A 'coon hunt usually takes place near midnight. Men, with dogs
trained to the sport, will repair to a cornfield known to be infested. The
feasters are soon tracked and treed, then shot, or else the tree is felled,
when such a snarling fight ensues as creates no little excitement. No
matter how plucky a cur may be, he finds his match in an old 'coon, and
often carries the scars of combat to his dying day.
"If taken when young, raccoons make amusing pets, and become attached to
their masters, but they cannot be allowed at large, for they are as
mischievous as monkeys. Their curiosity is boundless, and they will pry
into everything within reach. Anything, to be beyond their reach, must be
under lock and key. They use their forepaws as hands, and will unlatch a
door with ease, and soon learn to turn a knob. Alf there could not begin
to ravage a pantry like a tame 'coon. They will devour honey, molasses,
sugar, pies, cake, bread, butter, milk--anything edible. They will
uncover preserve-jars as if Mrs. Leonard had given them lessons, and with
the certainty of a toper uncork a bottle and get drunk on its contents."
"No pet 'coons, Alf, if you please," said his mother.
"Raccoons share with Reynard his reputation for cunning," the doctor
resumed," and deserve it, but they do not use this trait for
self-preservation. They are not suspicious of unusual objects, and,
unlike a fox, are easily trapped.
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