'COON-HUNTING IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS. 515 



I told my friend to be ready to snatch it out should it 

 fall there. He was standing just behind me from the fire, 

 and at the crack of my rifle, sprung forward as I lowered it 

 from my shoulder, and received a murderous blow. Never- 

 theless, he regained his feet, and snatched the 'Coon up 

 out of the embers as soon as it fell. I was well aware that 

 such a blow did hurt, but he insisted that it did not; and 

 since then I have had many a laugh at him about it. He 

 was doubtless so excited at the time, over the securing of 

 the game, that he didn' t feel the blow. 



Fry and myself soon reached the point where our dogs 

 were baying, found they had treed the 'Coon on a large 

 sugar-maple, and soon located him, in a crotch pretty well 

 up toward the top. A well-directed bullet soon brought 

 him crashing through the branches to terra firma. 



After allowing our dogs to worry him a few moments, as 

 a recompense for their chase, we stripped off his jacket, 

 and started on for another chase. We soon reached the 

 deep woods of the Funk tract, when, far off to our left, 

 we heard Bogus a splendid, heavy, young hound belong- 

 ing to the writer give mouth to a long-drawn, deep, wail- 

 ing tone. 



"A cold track," said Henry. 



"Yes; he's come out early." 



We gave a "whoop him up, old fellow," and almost 

 immediately he was joined by others of the pack. Here 

 they were delayed for some time. " Let's go over to them 

 and encourage them, and aid them in working it up," was 

 suggested. 



"All right." 



The woods here being free from dense underbrush, we 

 soon came to where the hounds were trying to unravel the 

 trail, beneath some large burr-oaks, where there was an 

 abundance of acorns on the ground. Here a 'Coon had 

 been rustling around early in the evening, feeding on the 

 oak-mast; had gone first in one direction and then in 

 another, and had crossed and recrossed his tracks so often as 

 to make it almost an impossibility for the dogs to follow him. 



