'COON-HUNTING IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS. 



519 



run it to its death. After a few moments of slow trailing 

 among the red willows and small swamp ash-brash, he led 

 off into the old woods, making things fairly jingle in his 

 course. 



After trailing some three-quarters of a mile, I heard 

 him change his tune into baying. Knowing he had treed, 

 I hastened on, and 



, | - '' w . 



;" 



found him baying 

 at the root of a 

 tall, red elm-tree, 

 up which the ' Coon 

 had gone and en- 

 tered a hole formed 

 by the top being 

 broken off. I could 

 not cut this tree 

 without felling it 

 across a wire fence, 

 over which it 

 leaned. Like the 

 old man who found 

 the rude boy steal- 

 ing his apples, I 

 said, "If I can't get 

 you, old sinner, by 

 felling the tree, I'll 

 just try a plan on 

 you, some time dur- 

 ing the day, that no 

 doubt will elevate 



DIUWII UUL, 



you out of your 



cozy den." So I returned to the house, ate my breakfast, 

 and went about my work until the afternoon, when I got 

 an old half -pint flask, filled it with gunpowder, took about 

 one foot of tape fuse, put one end into the bottle and fast- 

 ened it tight. I then got some matches, and a strip of old 

 cotton rags to tie to the other end of the fuse, so as to 

 make a slow match, thus giving me time after lighting it 



