on the 



whetli( 



210 FAMILIAR LIFE IN FIELD A:ND FOREST. 



day be seemed to sleep, coiled up in a corner, but 

 about four o'clock be roused himself and sobcited a 

 little attention. 



The coon's voice is not a musical one ; he has a 

 sharp, snarling cry, not very loud, and a discordant, 

 growbng Gnar-r-rr ! when he is angered ; but 

 ^. whole be is a good-natured 

 likes company 

 he is in the 

 state or do- 

 mesticated. It is 

 rarely the case 

 that a coon 

 chooses to 

 l^^^bve in a 

 y4 particular 

 part of 

 the coun- 

 try quite alone ; he goes in company on his foraging 

 expeditions, and it is said that several members of a 

 single family vsfill live together in amity and make 

 their excursions together, leaving the nest for several 

 days at a time. 



The female bears from four to six young about 

 the middle of April, and these stay with the mother 

 throughout the year. They hibernate during the 

 severe part of the winter, and reappear, according to 



Coon asleep in the willows. 



