The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-04-21
'CooN's WINTER STORE.
Nearly n Wagon Load of ProvendeT
Taken From Animals Lair.

backwoods have not in many a day
furnished a more unique or interest
ing story than is that of curious
discovery made by Philip Clint, far
mer in the Bobst Mountain district of
Lycoming county. By curious chance
Clint and his boy found the under
ground home of a family of raccoons,
and as a result they unearthed reg
ular Klondike of stores, consisting of
apples, turnips, nuts and corn-the ag
gregate amount making a good two
horse wagon load.
Clint and his 15-year- old boy Charles,
were after a fox along the ridge above
their little farm. A shot from the
senior Glint's gun had crippled Rey-
nard, so that he was in danger of be-
which had Joined the hunt more be-
cause he wanted to kill time than to
chase foxes. Coon dogs, as a usual
thing, are too fast for the chase, and
consequently too lazy for anything
else than to tree or hole the likewise
short-legged, plump bodied coons The
fox having had one leg broken. struck
for cover, and in a few minutes had
crawled into a hole in the hillside
made by the mouth of an old drift that
had been driven by ore prospectors
as much as twenty years ago. The
mouth of the old drift had caved in,
though back in the hill there remains
a room or cavern, four or five feet
high, as many feet wide, and about
eighteen feet long.
When the fox took refuge in this old
opening the Clint dog went nosing
about the hole through which the ami
NAL escaped.
Dog smelled Coon. ~
Immediately the dog began series
of yelps that to it's owners indicated
unquestionably that there was more
than a crippled fox on the inside. The
dog would never take on so for any
thing except raccoons. The day be-
fore had been warm, sunny day, and
the mouth of the old drift facing the
south II was evident that the animals
whose home were in the old cavern
had crept to the opening to enjoy a
sun bath and thus made fresh with
scent the opening to their lair. 1t
was this fact that had aroused the lazy
Clint dog, and once fired with the smell
of his 'coonship the dog displayed
surprising amount of anmation.y He
was determined to crawl into the old
drift through the hole by which the
crippled fox had found temporary re-
lief from pursuit. But Mr.. Clint was
not so certain about the tenants of
the cave. He had seen the tracks Of
a wildcat in the snow near his house
several times during the winter, and
he knew that the old drift would be
likely place for the ''varmint' to
live. If it really was a cat that in
habited the drift his pudgy coon dog
would have no chance in a battle. But
the dog was SO wildly enthusiastic and
set up such piteous whine to be re-
leased from the boys arms that the
elder Clint finally concluded that ne
would risk the dogs going in.
A moment later the dog was scramb-
ling through the hole and the white
tip of his tail soon disappeared. AL
most at the same instant there came
out of the hole the sounds of a con-
fict. There was a series of snarls and
growls and squeals and banks, as the
old dog began his contest with the ten
ants of the dark cave. Clint recog-
nized the squeals as those of raccoons.
for he had seen and heard his dog fight
many a coon to death under a tree
from which the animal had been fell
ed with shot. But in all his hunting
experience he never heard such a bed
lam of noises as came from that cave.
He knew that there must be q family
of 'coons in there, but just how many
he had no means of knowing. lie
knew the wounded fox would put up
little fight, and a shake or two from
the dogs jaws would suffice to kill
Reynard. But the time that il re-
quired to silence the 'coons and the
of squealing there was indi-
Gated that the dog had struck a bo-
nanza.
Dog Was n sight.
Finally. at the end of twenty min
utes the dog appeared at the opening.
He was a sight. His nose and face
was bleeding from innumera bic
scratches. and when he had
pulled himself out at his masters feet
Clint found that one forepaw was so
badly bitten that the dog could not
stand upon it,
The poor dog had had the battle of his
life, but he had evidently stayed to
the end, for there were no further
sounds Of life within the cave.
Then arose the question as TO how
to obtain the game that the dog had
The dog showed no dis
position to go into the cave again-in-
deed, he was in such a condition of ex-
haustion that he lay sprawled on the
ground, looking more like "goner"
than a dog with life in him. Finally
young Clint went back to the farm
house. three-fourths of a mile away,
for pick. shovel and crowbar, with
which to dig open the mouth of the
old drift sufficient for the lad to crawl
through. This task was soon accom-
plished with the tools, and when a big
overhanging rock had been pried back
the eyes of the elder Clint fell upon
the carcass of big raccoon lying al
most at his feet. The coon was by
far the largest and latest of its kind
that the old hunter had ever seen.
The boy then. on hands and knees,
crawled into the opened mouth of the
cave. and as his eyes became accus-
toned TO the half darkness he uttered
an exclamation of surprise and de-
light. Then he began showing out
dead raccoons.
Five 'COOns aud Fox.
ONE two three fo,sr 6,re he fbro,ry