1^2 FIFTY YEARS A HUNTER AND TRAPPER. 



down the stream. The creek ran close along the wagon road 

 nearly all the way so the boys would follow along the road allow- 

 ing the dogs to hunt along the creek for coon. The boys con- 

 cluded to stay and eat their lunch before starting back. We made 

 them a cup- of hot coffee and set out a plate of honey and the boys 

 ate their lunch, drank cider, and told stories until nearly 1 o'clock. 



They said that they had had a dandy time hunting coon along 

 the last of September while coon were working on the corn and 

 they said that they had killed about 30 and one wildcat. I asked if 

 they did not think September rather early in the season to kill 

 coon? They said that they thought that there was as much sport 

 in it in September as at any other time of the year. I asked if 

 there was any more sport in coon hunting in September than there 

 was later in the season? They said that they did not know that 

 there was. I replied that then they were out at least one-half or 

 more on the price of the skins. They replied that it would be a 

 queer jay that would put off a coon hunt a month for the difference 

 that there might be in the price of a coon skin. I saw that I was 

 up against it and that my argument had no weight in the matter, 

 so I dropped it. 



When told that we were putting in our time mostly hunting 

 bees, the boys said that we were losing the best time of our lives 

 by not having some good coon dogs along with us, and Smoky 

 quite agreed with them. However, I could not see it in that light. 

 After the boys left, Smoky and I had to laugh over the boys' jolly 

 time until near daybreak before we could get to sleep again and we 

 quite agreed with the boys that the second sleep was better than 

 the first. 



It was now the first of November and we had not put out any 

 small traps, as the weather was still very warm and dry for the 

 season of the year. Each day we could see away off to the south- 

 west by the black heavy smoke that the forest fires that had been 

 burning in that direction were coming nearer and nearer to us. 

 Smoky said that he thought that a coon skin in October was worth 

 as much as in November. He said by the time that we could get 

 our traps out the forest fires would have the whole country burned 



