A HERMIT'S WILD FRIENDS 



no stranger to this kind of food. He opened 

 the rabbit's mouth with his fore paws and ate 

 out the tongue, after which he skinned the 

 head, turning the skin back over the neck. 

 He crushed the bones of the head and lapped 

 out the brains. On the third day he had fin- 

 ished the rabbit, and the skin was turned in- 

 side out, even to the ends of the toes. Squir- 

 rels were skinned in the same manner. 



This coon decided for me a disputed ques- 

 tion. I refer to the whimper or cry of the 

 coon. Night after night, in the nutting sea- 

 son, he would call to his comrades, and they 

 would answer from the surrounding woods. 



When the sweet acorns were ripe, Satan 

 was unusually active early in the evening. 

 At this early hour the coons were abroad in 

 search for food, and Satan scented them, and 

 did his best to attract their attention. One 

 coon passed near the cabin every night and 

 answered Satan's cries, so I imagined that 

 it was his mate. 



Many writers claim that the tremulous cry 

 attributed to the coon is made by the little 

 34 



