ia a
favorite food OF the squirrels. The null
berry tree grows everywhere in the
tlmbered country throughout Missouri.
At Eighth street and Troost avenue,
In the lawn of the old Thornton home
stead, there is a large mulberry tree
| that &c hIon NJ nouy With rinn horrt1g nnl
a red squirrel was seen in its foliage
one day last week. Where he came
from or how he found what is probably
the only mulberry tree within the old
city limits is a mystery, but he was
there, and he stayed unmolested until
he had eaten his fill of the juicy ber-
ries. For a squirrel hunting expedition
the amateur should take a COMMON
target rife or an ordinary shotgun with
No. 6 shot and a small charge Of pow
der. The old-time hunters in the
country districts use squirrel rifles, and
these old-fashioned, muzzle-loading
guns with barrels five feet long are
kept in hundreds Of ~farmhouses in
Missouri. A man is not called an eX-
pert unless he can hit his squirrel in
the head. This saves the flesh from
mutilation and from contact with the
fur. But the common target rifle is
good enough for a days hunting neal
Kansas City. A good place to hunt
may be found a short distance out from
the city along the line of any of the
railroads running out of Kansas City
The gray squirrel will be found in
thick timber where the trees are small,
and there is plenty of underbrush. The
red or fox squirrel likes the big tim
Der best, where there are large oak
elm and maple trees. A sure way tc
find squirrels at this season is to &c
where there are mulberry trees grow
ing among other trees. The best time
In the day for squirrel hunting Is early
in the morning or late in the after.
noon. Then the squirrels have a habit
Of getting upon the limbs of the trees
and chipping or barking, and one may
hear them calling and answering ont
another from different trees. Later II
the season, when the nuts have ma.
tured enough for the squirrels to eat
the hunter who walks quietly through
the timber with his gun ready fol
action, If 1t is a still day, will hear the
particles Of gnawed nuts rafting dowI
through the foliage from the limt
upon which the squirrel sits eating
Then, II he moves around, looking up
ward through the leaves and limbs til
he gets sight of the squirrel, he will
usually find that the bead-like eyes o
the squirrel have seen him first ant
are peering curiously at him. That II
the time to shoot, and aim must b.
taken at the head. When the squirrel.
are brought home, after shooting them
they should be dressed at once, ant
there is a right and a wrong way t
do this. A person who knows how tt
skin a squirrel will do it in half a min
ute and leave his squirrels flesh clean
without a hair on it. To one who doe
not know the trick the skinning of
squirrel is a long, awkward and unsat
lsfactory process. The right way Is t
turn the squirrels tail up over hi
back and with a sharp knife cut int,
the underside of the tail close to tn,
body and through a joint until the ski
at the top Is almost reached. Then la,
] the animal on his back upon a stone O
! piece Of fiat wood, put a foot firml,
upon his tail, grasp his hind legs an,
give a strong pull upward. The ski
! from the butt Of the tail down to tn,
nose will strip off clean, leaving tn