Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-12-16
A RACCOON HUNT In VIRGINIA.
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.

against him, he would spring lightly
out of the heap, arch his back and grab
savagely in the lip the first dog renew
| ing the conflict. Those teeth were like
chisels. During the battle not one dog
Of the three failed to give sharp yelp
| of pain, and all of them had bloody lips
and noses.
In our excitement we had forgotten
all about lack. In an incredibly short
space of time he slid down the tree and
came tearing down the hill, whittier the
| fight had progressed. IF you amt men
enough to hold the dogs, l am" He was
almost crying with excitement Gath
ering two of the pups under his arms.
he held them, while Bruce, the old dos
rushed in for the finish. One expert
enced dog can easily kill coon where
several get the worst of 1t or fail alto
gether. Where more than one are en-
gagged, the skilled dog gets his hold,
only to have it broken by his would-be
helpers, and the coon is given chance
| to get on the defensive again. With the
other dogs out OF the way. Bruce
promptly fastened his teeth in the back
of his plueky enemy and vigorously
shook the life out of his body.
| When we separated at the gate Zaek
| insisted that we take the coon and have
| the meat cooked for dinner the next
| day, but we protested. About three
| weeks after returned home received
a letter from old Zack in which there
were ten two-cent stamps and one,
and these words on a slip of paper
Your shear of the hide money"
We spread out in a circle, as we
| should have done before cutting the
| tree and about fifty yards away picked
| UP the trail of our game. Another tire
some tramp across a stretch OF woods,
down into big swamp and across to
| hillside, where we again lost the trail.
| 1t is a well-known fact among woodmen
| that when coon is in the neighborhood
of his regular home it is seldom that his
| trail will lead the hunter nearer than
! short distance of the tree. Just how he
manages his ingress is mystery even
| to coon hunters. Some say that he gets
| up on underground, and going from
| limb to limb and tree to tree hnaily
reaches his domicile. II this SUPPOSE
| ton is correct, the animal uses Judg-
ment and caution, for the snow on the
nearby bushes is rarely disturbed
| Profting by our former experience,
| we made a circuit around the hillside,
| but found no more trails. 1t was evil
| dent that we had our game cornered.
| The difficulty came in determining the
right tree. Again lack put on his wise
| look and began Investigations. A large
chestnut tree was pronounced to be the
residence of Mr.. Coon, and 1t was one
| that could be climbed by throwing
| smaller tree up against it,
BY this time baked potatoes and
cracking pone had as much attraction
| for us as COON and we were quite will
| ing that lack should do the climbing.
Besides, Zack had another failing which
made it Imperative that he should not
be left on the ground. He was very ex-
citable, and once while hunting otter
with a neighbor he is said to have fired
a shotgun between the legs of his fellow
hunter while the latter was pulling an
otter out of the bank by its tail. So If
lack was in hunting party and an
other man did the climbing lack was
usually disarmed before proceedings be-
| gan.
lack proceeded leisurely up the tree
and began pulling dead leaves and
sticks from an opening about half way
up. Disclosing a hollow, he peered
down into the darkness of the interior.
In moment his legs began to wabble
and he gave frantic cry that alarmed
us. Zack was foaming at the mouth
and seemed in imminent danger of los
ing his hold and falling. We shouted
up encouragement, told him We would
stand by him till death, and begged him
to be calm. AS soon as he found his
voice, he yelled out that the hollow
contained three of the largest coons he
had ever seen in all his life. This was
good news, but applying the usual dis
count to lacks utterances, we would
have been satisfied with the sight of
fair-sized squirrel. However, it devel-
oped that there was one coon in the
hollow, and that he was an adult of the
largest size.
Saved at Graves Brink.
~ r L.. 4